Astronomy Journal

What is dark matter? That’s a good question that scientists are still trying to answer.

According to NASA, dark matter is

…the amount of mass whose existence is deduced from the analysis of galaxy rotation curves but which until now, has escaped all detections. There are many theories on what dark matter could be. Not one, at the moment is convincing enough and the question is still a mystery.

In the March 2010 Scientific American article, “Dark Side of Black Holes,” Charles Q. Choi wrote that, “Among the leading hypothetical candidates,” regarding what dark matter is made of, “are weakly interacting massive particles called neutralinos,” or hypothetical particles.

Defining a neutralino in layman’s terms is not something that can be done within the scope of this post. It is a particle that is merely predicted by particle physics, particularly supersymmetry.

Tags: Dark Matter, Neutralinos, Supersymmetry

It seems as though the most striking sky images are those of bright stars at dawn or dusk. Today marks the middle of a period that is optimal for viewing Venus and Mercury on the horizon at dusk (March 28 through April 3). Just 30 minutes after sunset, Mercury and Venus can be viewed in the western sky.

In the image, below, Mercury is closest to the horizon and on the right. Venus is further and to the left.

Neave Planetarium.

Let’s take a quick tour of our solar system.

From top to bottom: Mercury; Venus; Earth; Mars; Jupiter; Saturn; Neptune; Uranus with the galaxy M3; honorary planet, but not really, Pluto, with the galaxy Sagittarius dSph. ©Diane Ursu

Copyright Notice

The previous images are copyright ©Diane Ursu, 2010. You may use them for non-commercial use if you include the following:

©Diane Ursu, Moronacity.com

and link to the following: http://www.moronacity.com/astronomy/2010/02/18/celestia/

Although, you could make your own.

Celestia

Celestia is a cool, free program that allows you to explore the known universe and “take pictures.” You can set up the shot and create the image, so the images you create are under your copyright. This is in the absence of add-ons, so if you install add-ons, be sure to read the fine print.

If you choose to download Celestia, these are useful keys to know right off the bat:

• Home key moves closer to your target

• End key moves further from your target
• Shift + the right arrow or left arrow key orbits your planet
• Use the Navigation menu to find your target
• Click Help, then Controls to see other key commands for this program.

Click here to learn more about Celestia and to download the program.

Tags: Celestia, Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, planetarium, Pluto, Saturn, solar system, Uranus, Venus