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...... 324 Luyten’s . . . . . 408 ...... p00 Large and Small Shapley . . . . 532 Borrellu...... 330 Osiris...... 409 cluster. . . Magellanic “Clouds”. . p00 Southern supercluster. . . 533 The C/1861 G1 Thatcher. . . 332 . . . . 410 ...... p00 Malin 1 . . . . . p00 supercluster...... 534 Churyamov G ...... 334 PSO J318 5-22...... 411 . . . . . p00 Markarian 231 . . . . . p00 EH1...... 336 128...... 412 Owl Nebula...... p00 M77 ...... p00 Universe structure. . . . . 536 -Bopp...... 338 ...... 413 ...... p00 M81 (Bode’s galaxy). . p00 Contents ...... 340 Trappist 1 ...... 414 ...... p00 M82...... p00 Cosmic web ...... 542 Hartley...... 342 WASP 121-b...... 418 ...... p00 M87 ...... p00 ISON ...... 344 Wolf 1061 ...... 422 RCW 86...... p00 Mayall’s Object . . . . p00 CfA2 Great Wall...... 546 'Oumuamua...... 346 ...... p00 NGC 1512 ...... p00 Great Wall. . . .. 548 Show-maker-Levy. . . 348 Stellar Objects...... 426 RX J0806 4-4123. . . . . p00 NGC 3370...... p00 Swft-Tuttle ...... 350 1E 2259+586 ...... 434 ...... p00 Occulting Pair . . . . . p00 Conclusion ...... 550 Temple...... 352 ...... 435 Rigel A...... p00 Pinwheel Galaxy (M101). . . Introduction...... 04 Temple-Tuttle...... 354 ...... 436 Rigel B...... p00 ...... p00 Glossary...... 590 Wild 2...... 356 ...... 437 ...... p00 Sagittarius Dwarf . . . p00 The ...... 20 ...... 438 . . . . p00 Sculpture Galaxy. . . . p00 Index ...... 600 Beyond the Solar System. . . A. . . . 439 *. . . . . p00 . . . . p00 The ...... 24 ...... 358 Alpha Centauri B. . . . 440 SAO 206462...... p00 Sunflower galaxy. . . . p00 ...... 50 ...... 441 SDSSJ0927+2943. . . p00 Tadpole galaxy. . . . . p00 ...... 80 ...... 364 ...... 442 SGR 1806-20. . . . . p00 Galaxy . . . p00 ...... 100 51 Pegasi b...... 370 ...... p00 ...... p00 Stellar Stream. . p00 ...... 140 ...... 371 ’s Star. . . . . p00 ...... p00 Whirlpool Galaxy. . . . p00 ...... 180 Epsilon Eridani...... 372 ...... p00 Tabby’s Star...... p00 ...... 205 ...... 373 . . . . p00 T Tauri...... p00 Galaxy Clusters . . . . . p00 ...... 220 Gliese 174...... 374 Canopus...... p00 ULAS J1120+0641. . . p00 ...... p00 ...... 250 Gliese 180...... 375 ...... p00 UY Scuti ...... p00 Bullet Cluster . . . . . p00 ...... 376 Cat’s Eye Nebula. . . . p00 ...... p00 El Gordo ...... p00 Non-planetary Solar Gliese 625...... 377 ...... p00 ...... p00 cluster . . . . . p00 System Objects...... 265 Gliese 667C ...... 378 X-1 ...... p00 VY Canis Majoris. . . . p00 cluster. . . . . p00 ...... 379 ...... p00 ...... p00 Belt...... 270 Gliese 832...... 380 . . . . p00 To the Edge of the Musketball cluster. . . p00 ...... 276 ...... 381 Epsilon Aurigae. . . . p00 . . . p00 cluster . . . . . p00 HD 40307G...... 382 ...... p00 Pandora’s cluster . . . p00 Dwarf ...... 278 Kapteyn’s Star...... 383 The Ghost of Jupiter. . p00 The ...... p00 PLCK G308 .3-20 .2 . . . p00 ...... 282 10...... 384 GRS 1915+105. . . . . p00 ...... p00 cluster. . . . . 517 Eris...... 288 Kepler 11...... 385 H1743-322 ...... p00 Sagittarius Arm. . . . p00 ...... 518 Haumea...... 290 Kepler 16...... 386 HE 2359-2844. . . . . p00 Arm...... p00 Zwicky 8338 ...... 519 Makemake ...... 292 Kepler 22 ...... 387 HE 1256-2738 . . . . . p00 - Arm. . . Galaxy . 520 The Goblin ...... 294 Kepler 36 ...... 388 HV 2112...... p00 ...... p00 supercluster. . . Farout ...... 296 Kepler 62 ...... 389 ...... p00 Outer Arm...... p00 ...... 521 Kepler 78...... 390 Horsehead Nebula . . . p00 . . . 522 Belt...... 300 Kepler 174...... 391 HLX-1...... p00 Other ...... p00 Hercules supercluster . . . Kepler 186 ...... 392 IGR J17091-3624. . . . p00 ...... 523 ...... 304 Kepler 283...... 396 ...... p00 . . . p00 Horologium supercluster. . Kepler 438...... 398 J17062...... p00 Black eye galaxy (M64)...... 524 ...... 306 Kepler 440...... 399 Kepler’s . . . p00 ...... p00 . . . Bennu ...... 308 Kepler 442...... 400 Kes 75...... p00 Dwarf. . . p00 ...... 525 Chariklo...... 310 Kepler 444...... 401 KIC 8462852 . . . . . p00 Cartwheel Galaxy . . . p00 supercluster. . . . . 526 Psyche...... 312 Kepler 452 ...... 402 . . . ...... p00 Opiuchus supercluster. . . Eros...... 314 Kepler 1229 ...... 403 ...... p00 Cigar galaxy...... p00 ...... 527 Phaeton...... 316 Kepler 1544 ...... 404 Mira...... p00 Galaxy. . . . p00 Perseus- supercluster. Vesta ...... 318 Kepler 1638 ...... 405 ...... p00 Condor galaxy (aka NGC ...... 528 Ida ...... 320 Kepler 1652 ...... 406 MY . . . p00 6827)...... p00 Phoenix supercluster . . . . 529 Itokawa...... 322 LHS1140...... 407 . . . Grand . . p00 Saraswati...... 530 Hoag’s Object. . . . p00 supercluster. . . 531 2 | The Universe Contents 3

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) T ES vast canyons and extremes and vapour. A ROTATIONAL VELOCITY Y O F N A of weather. rocky , Mars’ surface 0 .6 km/s CLASSPLANET OF TYPE PLANET Named after the Roman has been altered by volca- S Terrestrial A God of war, Mars is located noes, impacts from debris, M dwarf at an average distance from and fierce winds, as well 0 .375 that of Earth NUMBER OF the Sun of about 142 million as crustal movement and 2CELESTIAL miles (228 million km ) or chemical reactions. 1.52 AU. Similar to Earth, Various NASA missions AVERAGE COORDINATESSIZE COMPARED TO one on Mars takes a have visited the planet, -81° F / -60° C EARTH little over 24 hours. A from flybys and orbiters, R1.9xight smaller Ascension in Martian time, however, to rovers on the surface. during which it makes one The first successful mission 95 .32% Dioxide, complete around the to Mars was the 2 .7% Nitrogen Sun, is 687 Earth days. 4 flyby, in 1965. Current While Mars has no rings, NASA missions are deter- LENGTH OF YEAR it does have two moons, mining Mars’ potential for 687 days Phobos and . Mars , including the InSight also shares the distinction lander, which arrived on the of being the only other surface in November 2018. planet in our solar system At this time, Mars’ surface Getting There to have an atmosphere. The cannot support life as we & Away P atmosphere on Mars is thin- know it. Yet learning about ner than that of Earth’s, and its history, from its past at- On average, Earth and Mars made up mostly of carbon mospheric composition and are 225 million km/140 million dioxide, argon and nitrogen, it water, provide clues to the miles apart as they orbit the as well as small amounts of fate of our own planet. sun . The shortest distance between Earth and Mars, 54 6. million km/33 9. million miles, occurs every two . In 1969, the Mariner 7 orbiter reached Mars Highlights Mars in 128 days . The longest time taken by a probe, Polar Ice Caps in 1975, was 333 days . The esti- 1 Mars is home to two 4 What started out, mated time for manned flights A Viking Orbiter mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars . permanent polar ice around 1 is 250–300 days . Launches to caps: , at ago, as just a small crack is Mars have to follow a parabolic the northeern pole, and Pla- today a canyon some 2500 trajectory in order to align with num Australe to the . miles long, 370 miles wide the planet’s orbit . and 4 miles deep. Mars at a Glance Montes 2 Towering above a Traveller Beware Mars is no place for the faint-hearted. Arid, rocky, cold and apparently vast, mountainous 5 A behemoth asteroid lifeless, the Planet offers few hospitalities. Fans of extreme sports can plateau stand some of made this 1400-mile During the trip to Mars, the rejoice, however, for the Red Planet will challenge even the hardiest souls Mars’ celebrated at- depression. It formed the Mars Science Laboratory and tractions, the largest volca- vast plains of the Hellas Curiosity encountered radiation among us. Home to the largest volcano in the solar system, the deepest noes found anywhere in the basin, one of the largest vis- levels that could pose potential canyon and crazy weather and temperature patterns, Mars looms as the solar system. ible impact craters on Mars. health risks to human astro- ultimate destination. nauts . Because Mars has no global to deflect 3 The undisputed 6 First observed in energetic particles, and its No planet fascinates more than Mars. minerals in the that oxidize, champion of Martian the 19th century by atmosphere is much thinner Home for most of the movie industry’s go-to or rust, causing the soil and atmosphere to volcanoes rises 25km Walter Frederick Gale, than Earth’s, astronauts would aliens – and occasionally Matt Damon – appear a warm, red colour. In fact, Mars above the planet’s floor. Its subsequent observations get only minimal protection Mars is the fourth-closest planet to the Sun. is a cold, desert world with a thin at- 374m diameter is roughly of carved even on the surface of Mars . The Red Planet earned its nickname due mosphere. It is also a dynamic planet, with equivalent to that of the US have led to speculation that to its appearance. This is created by seasons, polar ice caps, extinct volcanoes, state of Arizona. this area was once a lake..

4 | Mars at a Glance 5

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T ES Olympus Mons Y O F N A Sights Mars is the site of Olympus S A Mons, the largest volcano Mt Sharp / Aeolis tive, modern sedimentary and second-highest known Mons processes. mountain in the Solar 1 The central peak System, and of Valles Marin- of Gale Crater is a eris, one of the largest can- huge mound of sedimetary 4 This plain between the yons in the Solar System. debris taxhat rises 5½km northern wall of Gale The smooth Borealis basin above the northern crater Crater and the northern in the floor. foothills of Aeolis Mons was covers 40% of the planet found by Curiosity to have and may be a giant impact signs of easily accessible feature 2 This outflow channel water in its history. seems to have been carved by fluids – maybe Yellowknife Bay water. 5 The sedimentary Curiosity rocks here were ex- Bagnold Dune posed about 70 million Originally planned to last for Field years ago by removal of two years, Curiosity’s ability to 3 The Bagnold Dune overlying layers due to ero- keep going even n shaky terrain FIelds gave Curiosity sion by the wind. means the mission has been a chance to investigate ac- extended indefinitely. It has now extended to over 2,000 Martian sols (the Martian day), or over

C 2,100 earth days . Curiosity O U R

T ES has since driven to the base of

Y O F N A Mt Sharp, a layered mountain inside the crater, and inspected S A rock layers that grow progres- Gale Crater sively younger as the rover gains elevation .

Gale Crater Water

ABOUT 3.5 TO 4 BILLION YEARS AGO, meteors frequently crashed into Mars. Liquid water cannot exist on These impacts created craters and mounds like Gale Crater, which has Aeolis the surface of Mars due to low Mons (Mt Sharp) in its center. atmospheric pressure, which is typically less than 1% of the Earth’s, but the two polar ice caps appear to be made largely data shows ripple marks on the ing up the lower portion of the mountain. of water ice . In fact, the volume crater’s surface, layered upon each other, Curiosity’s journey through Gale Crater’s of water ice in the south polar indicating the previous flow of water. Hidden Valley and up the slopes of Mt ice cap, if melted, would be Curiosity data revealed veins in the rock Sharp have helped scientists understand sufficient to cover the entire indicative of past flows below ground. whether Mars has ever offered environ- planetary surface to a depth of Today, Gale Crater is 96 miles (154km) mental conditions favorable for microbial 11 meters (36 ft) . In November in diameter. A large mountain, Mt Sharp, life. In its first year, on the crater floor 2016, NASA reported finding a now stands in the middle of Gale Crater, at Yellowknife, the rover found evidence large amount of underground but three billion years ago, the rim would of ancient freshwater river and lake en- ice in the region have been higher and less eroded. Ac- vironments with all the chemical of Mars . The volume of water cumulation of sediments in lakes, deltas, ingredients for life and a possible energy detected has been estimated to streams and wind-blown deposits is source for life. be equivalent to the volume of proposed to have formed the layers mak- A view from the "Kimberley" formation on Mars taken by NASA's Curiosity rover . water in Lake Superior .

10 | MARS HIGHLIGHTS 11

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) T ES ing in an atmospheric soup For some scientists, how- DISTANCE FROM Y O F N A that’s approximately nine- ever, the most interesting THE SUN CLASSPLANET OF TYPE PLANET tenths , one-tenth things about Jupiter are the 778 .3 million km S Gas Giant A – pretty much the bodies in orbit around it: M dwarf precise ingredients needed its many moons. At the last ONE-WAY -TIME NUMBER OF MOONS to make a star. In another count, there were 79, more TO THE SUN 79CELESTIAL parallel universe, Jupiter than any other planet in our 44 .6 minutes may perhaps have grown solar system (the nearest COORDINATESSIZE COMPARED TO massive enough to ignite, contender, Saturn, only has LENGTH OF DAY EARTH and maybe even eclipse a mere 62). Even more in- 9 .9 hours R11xight Ascension our Sun – but in this one, triguingly, scientists believe 19h 54m 36.651s it remained stuck at mere that a few of them may have ATMOSPHERE +43° 57′ planetary status. the atmospheric and chemi- 90% Hydrogen, 18.06 Jupiter’s most famous cal conditions necessary to 10% Helium feature is its Great Red support life. The main focus Spot, a storm of truly epic is currently on , LENGTH OF YEAR proportions – twice the size where there is evidence of a 4333 Earth days of Earth. Like many of Jupi- vast ocean hidden just be- ter’s storms, it’s thought to neath its icy crust – a prime have raged for hundreds of location for possibly finding years. In 1979, the Voyager life. These are mission also discovered that terrestrial bodies, making Getting There P Jupiter has its own ring them more closely related to & Away system, but Jupiter’s rings Earth than to the gas giant are very faint, and made of which they orbit. Jupiter the Sun at a dust, not ice. distance of around 778 million km, or 5 .2 Astronomical Units (Earth is at one AU) . Travelling at the speed of a jumbo jet, it Jupiter Highlights would take around 100 years to reach it . The Great Red Spot 1 This planet-sized 5 Unlike its icy sisters, monster makes our this is a bub- TIME ON JUPITER A rendering of in orbit around Jupiter worst hurricane look like a bling cauldron of volcanic Jupiter has the shortest day storm in a teacup. activity. Io has a mantle in the solar system. One day composed at least partly on Jupiter takes only about The Jovian Ring of molten rock, and a solid 10 hours (the time it takes System rock crust coated by sulfur. for Jupiter to rotate or spin Jupiter at a Glance 2 Jupiter is encircled by around once), and Jupiter a system of three vast Callisto makes a complete orbit This gas giant is twice as large as all the other planets combined, a site of rings, thought to be made 6 Jupiter’s second-larg- around the Sun (a year in Jo- intense meteorological activity at the Great Red Spot and elsewhere, and the mainly of dust. est moon is roughly vian time) in about 12 Earth controlling force for nearly 80 distinctive moons. the size of Mercury, and years (4333 Earth days) . The Juno Mission appears to be mainly a mix- 3 This pioneering probe ture of ice and rock. arrived in 2016, and When it comes to size, nowhere in the the size of a basketball. That’s big. First aims to unlock Jupiter’s Top Tip o solar system compares to the ginormous, recorded by Babylonian astronomers in the secrets. 7 Icy and pock-marked, gargantuan gas giant of Jupiter. It’s by far 8th century, it’s named after the King of this is the biggest On average, the surface of and away the biggest planet in our solar the Gods – a fitting moniker for this most Europa moon discovered so far in Jupiter is about twice as cold as system: a whopping eleven times the size kingly of planets. Seen from afar, Jupiter is 4 Cold and icy though it our solar system. With its the South Pole in the middle of of Earth, more than twice as massive as marked by distinct patterns of stripes and may be, but this Jo- own internally generated winter – so you might want to all the other planets combined. To put that swirls, like a gigantic gobstopper floating vian moon may perhaps be magnetic field, it contains pack a few extra warm garments . in perspective, if Earth were the size of in space. These stripes are actually cold, capable of supporting life. mysteries. a grape, Jupiter would be approximately windy clouds of ammonia and water, float-

12 | Jupiter at a Glance 13 Significant Events

1610 Galileo Galilei makes the first detailed observations of Jupiter .

) 1973 Pioneer 10 becomes the first spacecraft to cross the Space and fly past Exploration Jupiter . Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 were Juno the first to fly by Jupiter in the 1970s. Since 1979 then we’ve sent Galileo to orbit the gas giant LAUNCHED: AUGUST 5, 2011 Voyager 1 and 2 discover and drop a probe into its atmosphere . Early Juno science results have re- Jupiter's faint rings, several took detailed photos of Jupiter on its way to vealed Jupiter as a complex, gigantic, new moons and volcanic neighbouring Saturn, as did New Horizons turbulent world, with Earth-sized polar activity on Io's surface . on its quest for Pluto and the . cyclones in constant , plunging Juno arrived in the Jovian system in July storm systems that travel deep into the 2016 and is currently studying Jupiter from heart of the gas giant, and a mammoth, Hubble Space 1992 orbit . lumpy magnetic field. Ulysses swung by Jupiter LAUNCHD: APRIL 24, 1990 on Feb . 8, 1992 . The giant The Hubble was designed to provide planet's gravity bent the clear and deep views of distant galaxies and and spacecraft's flight path most of the planets in our solar system. southward and away from the ecliptic plane, putting the probe into a final orbit that would take it over the sun's south and north poles .

1994 Astronomers observe as pieces of Shoemak- er-Levy 9 collide with Jupi- ter's .

1995-2003 The Galileo spacecraft drops a probe into Jupiter's atmosphere and conducts Voyager 1 Voyager 2 extended observations of Jupiter and its moons . LAUNCHED: SEPTEMBER 5, 1977 LAUNCHED: AUGUST 20, 1977 Voyager 1 successfully flew by both the Jupiter and Saturn systems before continuing Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to study all four of the out into the farthest most reaches of our solar system. solar system's giant planets at close range.

14 | SPACE EXPLORATION 15

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