PV Gap

Tiffany Said:

Which Planets (and Moons) in the Solar System could Earth-based Extremophiles live on?

We Answered:

Well, actually it's not certain that anything could even survive on Mars. The main problem is free water. All life on Earth depends on free water, even extremophiles.

Personally I think something could exist on Mars, but it's not certain. Anywhere else is even less likely, but not impossible.

Juan Said:

Will a Galaxy eventually evolve into a macro version of the solar system?

We Answered:

Not likely. While the dust of a nebula may coalesce and eventually become a star, there is a supermassive black hole at the center of our (and virtually every) galaxy. Black holes conversely suck in dust, stars and anything else that ventures too close and it becomes part of the infinite mass of the singularity. Almost the opposite of what happens for star/planet formation. The gravity of a black hole doesn't create stars and planets...it destroys them.

<EDIT> Sorry, buddy. It's an accepted theory that ALL GALAXIES have supermassive black holes. It is also theorized that black holes will eventually "evaporate", not evolve into something else. You need to do some more reading. Try some of the published works of Stephen Hawking as a start.

Joann Said:

Escaping the solar system?

We Answered:

The Equation for escape velocity is : Ve = sq(2GM/r)
Where Ve is the required velocity G is the gravitational constant M is the mass of the body being escaped from and r is the distance from the centre point of the mass.

Earth Escape Velocity : 11.2 km/s
Earth Orbit : 29.8 km/sec
Solar Escape Velocity : 42.1 km/s (From Earth's Position)
-> 617.5 km/s (From The Sun's Surface)

However these speeds are at a fixed position. It should be noted that because you divide the 2*G*Mass by the distance from the center of gravity the farther you are away the slower it is to escape. For example a space ship in orbit of earth only needs 10.9 km/s to leave orbit and an orbiting shuttle is already moving at about 8 km/s anyways :)
Further, these numbers also are for an initial thrust as if you were kicking a football into space. A rocket for example as it applies thrust through out the trip into space requires significantly less velocity to reach orbit as it is consistently applying force with its rocket boosters.

Rhonda Said:

Other than the Earth, where in the solar system could I find fulgurites?

We Answered:

I've never heard of them before but maybe Venus, it has lots of storms right and is a rock based planet so just out of common sence that would be where I'd look.

Kelly Said:

What would happen if a rogue, Jupiter sized planet entered our solar system...?

We Answered:

If it crashed into one of the planets, it would destroy that planet (and probably do a lot of damage to itself).
The debris from the collision could send meteors of all sizes all through the solar system, some would threaten the Earth.

If it crashed into the sun, it wouldn't do much damage to the sun, except that there would be a significant explosion/flare at the point of impact and this could cause coronal mass ejections and a wildly-disrupted solar magnetic field and wind. These could threaten the Earth.

A Jupiter-sized world could enter and leave our solar system and not pass anywhere near any planets - the planets are not all on the same side of the sun, and there is a lot of space between their orbits.
So its possible that it could simply pass through and not affect any of the planets at all, though it might (depending on its trajectory) disturb asteroids in the asteroid belt (and send some of them our way).

Gladys Said:

Will the Solar System become a part of the Andromeda Galaxy in the future?

We Answered:

Here's what I got from Universe Today showing estimated numbers:

"The first sideswipe will occur less than 2 billion years from now. During that first interaction, there's a 12% chance that the Solar System might get ejected from the disk of the Milky Way, and spun out into the tidal tail of material that will stream out from the Milky Way. And there's a remote chance, less than 3%, that the Sun will jump ship, joining up with Andromeda, and leaving the Milky Way entirely."

At any rate, there's a great chance the Solar System will reside in the larger and more massive elliptical galaxy which results from the collision of the 2 giant spirals.

http://www.universetoday.com/2007/05/10/…
http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-sp…
http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-sp…

Clear skies!

Tyrone Said:

Christians, do you believe the Earth is the center of our Solar System? (Please provide a yes or no)?

We Answered:

Of course not.

The Scientific Community and the Church had no problem with the heliocentric theory of Copernicus or Galileo that said that the sun was the center of the universe. It was when Galileo said it was fact without enough repeatable scientific evidence that he got into trouble.

By the way, the heliocentric theory that claimed the sun was the center of the universe instead of the Earth, was also incorrect. The sun is the center of the solar system but not the universe.

In 1741, Pope Benedict XIV granted an imprimatur (an official approval) to the first edition of the Complete Works of Galileo.

“[Galileo] declared explicitly that the two truths, of faith and of science, can never contradict each other, 'Sacred Scripture and the natural world proceeding equally from the divine Word, the first as dictated by the Holy Spirit, the second as a very faithful executor of the commands of God', as he wrote in his letter to Father Benedetto Castelli on 21 December 1613. The Second Vatican Council says the same thing, even adopting similar language in its teaching: 'Methodical research, in all realms of knowledge, if it respects... moral norms, will never be genuinely opposed to faith: the reality of the world and of faith have their origin in the same God' (Gaudium et Spes, 36). Galileo sensed in his scientific research the presence of the Creator who, stirring in the depths of his spirit, stimulated him, anticipating and assisting his intuitions”: John Paul II, Address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (10 November 1979): Insegnamenti, II, 2 (1979), 1111-1112. From the Vatican website: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_p…

With love in Christ