The Musical Side of Christiaan Huygens

Do you remember that probe we sent to Titan?  You know, the one that was the first ever to land on Saturn’s largest moon?  Well that was the Huygens probe and was part of the Cassini-Huygens mission.  I bring this up because it was named after Christiaan Huygens, a man that has contributed a huge amount to science:  early telescopic studies of the rings of Saturn, the invention of the pendulum clock, and the discovery of several interstellar nebulae and double stars to name a few.  But even if you are familiar with Christiaan Huygens you still may not know that he actually contributed quite a bit to the world of music as well.

Shine On You Crazy Earth-Sized Diamond

Nine hundred light years away in the direction of the constellation Aquarius resides a recently discovered dwarf star that is so cold its carbon has crystallized – much like a diamond.

A Secret Ocean Has Been Discovered

Yes, the oceans are quite large.  You wouldn’t want to get lost in one.  But did you know that there was a recent discovery of an ocean reservoir that has a volume three-times larger than all the other oceans combined?  This finding is making scientists rethink the origins of Earth’s water supply.

Astronomers Discover new Mega-Earth

Five Hundred and Sixty light years away, in a constellation called “Draco,” circling an old star named “Kepler-10,” resides a recently discovered planet that is twice the size and 17 times heavier than our own Earth.  This so called “Mega-Earth” was announced on Monday at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Boston.