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By Niall Smith
The search for evidence of life beyond the Earth came a little closer – perhaps – when NASA's Curiosity Rover recently discovered organic molecules in a crater on Mars called Gale Crater.
Organic molecules are the building blocks of life as we know it.
They are not uncommon, being found even in meteorites that survive the burning passage through the Earth's atmosphere. What makes the discovery of Mars intriguing, however, is the localization of organic molecules.
While today the crater of Gale is a barren wasteland, about 3.5 billion years ago, it seems to be a lake where rivers flow and flow.
So we can imagine a lake in which liquid water and organic molecules have existed side by side, probably for a billion years.
At the very least, it would probably have been long enough for an interesting chemistry that could have created life.
For the moment, we have no evidence of life on Mars and we may never find such evidence, but the results remind me of a quote from Isaac Azimov: "The most exciting phrase of science is not "eureka! (I found it) 'but & # 39; It's funny … "
And this discovery is certainly "funny" and deserves to be deepened.
You can take a look at the red planet in July, because Mars is well placed in the morning sky. Because of short nights, you will have to get up early, or stay up late, depending on your preference or lifestyle.
Mars is south around 4am, but a convenient way to find it is to look for a red object just below the moon on July 1st.
The characteristic red color of Mars is due to a thin layer of rust that covers the entire planet, often plagued by dust storms on a planetary scale that eclipse everything we find on Earth.
Against all odds, the sunset or the sunrise on Mars is blue, not red!
We have always named Mars as the red planet because of its surface color. But what is below this dusty crust? the @NASAInSight The mission is currently cruising in space, ready to land on Mars and determined to discover it. Look at: https://t.co/eKtxlfCJI1 pic.twitter.com/bxa3THCrFJ
– NASA (@NASA) June 22, 2018
Unlike the dust in the Earth 's atmosphere, which is just the right size to disperse the blue light and let pass the red light not diffused, the opposite is true on Mars where the darker nature of the light is. atmosphere disperses the red light.
At sunrise and sunset, the effect is that the red light is scattered away from your eyes and the blue light is not diffused to your eyes.
On July 27, around 9:30 pm, the rising moon will appear darker than usual and could have a disturbing dark red color.
The reason is that the moon is halfway to a total lunar eclipse, a phenomenon that occurs when the Earth's shadow blocks much of the sun's light reaching the Moon.
The light that reaches the Moon has passed through the Earth's atmosphere and is therefore red in color for the reasons given above.
As the Moon rises in the sky, you will begin to see the illumination of the left side and its color will become that of a normal full moon. This announces that the Moon is coming out of the shadow of the Earth.
The best way to observe a total lunar eclipse is, in my experience, with the naked eye and a hot drink, or at this time of year, a late night barbecue.
Before observing, it is usually a good idea to let your eyes adapt to the dark, but for lunar eclipses this is not necessary.
Instead make an excuse to bring friends around and think about what might have been in your world cup pool if you had not received Panama.
Or come watch the Blackrock Castle Observatory eclipse from 9pm and find interesting conversations in abundance.
Dr. Niall Smith is chief research officer / director of the Blackrock Castle Observatory at the Cork Institute of Technology.
More information on the sky is available on the website of the Blackrock Castle Observatory CIT at https://www.bco.ie/sky-matters/
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