Nov 16 - Top Stories This Week

November 16 Top Stories This Week by:

The panspermia theory says that microbes could be transported through the galaxy in asteroids, meteors or comets, and may even help explain the beginnings of life on Earth. A new study suggests it’s s also possible that microscopic life could have been blasted off the Earth multiple times in the ancient past, potentially even escaping our solar system. Read more. Image via Astrobiology at NASA.

Did ancient Earth life escape our solar system?  Could microbes on Earth have been ejected into space by asteroid impacts billions of years ago, and escaped the solar system? Theoretical physicist Abraham Loeb makes the case for a reverse kind of panspermia, that is, the idea that life exists throughout space and was carried to Earth by comets. Read more.  SDO caught Monday's Mercury transit from space Wow! Check out these space-based views of the transit from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. Plus … NASA tells a joke. Watch the video and read more. Ultima Thule renamed to avoid Nazi link In a naming ceremony this week, NASA gave the distant Kuiper Belt object formerly known as 2014 MU69 - later known as Ultima Thule - yet another new name. The new name is Arrokoth. Read more. More top stories Hubble captures a dozen galaxy doppelgangers See it! Monday's transit of Mercury Some microbes eat electricity Stunning views inside a young moon crater All you need to know: 2019's Leonid meteor shower All you need to know: The famous Orion Nebula

EarthSky lunar calendars are back in stock. Order now! We're guaranteed to sell out. They make awesome holiday gifts. Your support means the world to us and helps us keep going. Purchase here.

Leonids peak likely November 18 Will you see thousands of meteors during the 2019 Leonid meteor shower? Doubtful. But you might see a good sprinkling of meteors before dawn November 17 and 18. Read more.

Aurora over Esjan View larger. | Craig Knight took this photo of a small aurora over Esjan, a mountain in southwest Iceland, on Wednesday night. You can see part of the Big Dipper at the top.  Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

by:

update your profile | unsubscribe