Annular Solar Eclipse May 20, 2012
An annular solar eclipse will occur on May 20, 2012 and will be visible in parts of North America.
An annular eclipse occurs when Earth's moon passes in front of the sun, but the moon is unable to completely block out the sun. In this case, the moon will cover 94 percent of the sun. This is because the moon is at its furthest distance from the Earth. What happens is that we can still see part of the sun behind the moon, in this case, a ring of sun showing behind the moon (or annulus).
Don't look directly at the eclipse or serious eye injury may result.
Watch the video below from Nasa for more details about the eclipse and for other Outer Space news for May 2012.
Crop Circles:
Evidence of Alien Life?
Large crop circles can appear in fields in just a hours. What are they? How do they get there? Are crop circles evidence of alien life or are they man-made? Find out the latest theories about crop circles here: Are Crop Circles Evidence for Alien Life?
Learn About the Andromeda Galaxy
Being only about 2 light years away, the Andromeda galaxy is the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. Scientists know that galaxies rotate and also move through space. In fact, eventually the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies will collide causing a merger of the two galaxies. For a more detailed explanation of galaxies and the eventual collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies see The Andromeda Galaxy.
What are Black Holes?
Both the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies have black holes at their center. The gravitational force within a black hole is so great that nothing can escape it. Anything that enters or gets near a black hole is gone for good because the speed needed to escape the gravitational force within a black hole is too great. Even light doesn't travel fast enough to escape from black holes. See our latest article to find out more about black holes.
Night Sky Stars background image from Webweaver.nu - Free Website Tools & Clipart.