Layers of Earth's atmosphere, Lunar near and far sides, Binoculars to the stars English edition update

[Nostromics Newsletter]

Nostromics Newsletter

Nostromics science gifts product news, educational resources & science tidbits

Nostromics Newsletter, 27 October 2010 - You are welcome to share this mail

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The layers of Earth's atmosphere

Earth's Atmosphere Top to Bottom is an infographic showing the layers of the Earth's atmosphere to scale (via Bad Astronomy). The image has height along the vertical axis and includes layer names as well as interesting information and data, such as the maximum altitudes reached by historical space missions, current spacecrafts, high altitude planes and exploration expeditions.

This detailed image is worth careful study because it visually demonstrates a number of interesting facts. For example, see how thin lower layers are compared to the full extent. They are the layers where we live, airliners fly, and weather phenomena take place. At the top, see how far from the ground atmospheric gases can be found. The International Space Station experiences drag caused by very thin atmospheric gases even if it orbits over 300 km above the ground.

The near and far sides of the Moon

Our Moon Cylindrical Map Mug features a lunar shaded relief map on the cylindrical surface of a coffee mug and similarly shaped products, like the Moon map large mug and beer stein in the Moon section of Nostromics Store They provide a more intuitive view of the curved lunar surface showing the main difference between the near and far sides: most of the plains are on the near side.

There are two main types of lunar terrains: maria and terrae. Maria, from the Latin for seas, are large plains of solidified lava that filled existing impact structures or depressions. They are the dark spots you can see with the naked eye. Terrae, from the Latin for lands, or highlands, are instead areas heavily covered by impact craters and rugged terrains. Highlands are in the bright areas of the lunar disc.

While over 31% of the Moon's near side surface is covered with maria, only 2.5% of the far side is. This difference is most likely due to the higher concentration of heat-producing chemical elements on the near side, which favored volcanic activity in the lunar past.

More science gifts and products at Nostromics Store.

English edition of "Binoculars to the stars": status update

As promised, we are working on an English edition of Un binocolo verso le stelle - Potresti già avere i mezzi per esplorare l'universo (e non saperlo!) (Binoculars to the stars - You may already have the means to explore the universe (and not know!)), a free amateur astronomy e-book by Mauro Arpino of Nostromics currently available in Italian. We completed a first rough draft of the English translation. After reviewing and editing the text, we will format it and make the book available for free download in the most popular e-book file formats, as well as PDF.

-- Paolo Amoroso & Mauro Arpino (Nostromics), science educators - Milan, Italy

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Copyright (C) 2010 by Paolo Amoroso and Mauro Arpino