First Friday Astronomy

The tidal bore in the Bay of Fundy carries billions of tons of water up the estuary at 15 km per hour, illustrating the immense power of tides. But tidal interactions in planetary systems can do more than produce killer rafting: the Earth’s tidal grip has shaped the Moon’s rotation and orbit over billions of years. But tides also power volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io so potent they can be seen across the Solar System and may even be the key to life in the icy moon Europa.

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Evading the celestial police, one Italian monk ushered in the golden age of asteroidal discovery. Once thought the remnants of a long-lost planet, asteroids are now known to have been the ingredients in the cosmic confectionaries we call planets. Though their shadows have revealed a variety of asteroids, scientists will soon get their hands on fragments of these faraway finds.

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