Where did galaxies come from?

Science has only recently been able to explain where the stars and planets came from. Now, scientists have turned their attention to a much bigger mystery, where did galaxies come from? What is known is that galaxies are not scattered randomly throughout space, rather they are found in clusters, known as “super clusters”. Scientists have two main theories to attempt to explain galaxy formation. First, the gas left over from the big bang clustered together to form galaxies, in which stars and planets were born. Second is that gas from the big bang created stars and planets all over the universe, and they migrated through gravity into galaxies. Neither theory has been universally accepted yet.

Mars Face

The Cydonian region on Mars attracted a great deal of attention because one of the hills in that region looked remarkably man made. The region was first imaged in detail by the Viking 1 orbiter, which was launched in 1975. Several images were taken by the Viking, including one taken in 1976 showing that one of the Cydonian mesas had the appearance of face. Scientists dismissed the face as a trick of light and shadow, but then a second image also showed the face at a different sun-angle. This caught the attention of organizations interested in extraterrestrial intelligence, and some talk show hosts who believed the Face was a long-lost Martian civilization. Most scientists still held the belief that the face was just a consequence of viewing conditions. In 2003, when the European space agency launched Mars Express, it was able to combine data from a high resolution stereo camera and create a 3D representation of the “Face on Mars”. The most recent image (bottom) I think would silence even the most faithful believers. The image shows a remnant massif, thought to have formed from landslides and an early form of debris apron formation, but no face in sight.

NASA picks landing site for next Mars probe

NASA's next Mars rover will land at the foot of a mountain inside the planet's Gale crater, the US space agency has announced.

The car-sized Mars Science Laboratory is scheduled to be launched later this year and land in August 2012, Xinhua reported.

The target crater spans 154 km in diameter and holds a mountain rising from the crater floor. The crater is named after Australian astronomer Walter F. Gale.

The rover and other spacecraft components are being assembled and undergoing final testing. The mission is targeted to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida between Nov 25 and Dec 18.