Monthly Archives: April 2014

Extremophiles Aiding the Search For Extraterrestrial Life

Posted on April 26, 2014 by joshkphilips

Image Source About six months ago, scientists retrieved samples of water that are nearly two billion years old from the depths of a mine in Timmins, Ontario. They are now attempting to determine whether or not any life exists within the liquid. If in fact lifeforms are present within the water, this would be yet […] Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Extremophiles Aiding the Search For Extraterrestrial Life

The Future Looks Bright

Posted on April 25, 2014 by paanvaannd

<Video from post from here> Around a century ago, humanity thought we had finally conquered the final frontier – Antarctica. It was quite unfathomable for many to think that we could ever leave the confines of Earth, but within a matter of three and a half decades we succeeded in building the first aircraft, retrofitting … Continue reading The Future Looks Bright → Continue reading →

Posted in General, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Future Looks Bright

Lovers of the Extreme

Posted on April 25, 2014 by paanvaannd

<Image from this post from here> The discovery of extremophiles within the last few decades has expanded the amount of worlds viable for some sort of life, and has greatly increased the chance of life being found elsewhere within our galaxy, let alone our own solar system.  Extremophiles are microorganisms on Earth that live, and … Continue reading Lovers of the Extreme → Continue reading →

Posted in Exoplanets, Science | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Lovers of the Extreme

Reflection

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Leigh

Above is one of my favorite images of a feature of the Universe. The part of this class that has left the greatest impact on me is the material and discussion devoted to what exists (or potentially exists) outside of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Universe | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reflection

Warp Drive

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Leigh

Before we can achieve interstellar travel like it appears in science fiction, scientists must make huge leaps and develop a way to exceed the speed of light, as well as a way to work around the issue of spacetime and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Space Travel, Universe | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Warp Drive

The Pale Blue Dot: Religion and Science

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Asad Pabani

While I intend on continuing this blog in the future, for my last blog post in Astronomy 201, I will be taking a more serious approach. I will touch briefly on the relationship between religion and science by examining the image shown below of the Earth as a tiny speck of light in the distance, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Galaxies, Science, Universe | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Pale Blue Dot: Religion and Science

The Pioneer Plaque and the Objectification of Men in Inter Galactic Space

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Asad Pabani

The Pioneer plaques are a pair of gold-anodized aluminium plaques which were put on board the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecrafts in the early 1970s. They contain on them a pictorial message of the civilization that exists on Earth in case either of these spacecrafts are intercepted by intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Universe | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Pioneer Plaque and the Objectification of Men in Inter Galactic Space

The Solar System: An Overview

Posted on April 20, 2014 by hollyreichert

This year I learned details about the Solar System that I did not even know existed.  Before astronomy this year, I did not know about the Kuiper Belt.  I thought we only had the Asteroid Belt.  I knew that comets and asteroids were different– but I was not sure what the difference was.  Now I […] Continue reading →

Posted in Observables | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Solar System: An Overview

Extremophiles Under the Sea and in Space

Posted on April 20, 2014 by hollyreichert

Life can be found everywhere on Earth, even in extreme environments.  The organisms that live here are called extremophiles and rely on things other than oxygen for survival.  Hydrothermal events are an example of extreme environments in which extremophiles have been found.  At the bottom of the ocean, temperatures and pressures are so high that […] Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Universe | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Extremophiles Under the Sea and in Space

Warp Drive: Science Fiction or Future Reality?

Posted on April 20, 2014 by gradytlynch

This video segment explores the possibilities of creating a warp drive spacecraft that isn’t bound by the cosmic speed limit of lightspeed. The idea highlighted in the video is that fluctuations in spacetime itself would propel the spacecraft, as opposed to the spacecraft propelling itself through space. This complex theoretical process is described in the […] Continue reading →

Posted in Light, Space Travel | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Warp Drive: Science Fiction or Future Reality?