Monthly Archives: March 2015

40 Year Odyssey of The Voyager 1

Posted on March 16, 2015 by farhannshabab

The Voyager 1, launched on 5th September in 1977, is the farthest spacecraft and hence the farthest man made object from Earth. At a distance of 12 billion miles from Earth, the spacecraft is escaping the Solar system at a speed of 1 million miles a day. At that distance, it takes mission control’s communications, travelling […] Continue reading →

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Panspermia: An Alternative Hypothesis

Posted on March 16, 2015 by ctogrye

Hey Readers! Today I’m going to briefly discuss the idea of panspermia. For much of human history, we have wondered how such complex life on Earth came to be. Many suggest that life sprung up as the result of the natural aggregation of self replicating particles as in the primordial soup hypothesis. However another theory suggests […] Continue reading →

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Death and Space

Posted on March 16, 2015 by alephnulluniverse

In old space movies, when someone is left exposed in space, they explode. Well this have some merit, it is not 100% true. In space and its pressure (or lack of) causes the water in the human body will expand into water vapor. This causes severe internal swelling up to twice the size. Due to […] Continue reading →

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Nuclear Fusion: Future of Energy?

Posted on March 16, 2015 by ctogrye

Hey there everyone! Today I am going to give a brief overview of nuclear fusion, specifically in regards to ITER, or the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. Currently being built in the south of France, ITER aspires to be the largest tokomak fusion reactor in the world. Experiments are currently slated to begin in 2020 with […] Continue reading →

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Solar Flares: Terrifying, Fascinating, or Both?

Posted on March 16, 2015 by adyacob

Check out this animated gif released by NASA earlier this week. Just a few days ago, the Solar Dynamics Observatory …

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Dawn Reaches Ceres

Posted on March 16, 2015 by adyacob

Ceres, the dwarf planet located in the Asteroid Belt, has a new inhabitant. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has just recently entered …

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Probing the Sun

Posted on March 16, 2015 by alephnulluniverse

With our current technology, the Sun is not physically explorable with its photosphere reaching 10,000 degrees F and its coreona reaching 3.5 milion degreees F. Yet, humans have multiple probes receiving data from orbiting spacecrafts. Currently there are 5 spacecrafts watching the Sun: WIND, SOHO, ACE, STEREO A, and STEREO B. The spacecrafts take in solar […] Continue reading →

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Under the Sea

Posted on March 16, 2015 by pMurs

Earlier this week, scientists at NASA announced that Saturn’s sixth-largest moon, Enceladus, has a warm ocean at its southern pole. More importantly, it has strong evidence of hydrothermal activity on the ocean floor, the first of its kind found outside of Earth. This is a huge discovery because most scientists agree that life on Earth […] Continue reading →

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“You want me to hack the planet?”

Posted on March 16, 2015 by pMurs

There are a compendium of factors that allow for life to exist on Earth, one of the most important of which is our core. Earth’s core is made up of molten metal that swirls and churns, generating a powerful magnetic field that shields the planet from radiation and solar wind. Our core is vital to […] Continue reading →

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Venus: A Resemblance to Classical Images of Hell

Posted on March 16, 2015 by jamej00

Hot potato hot potato! It all boils down to the greenhouse effect!  Yes, the greenhouse effect goes beyond causing global warming here on Earth.  It is, in fact, necessary for life on Earth; without it, the planet would be far colder than it is today.  Certain gases present in both Venus’s and Earth’s atmosphere essentially act like… Continue reading →

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