Monthly Archives: April 2015

Bringing It All Together

Posted on April 30, 2015 by pMurs

Wow, it’s been a whole semester already. I’m about to be a senior and that is absolutely terrifying. I swear I was a freshman like two weeks ago. Of course, it’s all relative. If this time has been like a blink of an eye for me, it’s really some infinitesimally small fraction of the first […] Continue reading →

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Super-Earths spotted in the sky!

Posted on April 30, 2015 by serenakumar

Hey everyone! This semester in Astronomy 201, I have learned a lot. Coming with almost no prior background in astronomy, I was truly shocked and astounded to learn so many things about the Earth, the solar system around us, and the universe as a whole. One thing in particular that interested me was learning about… Continue reading →

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Extremophiles

Posted on April 30, 2015 by serenakumar

Hey everyone! Extremophiles are organisms that can survive in extreme environments (hence the name). They can survive in places with extreme pressures and temperatures, and can thrive where most other life forms on Earth would perish. Most extremophiles are microbes. The American Museum of Natural History, located in New York City, has opened up a… Continue reading →

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Meteorite Chemicals Form Building Blocks of Life

Posted on April 29, 2015 by pMurs

A research team at the Tuscia University in Italy has released a study suggesting that the kick-starter for early life may have hitched a ride to earth on the backs of meteorites. Formaldehyde, an organic compound that is posited as the key building block for early microbial life, is known to exist in the centers […] Continue reading →

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I will never know if the Earth was a fluke

Posted on April 29, 2015 by farhannshabab

I had taken Astronomy 201 because I was curious about humanity’s place in the universe. As a second semester senior, I didn’t need this class at all; I just wanted broaden my understanding of the world around me. Deep down, I also wanted form an educated opinion on the possibility of extraterrestrial life. It was hence […] Continue reading →

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Meet the Ferroplasma, in acid!

Posted on April 29, 2015 by farhannshabab

Extremophiles are organisms that thrive under “extreme” conditions. The term frequently refers to microbes such as prokaryotes, which are single-celled organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus. Extremophiles do come in all shapes and sizes, and are grouped according to the environment they thrive in. One such group is the acidophiles: organisms that grow best at acidic […] Continue reading →

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Water and the Future of Life Beyond Earth

Posted on April 29, 2015 by adyacob

The search for habitable life beyond Earth is a driving force to the human existence. For a place to be …

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A Throwback to ASTR 201

Posted on April 29, 2015 by leedd1

From this class, I learned about many things that I never knew about that. I learned about the formation of our solar system and many others. I learned about each planet specifically and what makes each one unique and bizarre in their own ways. The one thing that I especially enjoyed learning about was talking […] Continue reading →

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APF Telescopes used to Discover Nearby Planetary System

Posted on April 29, 2015 by adyacob

This week, a collective team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, UC Berkeley & the University of …

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Has NASA Discovered the SECRET to Interstellar Travel?

Posted on April 29, 2015 by leedd1

The following quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson captures the importance of discovering new technologies that will aid us in interstellar travel: “Routine travel among the stars is impossible without new discoveries regarding the fabric of space and time, or capability to manipulate it for our needs. By my read, the idea of a functioning warp […] Continue reading →

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