Daily Archives: April 29, 2015

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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Public and private solutions to space exploration

Posted on April 29, 2015 by lindenmuthadam

I firmly believe that for space exploration to grow by leaps and bounds, there has to be economic incentives for entrepreneurs to create companies that explore the universe. Governmental agencies can do incredible things, but they are often held back by politics and budgetary shortfalls. Thankfully we are at the forefront of this change from […] Continue reading →

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“Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.”

Posted on April 29, 2015 by christophermfitzgerald

One of my favorite quotes from my one of my favorite movies, Interstellar, perfectly sums up my feelings towards human progression into space. Ever since I was first asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I knew … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Not faster than light, but still incredible

Posted on April 29, 2015 by lindenmuthadam

The use of ion thrusters (literally using ionized electrons and protons as a source of thrust!) in space has been floated around as a method for interstellar propulsion in science fiction for decades, yet was not a reality until the turn of the millennium. Scientists at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio developed […] Continue reading →

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