Monthly Archives: April 2015

Pluto and I

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Marissa LePore

This is the first-full color photo  taken of Pluto ever that NASA published yesterday. The space probe New Horizons took the image about 71 million miles away as it nears the “dwarf” planet. New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft ever launched and the first in history to visit Pluto. The unprecedented flyby is expected to take […] Continue reading →

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Liquid Confidence

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Marissa LePore

“I believe we are going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth in the next decade and definitive evidence in the next 10 to 20 years,” Ellen Stofan, chief scientist for NASA. “It’s definitely not an if, it’s a when,” said Jeffery Newmark, one of Stofan’s colleagues. NASA made these bold claims at a […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on April 15, 2015 by jshabazz93

Tycho Brahe – Born December 14, 1546; Died October 24, 1601 Tycho Brahe was important to astronomy, because he witnessed a supernova and through that he rejected the Aristotelian belief that the celestial realm was unchanging. During the period that Tycho Brahe was alive the Renaissance was going on. This was a period starting in […] Continue reading →

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Astronomy’s Importance on Earth

Posted on April 10, 2015 by serenakumar

Hello everyone! Before taking this course, I only knew very basic knowledge of topics relating to astronomy. I didn’t think it was very important to know why we needed to know about the celestial beings outside of the Earth in which we live. However, now after learning about the myriad objects outside of Earth, I realize… Continue reading →

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NASA’s Exploration of Pluto!

Posted on April 10, 2015 by serenakumar

Hello everyone! Some exciting new has been happening in the astronomy world. NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is launching a space mission to the dwarf planet Pluto, a feat that has never been accomplished before! This is super exciting because this mission will potentially give us a much clearer idea of what is happening… Continue reading →

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Hello future me, I am the past you from the present (4th dimension)!

Posted on April 7, 2015 by jshabazz93

Is time travel possible? Would humans be able to discern how to accomplish it even if it was possible? Upon reading the 1884 novel, Flatland, an interesting notion is introduced to the audience. You can only completely see objects one spatial dimension below you, and can only infer the dimension you spatially occupy through the […] Continue reading →

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The Exoplanet Gold Rush

Posted on April 7, 2015 by pMurs

The discovery and study of exoplanets, or planets in other solar systems, is one of the newest sub-fields of astronomy. The reason for this is that, prior to the mid 1990’s, we didn’t really have the technology to find these planets. Through various means, the discovery of exoplanets has taken off at an exponential rate […] Continue reading →

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If Earth had Rings

Posted on April 6, 2015 by pMurs

One of the most distinctive astronomical features of our solar system is the brilliant ring system of Saturn. Due to their position, scale and material composition, Saturn’s rings have a visibility and tone not present in the ring systems of other planets. I wondered what it would look like if earth had rings and what […] Continue reading →

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Armageddon: The End or a New Beginning?

Posted on April 6, 2015 by jshabazz93

Armageddon is a word that generally refers to an end-of-the-world scenario. One of the more common ideas, in regards to Armageddon, is that our end shall come at the hands of an impact from a near-Earth object (comets, asteroids, meteorites) that will create such a disturbance from not only the energy released from the initial impact, but also the […] Continue reading →

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What is the true mission of NASA?

Posted on April 6, 2015 by lindenmuthadam

Ted Cruz has drawn both criticism and support in recent weeks for his declaration that NASA should be focused on the tangible goals of space exploration rather than their recent endeavors into earth science and climate change. Some see his arguments as longing for the inspirational spirit of NASA’s classic Apollo missions, but others see […] Continue reading →

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