Monthly Archives: April 2015

Exoplanet in Four Star System

Source: Discovery News Astronomers recently discovered the second exoplanet known to be part of a four star system. To find a planet in such a system is rare because the gravitational interaction between the stars are likely to remove planets from any sort of stable orbit. Four star systems are fairly rare themselves, making up […] Continue reading

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Planet Discovered with Four Parent Stars

Binary star systems, like the one featured in the Tatooine system of Star Wars are common in the universe with half of all systems being comprised that way. Ternary system, or systems with three stars, are more rare, and even more rare are quaternion systems. Planets within these four star systems are also rare, so much so […] Continue reading

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The Toughest Creature in the World

In the early 1700s, several different scientists examining the components of water and water habitats came across a miniscule creature …

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0.58% vs 24%

The new NASA 2016 budget proposal of $18.53 billion was a $519 million increase from the $18.01 billion of 2015. However, despite NASA’s countless achievements and positive reputation, many people believe NASA’s budget is too high. Disregarding the significant influence that politics exerts on NASA, the main reason for public dissatisfaction towards NASA is due to … Continue reading 0.58% vs 24% Continue reading

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0.58% vs 24%

The new NASA 2016 budget proposal of $18.53 billion was a $519 million increase from the $18.01 billion of 2015. However, despite NASA’s countless achievements and positive reputation, many people believe NASA’s budget is too high. Disregarding the significant influence that politics exerts on NASA, the main reason for public dissatisfaction towards NASA is due to … Continue reading 0.58% vs 24% Continue reading

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Blog Post #8: Mike Brown and Eris

We did blog posts on historical astronomers, so why not take a look at recent history, too? Mike Brown was briefly mentioned …

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Blog Post #7: Comets Can Be Artists Too

bbc.com A new study shows that Mercury may have been “painted” black by passing comets. In class, we have learned to compare …

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Kepler Search for Exoplanets

The Kepler spacecraft entered its 4th observing campaign in February. There are nearly 16,000 target stars, which are being searched for exoplanets and other astrophysical phenomena. Included in the target are two open star clusters in the Taurus constellation. Onboard fuel is projected to last until December 2017. In its previous campaigns, the Kepler team […] Continue reading

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Saturn’s Titan doesn’t have it’s own magnetosphere!

So whilst finding out some information about Saturn’s orbiter Cassini, I came across this story: Cassini Catches Titan Naked in the Solar Wind.  We’ve been talking a lot about magnetospheres when we discuss the giant worlds so this whole thing is really interesting! The space probe Cassini was going by Titan in 2013 when a big […] Continue reading

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Ganymede’s Ocean Confirmed?

Recent observations of Ganymede by Hubble appear to suggest that it may truly have an ocean far beneath its crust. Aurorae on the planet, caused by Ganymede’s magnetic field (the only moon in the solar system to have one), and their behavior seem to be suggestive of this high possibility. Ganymede’s distance from Jupiter allows […] Continue reading

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