Monthly Archives: April 2016

Behemoth black hole found in an unlikely place

Posted on April 10, 2016 by segalastronomyblog

Watch out, Earth! Scientists have discovered a massive black hole in our universe, one that weighs the equivalent of 17 billions suns! While the size of this black hole is very significant, something that makes it even more unique is it’s location in our universe. According to astronomers, black holes this size are almost always […] Continue reading →

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A Giant spider on Pluto?

Posted on April 10, 2016 by segalastronomyblog

Launched in 2006, the New Horizons Space Probe set out with the mission to get the best view of Pluto that we humans have ever seen. And it just so happens that we succeeded! We are now seeing the absolute best images that we have ever seen of the famed dwarf planet. Recently, Pluto has […] Continue reading →

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Doppler vs. Astrometric: Find the Planet

Posted on April 10, 2016 by samihahplanet

Currently, it’s quite difficult to discover new planets simply by direct observation. This is because the high interference of light caused by the planets’ respective stars makes it almost impossible to detect the light reflected off of planets. However, there are two indirect planet detection methods: Doppler and astrometric. The astrometric method relies on measuring […] Continue reading →

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The Lonely Giant – NGC 1600

Posted on April 10, 2016 by briannagalgano

Astronomers have discovered an enormously massive galaxy, NGC 1600, 209 light years away. NGC 1600 is an elliptical galaxy that is 17,000,000,000 billion solar masses. There are many massive black holes in the Universe (Source). In fact, there is a black hole at the center of every galaxy. It is thought that perhaps black holes […] Continue reading →

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Exoplanet HD 189733b

Posted on April 10, 2016 by chasejaeger

Around 63 light years away form Earth sits the exoplanet HD 189733b. The planet has a mass of 1.13 Jupiter masses and orbits its star closer than Mercury orbits the Sun. Seen from afar, this planet is blue in color and has bands of white haze in its atmosphere that resemble clouds. Though HD 189733b […] Continue reading →

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Something like acid rain, but a lot worse

Posted on April 10, 2016 by philhawkins221

captain’s blog, Stardate 69741.0 So we’re spending a lot of time talking about moons lately. If I weren’t so well-educated in the astronomy of our Solar System I would maybe think: “you’re just learning about moons, isn’t that kind of boring?” But I AM so well-educated in the astronomy of our Solar System and know […] Continue reading →

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Pluto’s Kind Heart

Posted on April 10, 2016 by nedastro2110

  Pluto has been a topic of fascination for astronomers for a long time now. With the recent flyby of the New Horizons Spacecraft, a new image of Pluto has captivated the world. Pluto has a heart. Well not actually a heart but a region that looks like a heart! I guess Pluto is really […] Continue reading →

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Uranus

Posted on April 10, 2016 by imanig625

Uranus the most mysterious of the gas giants, in its form, orbit, and rotation. It is a widely known fact that Uranus rotates on its side, but its strange tilt also means that its magnetic field is skewed, so that its magnetic north and south are vastly different than its polar. In addition, the storms… Continue reading →

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Fun Facts about Titan

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Alex Pratte

Out of all the moons in our solar system, my favorite one would have to be Titan. Titan is the second largest moon in our solar system, second only to that fat piece of lard Ganymede. However, Titan, has something that Ganymede doesn’t and that is an “earth like cycle of liquids flowing across its […] Continue reading →

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Sleipnir Fossa, Pluto’s “Giant Spider” Fracture

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Chloe

Pluto may have had its planet status revoked, but astronomers are still studying its surface through images captured by the NASA New Horizon’s spacecraft. In the last week, images and information about one of Pluto’s most recently discovered features was released.   Sleipnir Fossa and related fractures in an image captured by New Horizons on 14 July […] Continue reading →

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