Monthly Archives: March 2017

Chaotic Earth

From Earth’s birth 4.6 billion years ago, it has been through some violent trauma. From worldwide ice ages and raging fire storms, it is a wonder that we made it here in one piece….or most of us. Asteroids regularly come in contact with Earth, wreaking havoc on the surface below. These meteors interfere with nature’s…Read more Chaotic Earth Continue reading

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Life On Other Worlds

The search for exoplanets is one of the most exciting projects in science today. The possibility of earth-like worlds harboring intelligent life is what has electrified most science fiction geeks. With enough funding, the possibilities are endless! Our ability to detect these elusive worlds has improved since our first discovery two decades ago. In late…Read more Life On Other Worlds Continue reading

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The Terrestrial Worlds

The planets of the Solar System dramatically vary from massive gaseous, ringed giants to miniature rocky terrestrials. The celestial bodies are also at such great distances that no map of our Solar System can truly illustrate both the distances and relative sizes to scale. The terrestrial planets are relatively similar in size and composition, but…Read more The Terrestrial Worlds Continue reading

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The Voyagers

Image of The Voyager 2  The study of astronomy has been made easier and easier day by day because of the powerful man-made space probes.  Two spacecrafts that I find very interesting is from the Voyager Program, called Voyager 2. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were two of the human-made most distant objects, other than… Continue reading The Voyagers Continue reading

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Dating Everyday Objects?

Radiometric dating is generally used for items in our solar system that exponentially older than humans. The composition of an object is evaluated for its ratio of parent and daughter isotopes. This ratio will provide a good estimate of an object’s age if we know the corresponding half-life. But can we use this same process […] Continue reading

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Earth vs. Theia! First and Last Round!

I have a thing for stuff that is outrageous, different and intriguing. Greek Gods, bizarre happenings in space, and archaic events? Yes, please! So, I just recently learned about how Moon was the result of an ancient collision between old Earth (or some people call it Gaia) and another theoretical planet named Theia 4.5 billion … Continue reading Earth vs. Theia! First and Last Round! Continue reading

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Planet Past Pluto?

In the image above, the red oval represents the suggested path of an elusive planet called Planet X. Astronomers have been observing the orbits of objects in our Solar System and have decided there’s a strong possibility a ninth planet, almost the size of Neptune, is orbiting our Sun. Although Planet X has yet to… Continue reading Planet Past Pluto? Continue reading

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Mission to Europa

NASA has plans to launch a satellite headed to Europa! The Europa Clipper is planned to complete 45 flybys around Europa at varying heights above the surface (16 miles to 1,700 miles) and collect crucial data about Jupiter’s large moon. Scientists are hoping to gather information about the planet’s icy crust, its depth, and what… Continue reading Mission to Europa Continue reading

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Diamond Rain?

Scientists are exploring the idea that diamonds rain down from the skies on Saturn and Jupiter. Methane exists in abundance in the atmospheres of these planets, and lighting storms turn this methane into soot (which is pure carbon). As the soot falls toward the planet’s surface, it hardens under intense pressures and forms small diamonds about… Continue reading Diamond Rain? Continue reading

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The Voyager Golden Record

  The Voyager Golden Record was a disc of sounds and images included with both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, both designed to study Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 went on to study Uranus and Neptune, and is the only spacecraft to have visited them. However, these spacecraft are still gathering and emitting data even […] Continue reading

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