Monthly Archives: March 2017

Super-Earth(s)?

Posted on March 28, 2017 by nazshaiful

The idea of discovering new “Earth-like” planets has always intrigue me! I mean, they could be habitable planets that we can ACTUALLY live in? Just like in Terra Nova (I’ll explain more about that series in the end of this post!). Super-Earth, in short, means exoplanets in which their masses are higher than Earth’s, extra … Continue reading Super-Earth(s)? Continue reading →

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Life: A Love Story

Posted on March 28, 2017 by brynnabhall

Sitting in my late-night astronomy lab last night, we watched a computer simulation (based completely on real, observed data) take us out as far into the universe as our understanding has gone. Starting in the Himalayas, Tibet, then Planet Earth, and rapidly, sooner than I thought possible, we were so far out of my realm … More Life: A Love Story Continue reading →

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Pluto the Dwarf Planet

Posted on March 27, 2017 by josiezd

Many of us remember Pluto as the used-to-be 9th planet in our solar system that was demoted to a dwarf planet. So what makes Pluto a dwarf planet and not a planet? What is interesting about Pluto, and, if it was so small, how exactly was it discovered earlier than other dwarf planets? Continue reading →

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Naming the Moons

Posted on March 27, 2017 by brynnabhall

For my mother’s 50th birthday, we bought her a star. Though arbitrary, I remember the immense amount of pressure that I felt when I was trying to give the star a name, knowing that (at least in our household) I was participating in the excavation of the final frontier, putting a little mark in my … More Naming the Moons Continue reading →

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The Solar Wind: Seeing with Eyes Shut

Posted on March 27, 2017 by brynnabhall

When thinking about outer space at a much more basic level, I remember being taught to think of the word “vacuum.” And as the narrator says in the video I watched, the space between planets is far from empty. A unique aspect of the sun’s weather known as the solar wind fills up some of … More The Solar Wind: Seeing with Eyes Shut Continue reading →

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Blog 6- Trump Budget and Science

Posted on March 22, 2017 by sullivrs

While not directly related to Astro 2110, I think that it is important to touch on the potential ramifications of the President’s recently released budget for the scientific community.  While it is unlikely that this exact budget will be passed, I think that it is nonetheless important to analyze.  It seems as though while the Trump… Continue reading →

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Blog 5-Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

Posted on March 22, 2017 by sullivrs

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot- a huge storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere- has been ongoing for seemingly as long as people have pointed their telescopes toward the planet; this means that the storm has continued for at least approximately 400 years, and most likely more.  The storm itself is twice Earth’s size.  It is known that storms on… Continue reading →

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Blog 4- Voyager Missions and Chuck Berry

Posted on March 22, 2017 by sullivrs

Music fans around the world mourned the loss of Chuck Berry after his death on March 18th.  Credited by many as the original rocker, his use of the double stop, his stage presence, and masterful songwriting skills came to define what a rocker should aspire to emulate. When the Voyager Program was officially kicked off… Continue reading →

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Formation of the Solar System

Posted on March 20, 2017 by josiezd

Approximately 13.8 billion years ago, an interstellar cloud of gas known as the solar nebula collapsed under its own gravity due to some cataclysmic event… Continue reading →

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Blog #2: Archaeoastronomy, or Ancient Astronomy

Posted on March 12, 2017 by jettsingh

Archaeoastronomy is the study of the practice of astronomy in prehistory, or Ancient Astronomy. Once the subject of much debate by scientists, it is now accepted that astronomy was indeed practiced in prehistory. Human astronomical observations began in the Palaeolithic period, with the discovery of “decorated Baboon fibula with 29 parallel notches incised notches from Kwazulu… Continue reading Blog #2: Archaeoastronomy, or Ancient Astronomy Continue reading →

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