Daily Archives: April 4, 2017

Blog 6 – Is the Solar System Unique?

Among the most asked questions regarding space are ‘is there intelligent life outside of Earth’ and ‘is our solar system unique’?  So far, science has not found a planetary system quite like our own.  This makes one wonder if our existence is rare or even unique, or if not enough data been found to make […] Continue reading

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The Hunt For Exoplanets

Space is huge. Really, really huge. And empty. Occasionally, here and there, you’ll stumble across an asteroid, or planet, or perhaps even a star. But all in all, space is exactly what its name states: empty space. It’s difficult to fully appreciate just how gargantuan the universe is, and, beyond that, just how spacey it is. This interactive […] Continue reading

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Specific Europa Mission Currently Under Works, Now Named

In the quest to find habitable bodies, Jupiter’s moon Europa has been a high priority on the exploration list due to its liquid saltwater ocean underneath its ice crust. Three key ingredients for life must be present in order for biological activity to take place: liquid water, chemical ingredients, and energy sources able to enable […] Continue reading

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Blog 6: Trio of Solar Flares

Between April 2 to the 3 of 2017, three solar flares peaked out of the sun. Solar flares send out powerful bursts of radiation. This radiation is harmful, but luckily cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to harm humans. These solar flares however can affect, if strong enough, to disturb atmosphere layers where GPS and communication […] Continue reading

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Diamonds Are A Planet’s Best Friend

All planets with an atmosphere experience weather of some kind. An atmosphere allows a planet to experience wind and various forms of precipitation. On Earth, precipitation comes in the form of liquid and frozen water. Scientists have reasons to believe that on Jupiter and Saturn instead of raining water it rains diamonds. Saturn has an atmosphere that […] Continue reading

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Personal Space

Some 13,000 light-years away, in the Camelopardalis, or giraffe, constellation lies a rather unique binary star.  Two young, massive, blue stars are orbiting each other so quickly that they make a full revolution in a mere 28 hours.  In fact, the two stars of the MY Camelopardalis system are orbiting one another so closely that […] Continue reading

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Blog 5: Pluto

Pluto’s atmosphere is layered making observations hard to figure out. While its atmosphere appears to be mostly cloud free, images taken by the new horizons’ cameras have shown potential clouds. These clouds would mean that the weather on Pluto is even more complex than previously understood or imaged.   Pluto’s surface is icy and has […] Continue reading

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Enceladus

Enceladus, also known as Saturn II (and my favorite moon in the solar system), is one of the innermost and also the sixth largest moon of Saturn. This moon has an orbital period of 33 hours and reflects almost 100% of the sunlight that strikes, due to it’s icey surface. It was discovered in August […] Continue reading

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Blog 5 – Comet Composition

Comets are the relatively small, icy objects that orbit a star.  They are classified as “small solar system bodies”, as are asteroids.  Along with ice, they contain rocky dust and other complex chemicals, leading them to be described as “dirty snowballs.”  Spectra can be used to determine the composition of comets.  From them, we know […] Continue reading

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Blog #6: Space Weather: Impact on Earth

We usually think of the Sun as providing us with only a few things such as light and heat, however, the Sun’s impact on Earth extends far beyond that. One additional way that the Sun impacts Earth is through the spewing of products of the Sun’s atmosphere directly toward Earth. The Sun releases electrically charged […] Continue reading

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