Monthly Archives: April 2018

Odd One Out

Posted on April 8, 2018 by Katie

  Neptune’s moon Triton is a peculiar world in the Solar System. It just doesn’t fit with any solar system formation theory and the mysteries still remain. Why does the moon orbit backwards? Why is the surface so smooth? Is there a subsurface ocean? If a collision caused the backwards orbit, why does Triton still … Continue reading Odd One Out Continue reading →

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Some Interesting Facts about Uranus

Posted on April 7, 2018 by lin0214

Uranus is one of the gas giants in our solar system. Unlike most of the objects in our solar system, Uranus is rotating in an opposite direction, which means it is rotating clockwise if viewed from Earth’s north pole. However, this is not a unique feature. In fact, Venus does this as well. Uranus’s tile … Continue reading Some Interesting Facts about Uranus → Continue reading →

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Planet X: The Real 9th Planet?

Posted on April 7, 2018 by aquarianastronomy

With Pluto’s demotion to a “dwarf planet,” the solar system was left with 8 planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It now seems that the number 8 may not survive for long, as researchers are now searching for a 9th planet that they think exists in the far-away outer solar system. […] Continue reading →

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Pluto: the Eccentric “Planet”

Posted on April 7, 2018 by aquarianastronomy

Most of us have heard of Pluto’s downgrade from the category of planet to “dwarf planet,” but it is less well-known why it was demoted. One of the main reasons had nothing to do with size and everything to do with Pluto’s strange orbit. Instead of orbiting with the sun roughly at the center of […] Continue reading →

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Blog 6: Jupiter Fluid Dynamics

Posted on April 7, 2018 by battismm

Jupiter has a very thick atmosphere with lots of temperature difference causing strong convective currents. These convective currents and Jupiter’s fast rotation give the planet it’s colorful bands and demonstrate different fluid behaviors. The image above, captured by the Juno Spacecraft, shows a storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere. The eddies are similar to that caused by vortex … Continue reading Blog 6: Jupiter Fluid Dynamics Continue reading →

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~Gravitational Waves~

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Caroline Henning

Gravitational waves!! Only recently detected even indirectly, they offer some evidence to support Einstein’s theory of relativity from the early twentieth century. The theory states that dense, heavy objects (like Earth, for example) distort space-time in the same way a marble would bend a normally flat stretch of fabric. When two extremely dense objects (such … Continue reading ~Gravitational Waves~ → Continue reading →

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Facts About Callisto

Posted on April 7, 2018 by lin0214

Callisto is one of Jupiter’s moons, and it is one of the four Galilean moons. Compared to Earth’s Moon, Callisto’s diameter is about 1.4 times that of the Moon and 1.5 times in mass. The distance between its parent planet, Jupiter, and Callisto is about 5 times the distance between Earth and our Moon. From … Continue reading Facts About Callisto → Continue reading →

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The Great Titan

Posted on April 7, 2018 by adventuresinspace

Titan Picture Source Titan is Saturn’s Largest moon (the second largest moon in the solar system), and was discovered in 1655. Titan is almost the size of the largest moon, which is Ganymede (Jupiter’s largest moon). However, despite their similar size and relatively similar distance from the Sun, Titan has characteristics that Ganymede does not. … Continue reading The Great Titan → Continue reading →

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Blog 5: Saturn’s Rings

Posted on April 7, 2018 by battismm

Saturn’s most distinct feature is its stunning rings, visible even through basic telescopes! Thanks to flyby and orbiter missions around the planet, we have wonderful photos of Saturn and its rings. The image above shows the rings on the night side of Saturn, part of which fall into the planet’s shadows and the other part … Continue reading Blog 5: Saturn’s Rings Continue reading →

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Pluto

Posted on April 7, 2018 by adventuresinspace

Picture Source- Forbes Pluto was discovered in 1930, and at the time was considered the ninth planet of our Solar System. With further exploration, scientists realized that Pluto is actually part of a larger set of worlds that are a part of the Kuiper Belt. Pluto was then reclassified into a  dwarf planet. Pluto is … Continue reading Pluto → Continue reading →

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