Monthly Archives: April 2019

Halley’s Comet

Posted on April 7, 2019 by richardtli

In 2061, Halley’s Comet will return to pass by Earth in 75-year long round trip across the solar system. But what else do we know about this mysterious visitor? Studying the reports of comet sightings in 1531, 1607, and 1682, Edmond Halley deduced that these comets were in fact the same one and that it … Continue reading Halley’s Comet → Continue reading →

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Enceladus

Posted on April 7, 2019 by luanaisaac1125

Enceladus is a medium-size moon of Saturn, with a diameter of about 500 km. Its surface temperature is quite chilly, ranging between 32.9 K (-240 degrees Celsius) and 145 K (-128 degrees Celsius); this is partially because of its distance from the Sun, and also because of its highly reflective surface. The entire moon is … Continue reading Enceladus → Continue reading →

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Blog 5: TESS

Posted on April 6, 2019 by Katie

NASA’s new exoplanet telescope, the TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), was launched April 18, 2018 and is expected to find 20,000 exoplanets during its 2 year primary mission. This is huge increase compared to the 3,933 that are currently confirmed. Among these planets will hopefully be multiple rocky planets in the habitable zone, or zone … Continue reading Blog 5: TESS → Continue reading →

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A Moon Above the Rest: Jupiter’s Moon Ganymede

Posted on April 2, 2019 by reallyroyalqueen

Galileo Galilei discovered many “luminous objects” in 1610 that were orbiting Jupiter. Thought to be stars, it was discovered that they were moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System and is even larger than the planet Mercury. It is the only satellite in the Solar System known to possess a … Continue reading A Moon Above the Rest: Jupiter’s Moon Ganymede → Continue reading →

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Asteroid Defense Systems

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Jonathan Roberts

As it currently stands, Earth has no recourse if a large asteroid decides to strike. Something on the scale of the Cretaceous-Paleogene event would devastate humanity. So, how do we protect ourselves against such an impact? Enter NASA and the “National Near-Earth Object Preparedness and Strategy Plan.” According to them, five steps need to be … Continue reading Asteroid Defense Systems → Continue reading →

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