Daily Archives: March 9, 2020

Fusion on Earth

In conversations surrounding the transition from fossil fuels to green energy, solar, wind, and biofuels are the most common alternatives that are brought up. Solar energy, as the name implies, comes from the sun, but wind energy and biofuels made from energy crops are ultimately also derived from converted solar power. But what if weContinue reading “Fusion on Earth” Continue reading

Posted in Stars | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Fusion on Earth

Blog #4: Statistics Behind Our Solar System

A concept that has always intrigued me is the possibility of life on Earth. It seems like every topic we cover reveals another statistical improbability that has allowed life to exist on Earth at all. For example, we are just far enough from the sun that we have an atmosphere, but not so far fromContinue reading “Blog #4: Statistics Behind Our Solar System” Continue reading

Posted in Class, Universe | Tagged , | Comments Off on Blog #4: Statistics Behind Our Solar System

Blog #3: Spacecraft

Spacecraft is a topic that takes relatively simple mechanics and merges it with the already fairly complex topic of astrophysics to create an extremely complicated topic that has gained notoriety for becoming considered one of the most difficult professions in existence (think of “this isn’t rocket science”). Something interesting to me about spacecraft is this:Continue reading “Blog #3: Spacecraft” Continue reading

Posted in Class, Universe | Tagged , | Comments Off on Blog #3: Spacecraft

How do we name our Solar System?

We all remember learning the mnemonic device in elementary school: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles (or whatever variation you prefer). Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, the eight planets of our solar system. But what do these names actually mean? How do planets and moons and other stuff inContinue reading “How do we name our Solar System?” Continue reading

Posted in Moons | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How do we name our Solar System?

SOHO, the Sun-Watching Satellite

For my post this week, I decided to explore and learn about a spacecraft that I was not familiar with. After some research, I came across SOHO. SOHO is the longest-lived Sun-watching satellite to date. SOHO over its lifetime has been able to observe two full 11-year solar cycles and discover thousands of comets closeContinue reading “SOHO, the Sun-Watching Satellite” Continue reading

Posted in Class, Sun | Tagged , , | Comments Off on SOHO, the Sun-Watching Satellite