Daily Archives: March 29, 2020

Sirens of Titan

Posted on March 29, 2020 by clairesspacejam

The lectures from this unit, especially chapter 11 about the Jovian planets, reminded me of one of my favorite books; Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. The novel is a comical science fiction story that chronicles the origin of Malachi Constant, a profit predestined to be sent into space and return to start a newContinue reading “Sirens of Titan” Continue reading →

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The Real Villain in Pluto’s Demise

Posted on March 29, 2020 by avighitterman

The removal of Pluto as a planet was an emotional blow to anyone with a heart. It was a devastating betrayal leaving many asking questions that no one wanted to hear the answers to. While there were many reasons behind Pluto’s status change, the ultimate culprit is the dwarf planet Eris. Eris was discovered inContinue reading “The Real Villain in Pluto’s Demise” Continue reading →

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Meet Makemake: The Dwarf Planet Partially Responsible for Pluto’s Demotion

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Jack

Pluto was discovered in 1930, and was classified as a planet. In 2006, as most of us probably know, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. A significant amount of the population, whether justified or not, are opposed to the removal of Pluto from the official list of planets, primarily out of nostalgia for oneContinue reading “Meet Makemake: The Dwarf Planet Partially Responsible for Pluto’s Demotion” Continue reading →

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Wasp-76b

Posted on March 29, 2020 by jackfumagalli

Two weeks ago, scientists observed an iron rain type phenomenon on an exoplanet known as Wasp-76b. Wasp-76b is a gas giant that is located approximately 640 light years away from the constellation Pisces. Wasp-76b orbits a different sun in its own galaxy. The distance between Wasp-76b and the sun it orbits is about 3% ofContinue reading “Wasp-76b” Continue reading →

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Could Pluto Become a Planet Again?

Posted on March 29, 2020 by katelynmofield

When I learned the order of the planets in elementary school, Pluto was still considered a planet. About 14 years ago, it was demoted to a dwarf planet. The International Astronomical Union has three criteria in determining planetary status. It is in an orbit around the sun, it has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium,Continue reading “Could Pluto Become a Planet Again?” Continue reading →

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The Importance of Extrasolar Planets

Posted on March 29, 2020 by andyyangdk

Extrasolar planets, often called exoplanets, are planets that exist in other solar systems other than our own. These planets are very hard to find and study because their light is fainter than the light given off by the stars which they orbit. In 1992, astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail noticed several planets orbiting theContinue reading “The Importance of Extrasolar Planets” Continue reading →

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Big Planets’ Moons and Life Outside “Habitability”

Posted on March 29, 2020 by remieri

Astrobiology has long relied on the concept of a “habitable zone”, that is a zone around a star that is the right distance from said star to hold liquid water, and therefore life. This concept is absolutely valuable, especially insofar as it allows us to classify new exoplanets and identify potential exoplanets that may hostContinue reading “Big Planets’ Moons and Life Outside “Habitability”” Continue reading →

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What do we know about exomoons?

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Avery Bradley

Unfortunately, this question has an easy answer: not much. So far, no exoplanet has been confirmed to have a moon, even though scientists are detecting planets the size of the Jovians. Even though nothing has been confirmed, however, there have been some interesting potential discoveries. We say potential because again, the systems are so farContinue reading “What do we know about exomoons?” Continue reading →

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