Monthly Archives: March 2020

Living on Titan?

Posted on March 29, 2020 by seths1

Could human beings inhabit Titan, one of Saturn’s moons? Titan is one of the least hostile places for humans in the outer solar system. Titan has liquid methane lakes and oceans on its surface, and even has weather. Titan’s atmosphere is very dense – 95% nitrogen and 5% methane. The gravity on Titan is slightlyContinue reading “Living on Titan?” Continue reading →

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Why is Pluto No Longer a Planet?

Posted on March 29, 2020 by dannydonofrio217

It’s no secret Pluto has been out of the privileged circle of celestial bodies to be considered planets for over a decade now. But many don’t realize what events led to this ousting, and the reasonings for doing so. Pluto had long since been considered a planet since its discovery in the 1930’s. Yet startingContinue reading “Why is Pluto No Longer a Planet?” Continue reading →

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Could There be Life on Europa?

Posted on March 29, 2020 by phildowd

Europa is one of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, meaning it’s one of the four largest moons that orbit Jupiter. What makes it particularly special is that it is considered one of the most likely places in our solar system (outside of Earth) that might contain life. Now, at a glance, it seems like that shouldn’t beContinue reading “Could There be Life on Europa?” Continue reading →

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Large Asteroid Flyby on April 29th

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Phillip Yoon

If you’ve been scrolling through random news articles over the past few weeks, you may have come across an article about a large asteroid that may end human civilization if it strikes the Earth. Just to be clear, this asteroid will not hit Earth and will barely have any effect on civilization. NASA is currentlyContinue reading “Large Asteroid Flyby on April 29th” Continue reading →

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The Interiors of the Giants of the Solar System

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Jonah

The giants of our solar system, other than the Sun of course, are quite different from the terrestrial planets whether it comes to the atmospheres, the surfaces, size, or other planetary features. One key difference is the interior of these giant planets. Terrestrial planets, for context, have a very dense core followed by a rockyContinue reading “The Interiors of the Giants of the Solar System” Continue reading →

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Saturn on Steroids

Posted on March 29, 2020 by alexsolarsystem

Way out in the constellation Centaurus is a peculiar solar system 434 light years away that fascinates astronomers. The central star, named 1SWASP, is similar to our Sun in size and doesn’t appear to have any unusual characteristics for a main-sequence star. However, it was discovered in 2007 that 1SWASP is orbited by one enormousContinue reading “Saturn on Steroids” Continue reading →

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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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