Monthly Archives: March 2021

Binary Stars

Posted on March 20, 2021 by ben141414

A binary star is a star system of two stars that orbit around the central point, called the barycenter. In conversation, binary stars are sometimes casually referred to as double stars. Binary star systems or multiple star systems (3+ stars in orbit in the same system) are actually way more common than you might think.Continue reading “Binary Stars” Continue reading →

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Comet

Posted on March 20, 2021 by justinboreskyvanderbiltedu

Is it a bird? a plane? a superhero? No it’s a Comet! Comet’s are “cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbit the Sun”. Comet’s generally range from the size of 750 meters to 20 kilometers. Currently there are 3,717 comets known to man. Comet’s form from dust particles combining to form icyContinue reading “Comet” Continue reading →

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Europa and Possible Life

Posted on March 20, 2021 by thestarstudent

Europa is one of Jupiter’s 79 moons and is slightly smaller than Earth’s moon. It’s surface is covered in salty water that is almost twice the amount of water in all of Earth’s oceans combined. Covering all this water is a 10-15 mile thick sheet of ice. The inner part of the moon is thoughtContinue reading “Europa and Possible Life” Continue reading →

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Geological Map of the Moon

Posted on March 20, 2021 by thestarstudent

The United States Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center and NASA worked together to create a complete geological map of the Moon in early 2020. The map shows the immense amount of impact craters on the moon’s surface. It was made with information from six maps from the Apollo-era in conjunction with modern data. Specifically, dataContinue reading “Geological Map of the Moon” Continue reading →

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Climate Change and Animals

Posted on March 20, 2021 by justinboreskyvanderbiltedu

Since the industrial revolution humans have become the most selfish species in the world. With growth in mind we started removing trees and releasing chemicals into the air and water with no regards for it’s potential impact. Now a few centuries later its impact is seen in climate change. Climate change has been caused byContinue reading “Climate Change and Animals” Continue reading →

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The Secrets of Perseverance

Posted on March 20, 2021 by lorenzchen14

Solution to Perseverance’s parachute code, posted by Adam Steltzner When the Perseverance Rover landed on Feb.18, 2021, the parachute that was used appeared very unique, with a combination of orange and white strips. Coupled with the fact that in a conference, Allen Chen (the engineer in charge of the landing system) said, “we leave messagesContinue reading “The Secrets of Perseverance” Continue reading →

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The Danger of a Coronal Mass Ejection

Posted on March 19, 2021 by brianknapp

A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is essentially a powerful expulsion of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona, or the sort of aura of plasma that surrounds our Sun. While they have an extremely cool name, and seem pretty neat, they could actually have a pretty significant impact on humanity. The Sun has an incrediblyContinue reading “The Danger of a Coronal Mass Ejection” Continue reading →

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Maybe Microfossils on Mars?

Posted on March 19, 2021 by brianknapp

NASA’s most recent Mars mission sent a new rover to the Red Planet – her name is Perseverance. The mission launched late last July and successfully landed just last month, utilizing a variation of the sky crane maneuver initially developed for the Curiosity mission (another blog post worth of material). Perseverance is now searching forContinue reading “Maybe Microfossils on Mars?” Continue reading →

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Is Buying Land on the Moon a Real Possibility?

Posted on March 19, 2021 by lauryn28

I’m sure many people have seen companies offering an acre of land for sale on the moon (here’s an example). Many people, celebrities included, have bought into this and have purchased acres of land. However, how real is this claim to land on the moon? The reality of the subject is that no one canContinue reading “Is Buying Land on the Moon a Real Possibility?” Continue reading →

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Surface Features of Mercury

Posted on March 19, 2021 by lauryn28

Mercury is a terrestrial planet, though it is quite different in appearance than Earth. It’s grey rocky surface more resembles that of the moon, however unlike the moon Mercury has a liquid iron core and is much denser. Moreover, Mercury’s surface features paint an interesting story of past geological occurrences. Mercury formed around 4.6 billionContinue reading “Surface Features of Mercury” Continue reading →

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