Monthly Archives: May 2021

ExploreMoons

Jupiter has a total of 53 named moons. That is more than any other planet in our solar system. The four largest moons ( Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede) are called the Galilean Satellites. They were named after the astronomer Galileo who first discovered them. These four each have distinct characteristics that distinguish them fromContinue reading “ExploreMoons” Continue reading

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Moons are Cool!

One thing that I think is going to stick with me the most is how cools moons are. Entering this class all I knew was our moon, and although that’s our girl, been here since day one, she’s pretty basic (no offense Luna, I still love you). So, I though all moons were like her, […] Continue reading

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Meet the Snottite

I would like to introduce you to the Snottite. The Snottite is a microbial mat of extremophilic bacteria that hang around walls and ceiling of caves just like stalactites. That’s maybe why they have the same suffix. But yes, it does get its name for its mucus like consistency but they are every bit extremophile. […] Continue reading

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Where are they?

The likelihood of life outside of our planet is a heavily debated topic.  Overall, it seems reasonable to assume that with all of the unexplored universe around us, and the conditions required to sustain life that are not all that hard to find, there should be plenty examples of life elsewhere.  Despite this, and the overwhelming beliefContinue reading “Where are they?” Continue reading

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Blog 8: My Newly Formed Perspective

It’s weird to think about how this will be the final assignment for our astronomy class. Throughout the semester, my understanding of the vast universe we exist in has deepened, further changing my perspective of our world and humanity’s role within it. In this class, we studied the basic processes of the universe, from itsContinue reading “Blog 8: My Newly Formed Perspective” Continue reading

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Microlensing

Here’s a way to detect exoplanets you may have not heard of before! Microlensing is a technique that looks at how light is bent in the gravitational field surrounding a planetary system passing its star. The refraction creates “distorted, multiple, and/or brightened images.” All of these images are combined into one image. This image’s brightnessContinue reading “Microlensing” Continue reading

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The Fermi Paradox

The Fermi Paradox is a baffling observation about the galaxy and extraterrestrial life. The paradox asks, given all of the plausible explanations and arguments for the abundance of life in the universe, why haven’t we encountered signs of such life yet? With a self-replicating automatons and “modest amount of rocket power and an immodest desireContinue reading “The Fermi Paradox” Continue reading

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Microscopic but Adorable!

One of the biggest indicators that there is other life in the universe we can see by looking at our own world.  All around us, in some of the most unexpected places, we can find thriving extremophiles.  These tiny creatures live under conditions that no other living beings on Earth could.  Despite their seemingly odd love of intenseContinue reading “Microscopic but Adorable!” Continue reading

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All about Aurora

The Northern Lights are one of the most intriguing phenomena of the natural world, and have been attributed to many different things throughout history. The name itself comes from Galileo, who names them after the Roman goddess Aurora, who in Greek was known as Eos and described as rosy-fingered. Many cultures have their own interpretationsContinue reading “All about Aurora” Continue reading

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Looking Back Over This Semester

I’ll begin this post by warning that it’s going to be a rather frank conversation about some mental health stuff. Nothing concerning or whatever, but I thought I’d put that out front.  Throughout this semester, I have struggled with my mental health. For me, this is mostly in the form of OCD, particularly obsessive thoughtContinue reading “Looking Back Over This Semester” Continue reading

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