Daily Archives: March 5, 2023

Hohmann Transfer Orbit

Posted on March 5, 2023 by aaronxu041009

In Andy Weir’s The Martian, NASA plans to send a supply probe to Mars to save the stranded astronaut Mark Watney through what’s called the ‘Hohmann Transfer Orbit‘. What exactly is the Hohmann transfer orbit? And when the carrying capacity of rockets is limited, why does a probe following this orbit saves limited and precious […] Continue reading →

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Earth and Us

Posted on March 5, 2023 by cuia2

I’ve always wondered how rare it is for Earth to exist and support life on it, and now I know that out of the billions of solar systems, Earth is the only planet we know of to support life on it currently. Earth had to be at just the right distance from the Sun for […] Continue reading →

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Chelyabinsk event

Posted on March 5, 2023 by andrewccascio

On the morning of February 15, 2013, an undetected meteor the size of a six-story building exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia. At 20 meters long, it reached speeds of 60,000 km/h before detonating with the force of a 500-kiloton nuclear bomb. Witnesses saw a flash brighter than the Sun before hearing a delayed […] Continue reading →

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Blog 3 – Nuclear Fusion

Posted on March 5, 2023 by kevkoppa123

Nuclear fusion is the process of combining, or fusing, two or more small nuclei into a larger one, creating energy as a byproduct. Stars like the Sun constantly emit energy through nuclear fusion because their cores are filled with high-speed, hot plasma. More specifically, the Sun’s extremely hot core of 15 million K allows for […] Continue reading →

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Olympus Mons

Posted on March 5, 2023 by andrewccascio

Currently the largest known volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons stands at a remarkable 25 km high, which is almost 3 times the height of Mount Everest, and is wide as Arizona. Compared to the largest active volcano on Earth, Mauna Loa, Olympus Mons is 100 times larger in volume, a seemingly odd feat […] Continue reading →

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The Moon Illusion

Posted on March 5, 2023 by sydneyastr2110

We saw a really cool picture of the Moon during class that was taken when it was near the horizon with an ancient Greek temple in front of it. The Moon looked unusually large, and I wanted to know more. The reason for the Moon appearing much larger when it is rising and setting is […] Continue reading →

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All About Aurorae

Posted on March 5, 2023 by 7smessier45

As the title suggests, our topic for today is Earth’s aurorae (pronounced auh-ror-eye). These stunning displays generally occur in two symmetrical oval rings about the planet’s far northern and southern regions–Earth’s magnetic north and south poles. When they happen in the north, aurorae are often referred to as the northern lights or Aurora Borealis. Likewise, […] Continue reading →

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