Monthly Archives: April 2023

Lightning on Jupiter

Posted on April 9, 2023 by sadiekarr

How fitting that mysterious lightning has been observed on the planet named after the god of sky and storms! Lightning on Jupiter has been reported multiple times over the years during multiple space missions: the 1979 Voyager mission, 1990s Galileo Jupiter mission, and again during the 2007 New Horizons mission. Now that we’ve got Juno […] Continue reading →

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The Frozen World: Pluto

Posted on April 9, 2023 by sahilreddy2

Pluto’s Icey Surface taken from the New Horizons Spacecraft Pluto is one of the most interesting “planets” in our solar system and for decades now has had constant debate surrounding it. Pluto has an extremely thin atmosphere, one that is a lot thinner than ours on earth that is made up of primarily nitrogen. Its […] Continue reading →

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Post 6

Posted on April 9, 2023 by berlinbe

Many people may remember the last total solar eclipse that was visible from North America. It occurred on August 21, 2017. The next total solar eclipse that covers North America, and the only one for the next 20 years, will occur on April 8, 2024—almost one year from today. Total solar eclipses are a fascinating […] Continue reading →

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Blog #5: Pluto

Posted on April 9, 2023 by Astro 2110

The above photo was captured by the New Horizons Spacecraft and enhanced by NASA in 2015. Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet and is located in the Kuiper Belt in the far reaches of the Solar System. The average surface temperature on Pluto is around -233°C. This is because Pluto receives very little sunlight […] Continue reading →

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Blog 6 – Io

Posted on April 9, 2023 by kevkoppa123

Io is one of the 4 Galilean moons of Jupiter and it is the most volcanically active body in our solar system, continually repaving its surface with volcanic eruptions. Consequently, there are no craters on Io, indicating that its surface is extremely young. The outgassing of sulfur dioxide from Io’s volcanoes strengthens Jupiter’s magnetosphere, creates […] Continue reading →

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Blog 5 – Pluto

Posted on April 9, 2023 by kevkoppa123

Pluto is a dwarf planet located in the Kuiper belt with an orbit time of roughly 248 years, as it is about 40 AU from the Sun on average. Relative to the eight planets on our solar system, its orbit is much more elliptical and inclined to the ecliptic plane, allowing it to get closer […] Continue reading →

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Post 5

Posted on April 9, 2023 by berlinbe

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) declared that Pluto was not a planet, but rather a dwarf planet. This was largely because Pluto is relatively small (smaller than our moon) and it belongs to the Kuiper Belt—a body of comets/large objects that orbit the sun on the outer edges of the solar system. This […] Continue reading →

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Exoplanet – VHS 1256b

Posted on April 9, 2023 by lightwyrs

There have been over 5,000 exoplanets discovered to this day. Amongst those 5,000 is exoplanet VHS 1256b. This exoplanet is about 40 light years away from Earth. It was discovered fairly recently with the James Webb Telescope, and it is especially interesting because of its relatively young astronomical age. This exoplanet was formed only about […] Continue reading →

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A World Where It Rains Glass

Posted on April 9, 2023 by georgeboardman20

Image Source This planet, HD 189733b, is the first exoplanet to have its color confirmed. We now know it is a deep, dark blue from a technique called secondary eclipse that scientists used to determine its albedo. As the planet was just about to finish transiting its host star relative to us, scientists measured light […] Continue reading →

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Blog Post 5: Ultima Thule

Posted on April 9, 2023 by Myles7235

Most people have New Years goals of going to the gym more or spending more time with their family. The New Horizons team had a New Years goal to capture a clear image of Ultima Thule, the furthest known Kuiper belt object at that time, on a New Years flyby. Most people will look at […] Continue reading →

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