Monthly Archives: April 2023

Final Thoughts..

Blog 8? That doesn’t sound right. It feels like yesterday I designed my website and wrote my first post. Throughout the course of Astronomy 2110 I have explored the universe in many aspects. What sticks with me most, however, is how exactly we got to our current deep understanding of the universe.  Would Kepler have […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Universe | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Final Thoughts..

Call Me Maybe?

Unfortunately, I come to the conclusion at the end of this class that it is extremely unlikely, and mathematically almost impossible, that we will receive any extraterrestrial contact within our lifetime. Reading about SETI makes me happy that humans have thought to reach out and prioritized it in a way (it is a very expensive […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Call Me Maybe?

some final thoughts

When I started this class, I didn’t expect to find so many connections between astronomy and they other subjects I’m interested in! I am majoring in philosophy and political science, subjects that I believed to be totally independent from the physics and history of our universe. Thankfully, I was very wrong! I still am shocked […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, General, Universe | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on some final thoughts

the fermi paradox

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, a British science fiction author, said that “two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying”. And he was exactly right! The more that we learn about and explore the universe, the more we learn about the possibility of life out there, […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens, Class, Observables | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on the fermi paradox

Fast Radio Bursts

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are a phenomenon in astrophysics that has captivated researchers since their discovery in 2007. These are short-lived but extremely powerful bursts of radio waves that originate from far beyond our own galaxy. The duration of these bursts is typically measured in milliseconds, but during that time, they can emit as […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens, Class, Science | Tagged , | Comments Off on Fast Radio Bursts

“Where is everybody?”

The Fermi Paradox has puzzled scientists and philosophers for over half a century. It is named after Enrico Fermi, the Italian American physicist who, during a lunchtime conversation in 1950, asked, “Where is everybody?” Fermi was referring to the apparent contradiction between the high probability of the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and the lack […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens, Class, Science | Tagged , , | Comments Off on “Where is everybody?”

Blog 8 – The History of Venus

When asked to picture Venus, many of us picture a hot, volcanic, inhabitable place — and we would be correct. However, science suggests that it may not have always been this way. A study of five different climate simulations of Venus found that in each of these scenarios, the planet could have supported liquid water […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Terrestrials | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Blog 8 – The History of Venus

Blog 7 – Where did life on Earth come from?

Many people, myself included, may have assumed that life developed here on Earth and evolved from there. However, other promising theories suggest that life may have originated elsewhere and then traveled to Earth on meteorites. These theories are called panspermia theories. Although space is a very harsh vacuum environment, experiments have determined that a number […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens, Class | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Blog 7 – Where did life on Earth come from?

Political Economics of Space Exploration

Image from NASA Press Release I remember when I was young thinking, why haven’t we put humans on Mars yet? We have the feasibility to do so, but why? The answer comes down to the intersection between power politics and economics that often hamper, restrict and sometimes fuel the drive for space exploration. Before this […] Continue reading

Posted in Public Policy, Space Travel | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Political Economics of Space Exploration

Scientists Dream of Complex Life on Europa

Images from BBC Article on Europan Life and CNET Article on Proposed NASA Rover The search for extraterrestrial life is often focused upon deep space with distances the human mind can barely comprehend. However, evidence has been building that complex life could be present in our cosmological backyard on the icy moon of Europa. The […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens, Moons | Tagged , | Comments Off on Scientists Dream of Complex Life on Europa