Monthly Archives: April 2023

Blog Post 6: Gravitational Slingshot

Posted on April 9, 2023 by Myles7235

Have you ever played with a slingshot to shoot small items such as pebbles as a kid? Astronomers can also tap into their inner child by using a gravitational slingshot in space. A gravitational slingshot happens when a small object uses the gravitational pull of a larger object to speed itself up. Take a spacecraft […] Continue reading →

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Pluto: If Size Doesn’t Matter, What Does?

Posted on April 9, 2023 by dougkyles422111

Pluto is one of the most underestimated discoveries of our solar system. What we expected to be a simple ice ball comet-like object in the very outreaches of our solar system ended up becoming one of the most interesting planetesimals that tell us a complex geology category. Many will know Pluto for its classification as […] Continue reading →

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The Loneliness of Rovers

Posted on April 9, 2023 by 88bw

Throughout this semester in ASTR2110, I have been reminded about how small we are compared to the universe. While this can be both a deflating and motivating perspective on our approach to astronomical study, I think it is undeniable that the rovers on Mars are unimaginably lonely during their stints on the red planet. I […] Continue reading →

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Halley’s Comet

Posted on April 9, 2023 by sahilreddy2

Giotto Spacecraft Approaching Halley’s Comet Halley’s Comet has the ability to completely destroy a city. Until learning about this comet in a previous homework assignment I never realized the true devastation even a comet of this size could cause on the earth. Halley’s Comet most famous observation occurred in 1066 where it was said that […] Continue reading →

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The Outer Solar System

Posted on April 9, 2023 by dromalley

For this blog post, I’m going to be taking you on a journey through the outer solar system, beginning with what’s usually the last stop on the tour: Pluto. Pluto, formerly a planet, is now classified as a dwarf planet, orbiting at a distant 39 AU from the Sun in the dim outer reaches of […] Continue reading →

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Naming Extrasolar Planets

Posted on April 9, 2023 by 88bw

Ever since we learned about the naming themes with the Jovian planets’ moons in class two weeks ago, I have been interested about how astronomers have managed to not run out of naming themes for the vast universe as they discover more worlds. I thought that the Jovian planets took up most of the cooler […] Continue reading →

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It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s… Super Earth???

Posted on April 9, 2023 by groblesnieles727

Image by NASA https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/eyes-on-exoplanets/#/planet/GJ_15_A_b/ Within our solar system, there are three main classes of planets: terrestrials, gas giants, and ice giants. These planet types are reflected throughout the universe, with NASA categorizing these similar planets as gas giants (or Jupiter-analogues), Neptune-likes, and terrestrials (or Earth-analogues). However, within the universe, NASA also recognizes and classifies exoplanets […] Continue reading →

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Exoplanets!

Posted on April 9, 2023 by dromalley

Over the past several decades, the study of extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, has been one of the most rapidly advancing fields of astronomy and even science in general. With huge leaps forward that have been made in both technology and methodology, the number of exoplanets astronomers have been able to directly observe has exploded, with […] Continue reading →

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Space Potatoes!

Posted on April 9, 2023 by sadiekarr

(Diagram showing various asteroids, very potato shaped, you may notice) As Dr. G says, “When I say Asteroids, you say Space Potatoes!” But what exactly does that mean? The reason we liken asteroids to potatoes is because of their shape (unfortunately, they do not taste as good as those beautiful starchy tubers) (Side note: in […] Continue reading →

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Bog 5 – Chelyabinsk Meteor

Posted on April 9, 2023 by constellationsarentreal

A relatively recent and frightening meteoric event occurred in the quaint city of Chelyabinsk in Russia on February 15, 2013. This incident is rather interesting since damage caused by the meteor was not due to impact, but rather violent shockwaves produced by the airborne-meteor’s explosion over the city. The explosion occurred when the meteor, roughly […] Continue reading →

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