Monthly Archives: March 2024

Black Holes Emitting Light?

Take a look at this picture of a black hole Photo by: Space.com This is actually called a quasar. A quasar is a supermassive black hole that is actively pulling in surrounding material due to its massive gravitational force. A black hole is an entity where the force of gravity is so intense that not […] Continue reading

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From collapse to solar system

Once upon a time, there was a huge interstellar cloud of cold, low-density gas called the solar nebula. This solar nebula came about from billions of years of galactic recycling, and consists of about 98% hydrogen and helium and 2% other random elements. The solar nebula collapsed under its own gravity, and BOOM! the Sun […] Continue reading

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Blog 3: Nuclear Fusion

The sun is the greatest, most massive, hottest thing in our world. But how does it even work?? I’m gonna be totally honest, I’m not a big science guy so I’ve never really had the change to answer this question. But Chapter 14 gives us an in depth explanation of how the sun functions through […] Continue reading

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The Sun

The Sun is arguably the most important thing in our solar system. It is the orbital center for each planet, and allows for life to be sustained on Earth. But what actually is the Sun? The Sun is a giant, glowing hot ball of gas that actually has many layers to it. The outermost layer […] Continue reading

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Spacecraft

Our solar system is full of many mysteries, and spacecraft are one of the main ways we can gather information about it. There are four types of robotic spacecraft: flybys, orbiters, landers and probes, and sample return missions.  Flybys travel past a world only once, and then continue on their way into space. Because of […] Continue reading

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Blog 4: Space Telescopes

Telescopes play a pivotal role in deepening our understanding of the universe. While many telescopes are positioned on Earth, those placed in space afford us a more profound insight into the universe. Stationed beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, space telescopes capture clearer images of the cosmos. The Earth’s atmosphere, which blurs images and only permits radio […] Continue reading

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Blog 3: Our Sun and Nuclear Fusion

The sun releases energy through a remarkable process known as nuclear fusion, which unfolds under the extreme temperatures and densities found deep within its core. Unlike the nuclear fission reactions used on Earth, which split atomic nuclei to release energy, the sun’s energy is generated by combining smaller nuclei into larger, heavier ones. This fusion […] Continue reading

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Blog 4: Explaining Relativistic time dilation

Time seems to be one of the only immutable aspects of the universe, besides death and taxes. Many people believe that the passage of time is altogether unstoppable and unyielding. And for most intensive purposes, they are right. Indeed, time is our most precious resource and one that many of believe we have an extremely […] Continue reading

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Blog 3: Equilibrium and the stability of earth

The formation of Earth and its current sustainability as they only known life-sustaining body in the universe have been caused by a number of extremely specific conditions which combine to make our planet the only one on which life is known to thrive. In this post, I will survey two of the specific conditions on […] Continue reading

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Geology of the Moon and Mercury – Blog 4

After writing my last blog post about atmospheres and the greenhouse effect, when learning that the atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury cause them to be considered practically airless and have no weather, I became heavily intrigued. What makes the Moon and Mercury so different from the other planets in our solar system? Thus, I […] Continue reading

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