Monthly Archives: April 2024

Brown Dwarfs

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Owen Purcell

One of the most interesting bodies in the universe is the brown dwarf, a small world a few times the size of Jupiter. These are interesting because they do not fit cleanly into our definitions of stars and planets. They are technically under the category of star, but this is due in most part to […] Continue reading →

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Astronomic Oddball, Triton

Posted on April 7, 2024 by obisesoa

Triton stands out amongst most moons. Usually a moon is made of the leftovers from when the solar system was being formed, ideally becoming large enough to force itself into a spherical shape. More ambitious moons are made directly from planet material cast off in an accident. Triton sticks out; it is theorized to have […] Continue reading →

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Blog 5: Pluto

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Jonas Kobza

When someone mentions Pluto, most people’s minds instantly go to the “Is Pluto a planet debate”. In fact, all I knew about Pluto before reading these chapters was that it was too small to be a planet. If you asked me to picture Pluto, I would have said something akin to our moon – rocky, […] Continue reading →

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Robert Navarro, Blog Post 05 FUN FACTS ON PLUTO

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Robert Navarro

Pluto’s as a planet is very intriguing. Despite being located far from the Sun; Pluto has seasonal changes due to its tilted axis (just like earth!) and highly elliptical orbit. When Pluto is closer to the Sun in its orbit, the frozen nitrogen, and methane on its surface can temporarily sublimate, creating a thin atmosphere. […] Continue reading →

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Hubble and the TRAPPIST-1 System

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Angela Harris

An artist’s illustration of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system  One thing from this unit I found interesting was learning about extrasolar planets. The Hubble Space Telescope was the first to detect an exoplanet’s atmospheric conditions and collect data about its makeup. In 2000, Hubble was used to study the exoplanet 209458 b which was the first […] Continue reading →

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Geological Activity Far out in the Solar System

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Tejas Mahesh

Based upon the formation and evolution of the rocky terrestrial planets, size of the planet results in whether the planet is geologically active or dead. However, the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune are smaller in size than Earth, yet are geologically active. How come? It turns out that the magma volcanic activity of the […] Continue reading →

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A Messenger From Afar

Posted on April 7, 2024 by John Newell

 ‘Oumuamua, our first confirmed Extrasolar Object On October 19th, 2017, a telescope at the University of Hawaii, called Pan-STARRS1 detected an object unlike any before observed in our Solar System. It was highly elongated (by a ratio of at least 10:1), completely inert (no dust floating around or behind), and composed of rock and possibly […] Continue reading →

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Europa

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Jack Abrams

Alien life could very well be found in our own Solar System, and Europe is a prime candidate! Being one of Jupiter’s moons, Europe is one of the coolest moons of the giant planets in our solar system. It is about 90% the size of our Moon, with an equatorial diameter of 1,940 miles. However, […] Continue reading →

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The Lesser Known Moon

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Ayden Harris

Titan is a commonly forgotten about moon in our solar system. It is the second largest moon that orbits Saturn. There are a few interesting things about Titan. Titan is one of the most Earth-like worlds found to date. Titan’s atmosphere is comprised of mainly nitrogen (95%) and some methane (5%). However, why it is […] Continue reading →

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Blog Post 6 – Hubble Space Telescope

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Thomas Shelton

NASA Science The Hubble Space Telescope! How cool! The idea for the telescope first came around in the 1940’s! Nearly 100 years ago, a scientist wrote a paper about the advantages of having a big telescope out in outer space, and they were right! Work on the telescope didn’t then begin until 1974 but the […] Continue reading →

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