Author Archives: aaronxu041009

Saturn V

Posted on April 9, 2023 by aaronxu041009

Saturn V the moon, also known as Rhea, is the second largest moon of Saturn. But Saturn V, the rocket used in the Apollo missions, is one of the largest rockets ever built by mankind. NASA’s Saturn V is the largest rocket in the Saturn family and was used in 9 Apollo missions to carry […] Continue reading →

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Miranda

Posted on April 9, 2023 by aaronxu041009

Uranus is the only planet in the Solar System that rotates on its side, with an axis tilt of 97.77 degrees. This is most likely the result of a large collision not long after the planet formed. Among Uranus’ moons, there is one in particular that has drawn my attention, one that is also likely […] Continue reading →

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The Far Side of the Moon – Chang’e 4

Posted on March 6, 2023 by aaronxu041009

Whenever we look up at night, we see the same side the Moon, the side that has faced us for billions of years and will continue facing Earth for billions of years. Humans have sent probes and spacecraft to see what’s on the far (not dark) side of the moon. Soviet Union spacecraft Luna 3 […] Continue reading →

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Hohmann Transfer Orbit

Posted on March 5, 2023 by aaronxu041009

In Andy Weir’s The Martian, NASA plans to send a supply probe to Mars to save the stranded astronaut Mark Watney through what’s called the ‘Hohmann Transfer Orbit‘. What exactly is the Hohmann transfer orbit? And when the carrying capacity of rockets is limited, why does a probe following this orbit saves limited and precious […] Continue reading →

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Roche Limit

Posted on February 12, 2023 by aaronxu041009

In science fiction novels and movies, we occasionally see a planet or a moon being teared into pieces due to it being to close to a star or a larger planet. In the newly premiered Chinese sci-fi movie The Wandering Earth II, our moon potentially gets torn into chunks as it moves closer to the […] Continue reading →

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Historical Figures in Context

Posted on February 2, 2023 by aaronxu041009

Galileo Galilei, the father of modern science Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was a famous Italian astronomer with significant contributions to physics, mathematics and astronomy, and was crowned the “father of modern science”. With his refined refracting telescopes, Galileo observed the Moon and deduced that our satellite was covered in mountains and craters, opposing the traditional view […] Continue reading →

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Tidal Locking

Posted on January 22, 2023 by aaronxu041009

Earth’s Moon is in a synchronous orbit, meaning that people on Earth can only see the near side of the Moon. But what keeps the Moon locked in this synchronous orbit? The answer is tidal locking. Early in the history of the Solar System, a Mars-sized object collided with prehistoric Earth, and the debris from […] Continue reading →

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Visiting Griffith

Posted on January 17, 2023 by aaronxu041009

This photo was taken at Griffith Observatory on my Jan. 4 trip to LA. It was raining hard and I was soaking wet. Though the view of the city was covered by the fog, the tour in the observatory was still amazing. Despite the fog, you can still make out the silhoutte of the astronomers […] Continue reading →

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