Author Archives: alexbawa

Wrapping Up

Posted on May 4, 2022 by alexbawa

Looking back at my first post on this blog, it’s cool to see that my first and last posts touched on black holes. I accomplished exactly what I set out to do: answer questions that I wouldn’t otherwise set the time aside for. The most exciting part of the whole process is that I have […] Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Wrapping Up

Fermi Paradox Answered?! (not clickbait)

Posted on May 3, 2022 by alexbawa

After hastily copy pasting “Fermi Paradox” into my search bar when I saw it was a potential topic for blogging, the results I found gave me an exciting opportunity. Understanding why we haven’t detected aliens seemed right up the alley of Kurzgesagt, a youtube channel that specializes in the intersection of physics and philosophy. Luckily […] Continue reading →

Posted in Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Fermi Paradox Answered?! (not clickbait)

Black Holes

Posted on April 17, 2022 by alexbawa

If you’re like me, you’ve heard plenty about black holes, but your only real understanding comes from a couple Interstellar screenings. The movie does a pretty great job being accurate, but even the excessively brilliant characters don’t know whats going on behind the scenes. This blog is an exploration of the phenomena, equal parts for […] Continue reading →

Posted in Physics | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Black Holes

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

Posted on April 17, 2022 by alexbawa

Growing up, I grew to recognize Jupiter’s distinctive birthmark, but I never attempted to understand it. I figured their were clever astronomers out there who knew what was going on and I’d end up absorbing what they know from a TED talk at 1.5x speed. After looking into it though, it turns out the Great […] Continue reading →

Posted in Jovians | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

The Future of Fusion

Posted on March 22, 2022 by alexbawa

While stars are powered by nuclear fusion, nuclear reactors here on Earth have yet to make that leap. Fission is our only readily available source of nuclear power, but it is significantly less lucrative than its counterpart. The difference is the process, which combines two isotopes of hydrogen to trigger an energy release instead of […] Continue reading →

Posted in Physics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Future of Fusion

Findings of The Cassini Spacecraft

Posted on March 21, 2022 by alexbawa

On October 15th, 1997, the rocket carrying the Cassini Spacecraft and its Huygens probe took off from Cape Canaveral. It was sent to the outer solar system to study Saturn, as well as its moons. The Huygens probe was deployed to one of these moons, Titan, recording images and data. In 2017, after running out […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Jovians, Moons | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Findings of The Cassini Spacecraft

Discovering the Photoelectric Effect

Posted on February 20, 2022 by alexbawa

I’ve always been taught that light is both a wave and a particle, and I’ve never faltered in believing it. However, I chose to challenge myself and question what I’ve always known to be true. Accordingly, I explored the origins of the photoelectric effect to understand how physicists arrived at their conclusions. In my research, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Light, Physics | Tagged , | Comments Off on Discovering the Photoelectric Effect

Separation of Church and State (of Astronomy)

Posted on February 10, 2022 by alexbawa

Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) was a massively important astronomer because he was the first to recognize that orbits were not perfect circles, but in fact ellipses. This was particularly significant because it allowed accurate predictions that supported the heliocentric model. He also found that orbiting objects move faster when closer to the object they […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Separation of Church and State (of Astronomy)

Precession Visualized

Posted on January 30, 2022 by alexbawa

After reading the initial chapters of our textbook, I was captivated by the fact that the way Earth’s tilt changes can be dumbed down to the movement of a spinning top. It’s always fascinating seeing physics work on any scale, so I was eager to look into the subject. After a bit of searching, I […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Physics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Precession Visualized

Introductions

Posted on January 23, 2022 by alexbawa

Hello! My name is Alex Barrera-Waters and this is my astronomy blog. My all time favorite movie is Interstellar, which first kindled my love for astronomy. I was particularly fascinated by the black hole that a lot of the movie’s plot revolved around. In high school, I actually chose a something a main character says […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , | Comments Off on Introductions