Author Archives: alyssasolarblog

To Go Boldly Where No (Hu)Man Has Gone Before: The Future of Space Exploration

Posted on April 19, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

In the 1960’s, Star Trek popularized the idea of outer space as the “final frontier”. However, exploration of space is about as final as the possible values between .99 and 1: the possibilities are limitless. Here are few of the most exciting forthcoming explorations of this infinite final frontier: NASA’s Journey to Mars– NASA plans … Continue reading To Go Boldly Where No (Hu)Man Has Gone Before: The Future of Space Exploration → Continue reading →

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To Go Boldly Where No (Hu)Man Has Gone Before: The Future of Space Exploration

Posted on April 19, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

In the 1960’s, Star Trek popularized the idea of outer space as the “final frontier”. However, exploration of space is about as final as the possible values between .99 and 1: the possibilities are limitless. Here are few of the most exciting forthcoming explorations of this infinite final frontier: NASA’s Journey to Mars– NASA plans … Continue reading To Go Boldly Where No (Hu)Man Has Gone Before: The Future of Space Exploration → Continue reading →

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Are You There, Universe? It’s Me, Earth.

Posted on April 19, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

In 1974, to celebrate the remodeling of Puerto Rico’s Arecibo radio telescope, the Arecibo message was sent toward the globular star cluster M13 (located 25,000 light years away from our sun) through radio waves. The message was written by Dr. Francis Drake (of the Drake equation) and Carl Sagan, among others. Aimed at other civilized … Continue reading Are You There, Universe? It’s Me, Earth. → Continue reading →

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Are You There, Universe? It’s Me, Earth.

Posted on April 19, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

In 1974, to celebrate the remodeling of Puerto Rico’s Arecibo radio telescope, the Arecibo message was sent toward the globular star cluster M13 (located 25,000 light years away from our sun) through radio waves. The message was written by Dr. Francis Drake (of the Drake equation) and Carl Sagan, among others. Aimed at other civilized … Continue reading Are You There, Universe? It’s Me, Earth. → Continue reading →

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Predicting Impact Events

Posted on April 4, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

In 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 created a large impact event on Jupiter, giving the scientific community a greater sense of urgency in detecting possible impact objects before they reached Earth. These efforts to detect near-Earth objects, known collectively as “Spaceguard”, have enjoyed both successes and failures. For example, in 2008, the Catalina Sky Survey discovered … Continue reading Predicting Impact Events → Continue reading →

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Predicting Impact Events

Posted on April 4, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

In 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 created a large impact event on Jupiter, giving the scientific community a greater sense of urgency in detecting possible impact objects before they reached Earth. These efforts to detect near-Earth objects, known collectively as “Spaceguard”, have enjoyed both successes and failures. For example, in 2008, the Catalina Sky Survey discovered … Continue reading Predicting Impact Events → Continue reading →

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Orbital Resonances: They Space Out the Solar System

Posted on April 3, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

In class we learned that the divisions in Saturn’s rings are caused by orbital resonance. Orbital resonance is a phenomenon in which “two orbiting bodies exert a regular, periodic gravitational influence on each other,” usually because their orbital periods “match up”. For instance, if particles were in Saturn’s Cassini division, they would orbit twice for … Continue reading Orbital Resonances: They Space Out the Solar System → Continue reading →

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Orbital Resonances: They Space Out the Solar System

Posted on April 3, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

In class we learned that the divisions in Saturn’s rings are caused by orbital resonance. Orbital resonance is a phenomenon in which “two orbiting bodies exert a regular, periodic gravitational influence on each other,” usually because their orbital periods “match up”. For instance, if particles were in Saturn’s Cassini division, they would orbit twice for … Continue reading Orbital Resonances: They Space Out the Solar System → Continue reading →

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Moonquakes

Posted on March 15, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Although the moon’s tectonic plates are no longer active, the moon does experience “moonquakes” not due to tectonic plates. There are four types of “moonquakes”, which can generally be explained by non-tectonic factors: tidal forces, meteoric impacts, and “the expansion of the frigid crust when first illuminated by the morning sun after two weeks of … Continue reading Moonquakes → Continue reading →

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Moonquakes

Posted on March 15, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Although the moon’s tectonic plates are no longer active, the moon does experience “moonquakes” not due to tectonic plates. There are four types of “moonquakes”, which can generally be explained by non-tectonic factors: tidal forces, meteoric impacts, and “the expansion of the frigid crust when first illuminated by the morning sun after two weeks of … Continue reading Moonquakes → Continue reading →

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