Author Archives: alyssasolarblog

Hot off the Press: Enceladus’ Heated Core

Posted on March 15, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Recent findings suggest that Enceladus, the sixth-largest of Saturn’s 62 satellites, may have heats of up to 190 degrees Celsius in its interior. NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft encountered dust particles near Saturn which originated from Enceladus. Instruments on the spacecraft found that the particles were high in silicon, but lacking in metals like sodium and magnesium. The University of … Continue reading Hot off the Press: Enceladus’ Heated Core → Continue reading →

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Hot off the Press: Enceladus’ Heated Core

Posted on March 15, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Recent findings suggest that Enceladus, the sixth-largest of Saturn’s 62 satellites, may have heats of up to 190 degrees Celsius in its interior. NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft encountered dust particles near Saturn which originated from Enceladus. Instruments on the spacecraft found that the particles were high in silicon, but lacking in metals like sodium and magnesium. The University of … Continue reading Hot off the Press: Enceladus’ Heated Core → Continue reading →

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Radio Telescopes: Like Car Radios, but Bigger

Posted on February 13, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

When we think “telescope”, we picture peering through a viewfinder or viewing images of the stars. However, visible light is only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum; we can learn much about our galaxy by viewing visible light’s less frequent older brother, the radio wave. Radio telescopes are the technological descendants of actual radios (like … Continue reading Radio Telescopes: Like Car Radios, but Bigger → Continue reading →

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Radio Telescopes: Like Car Radios, but Bigger

Posted on February 13, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

When we think “telescope”, we picture peering through a viewfinder or viewing images of the stars. However, visible light is only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum; we can learn much about our galaxy by viewing visible light’s less frequent older brother, the radio wave. Radio telescopes are the technological descendants of actual radios (like … Continue reading Radio Telescopes: Like Car Radios, but Bigger → Continue reading →

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Circadian Rhythms and the Length of the Day

Posted on February 13, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

We learned in class that the earth’s day is always getting longer: that is, the attraction of the moon’s gravity pulls angular momentum from the earth, slowing down its rotation. On the flip side, the earth’s day used to be much shorter. Evidence from ancient corals indicate that the year was once 385 days long, meaning that … Continue reading Circadian Rhythms and the Length of the Day → Continue reading →

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Circadian Rhythms and the Length of the Day

Posted on February 13, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

We learned in class that the earth’s day is always getting longer: that is, the attraction of the moon’s gravity pulls angular momentum from the earth, slowing down its rotation. On the flip side, the earth’s day used to be much shorter. Evidence from ancient corals indicate that the year was once 385 days long, meaning that … Continue reading Circadian Rhythms and the Length of the Day → Continue reading →

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Putting Copernicus into Context

Posted on February 1, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473-24 May 1543) Picture source Nicholas Copernicus is significant to astronomy because of his theory that the sun was at the center of the universe. While this had been proposed by Aristarchus in ancient Greece, it was not taken seriously until Copernicus published On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, which kicked … Continue reading Putting Copernicus into Context → Continue reading →

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Putting Copernicus into Context

Posted on February 1, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473-24 May 1543) Picture source Nicholas Copernicus is significant to astronomy because of his theory that the sun was at the center of the universe. While this had been proposed by Aristarchus in ancient Greece, it was not taken seriously until Copernicus published On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, which kicked … Continue reading Putting Copernicus into Context → Continue reading →

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The Culture of Solar Eclipses

Posted on January 24, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

While we discussed the science behind solar eclipses and totality in class on Wednesday, I wanted to explore the culture and lore behind solar eclipses. Total solar eclipses are very rare: at any particular location on earth, a total solar eclipse will only be visible once every 360 years! However, many “eclipse chasers” are undaunted by … Continue reading The Culture of Solar Eclipses → Continue reading →

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The Culture of Solar Eclipses

Posted on January 24, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

While we discussed the science behind solar eclipses and totality in class on Wednesday, I wanted to explore the culture and lore behind solar eclipses. Total solar eclipses are very rare: at any particular location on earth, a total solar eclipse will only be visible once every 360 years! However, many “eclipse chasers” are undaunted by … Continue reading The Culture of Solar Eclipses → Continue reading →

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