Author Archives: dhbrett

Space X and the Capitalism of Space

Posted on April 29, 2014 by dhbrett

Spurred on by the Cold War, and aided by military research on ballistics and rocket fuel, NASA and the Soviet Space Program competed to complete more and more exceptional missions. In today’s less hostile international climate, the governments of the world are much less interested in space exploration than they once were. To continue the … Continue reading Space X and the Capitalism of Space → Continue reading →

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Extremophiles on Earth

Posted on April 29, 2014 by dhbrett

Extremophiles are life forms that can tolerate extreme conditions. They are found in exotic environments all over Earth, such as deep sea vents, the upper atmosphere, and boiling hot geysers, such as those in Yellowstone National Park. Many astrobiologists believe that extremophiles represent the most likely type of life to exist on other planets. In … Continue reading Extremophiles on Earth → Continue reading →

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The Planet Vulcan

Posted on April 9, 2014 by dhbrett

After the discovery of Neptune, which was predicted by gravitational aberrations in the orbit of Uranus, an astronomer named Urbain Leverrier noticed aberrations in the orbit of Mercury. He hypothesized that there must be another planet between Mercury and the Sun, for which he proposed the name Vulcan. No such planet exists, and the aberrations … Continue reading The Planet Vulcan → Continue reading →

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Asteroids and Orbital Resonance

Posted on April 9, 2014 by dhbrett

Why is there an asteroid belt in our solar system, and why is it located where it is? The main asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter, and it was formed by an effect called orbital resonance. Orbital resonance occurs when the gravity fields of two objects align. Because Jupiter was so large during … Continue reading Asteroids and Orbital Resonance → Continue reading →

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Unenergized Bunny

Posted on February 17, 2014 by dhbrett

After only a few months on the lunar surface, the Chinese Jade Rabbit rover has malfunctioned. This represents a major setback for China’s young space agency and demonstrates how difficult extraterrestrial missions are. It really is amazing that the Cold War of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s was able to produce such amazing progress on … Continue reading Unenergized Bunny → Continue reading →

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The Moon and Surfing

Posted on February 17, 2014 by dhbrett

People generally don’t think about how the moon impacts surfing, but there’s actually a close relationship between the two. The conditions at beaches change a lot depending on the tidal stage, which is itself determined by the position of the moon relative to the Earth. As the Earth spins, two bulges form on the surface, … Continue reading The Moon and Surfing → Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2014 by dhbrett

Sir Isaac Newton improved on Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion by showing how the processes that determine orbital motion also determine motion of objects on Earth. He provided a strong mathematical understanding of these laws and why they worked. In 1666, the Great Fire of London was ignited, destroying as much as 80% of … Continue reading Historical Astronomers in Context → Continue reading →

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The Hidden Universe

Posted on January 27, 2014 by dhbrett

It’s amazing to think about how much there is that we cannot yet see. Even the famous Hubble Deep Field image can only show us so much. The objects pictured are incredibly far away, but what lies beyond them is important too, since it may give us clues as to the formation of the universe. … Continue reading The Hidden Universe → Continue reading →

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Blurry Telescope

Posted on January 27, 2014 by dhbrett

This is a picture captured by the famous Hubble space telescope. It looks blurry, because the team that designed the giant main lens didn’t properly account for the effects of gravity, causing the light to be refracted improperly. It took many years and many expensive maintenance trips to fix this error, but in the meantime, … Continue reading Blurry Telescope → Continue reading →

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Hello WordPress

Posted on January 12, 2014 by dhbrett

This is my first post, and it includes a picture of me: Continue reading →

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