Author Archives: gcomartin

The Hubble Space Telescope turns 32!

Posted on April 30, 2022 by gcomartin

On April 24, 2022, the Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its 32nd birthday. To commemorate the celebration of the most famed telescope man has ever seen, the team behind the telescope released an image of Hickson Compact Group 40, the shot containing 5 whole galaxies, taken by Hubble late last year. Nearly all of the galaxies […] Continue reading →

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The Double Ridges of Europa: An Opportunity For Life

Posted on April 26, 2022 by gcomartin

While looking into climate change related developments on the surface of Greenland, associate professor of geophysics at Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences Dustin Schroeder noticed small double-ridge formations developing, similar to those observed on the surface of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. The double ridges form when pressurized water from below pushes up […] Continue reading →

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Amateur Astronomer Discovers Jupiter’s 80th Moon

Posted on April 7, 2022 by gcomartin

Amateur Astronomer Kai Ly used images from the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope taken in 2003 to identify a previously undiscovered Satellite orbiting Jupiter, the first planetary moon discovered by an amateur astronomer. The telescope used was the 3.6 meter Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope located on Mauna Kea. Ly used an image captured in February 2003 to identify a set […] Continue reading →

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Cryovolcanoes on Pluto

Posted on April 6, 2022 by gcomartin

A recent discovery published by Nature Communications has revealed a series of ice volcanoes on the surface of Pluto. The images which lead to this discovery were captured by Nasa’s New Horizons in 2015, but it was only recently that scientists were able to identify specific peaks that they now believe are ice volcanoes, known […] Continue reading →

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How Astronomy may harm Life on Earth

Posted on March 22, 2022 by gcomartin

A new study by Nature Astronomy has tapped an estimate for the greenhouse gas emissions of the astronomy industry. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the global astronomy industry is much smaller than many other industries, its emissions are strikingly large. The number estimated by this study is a staggering 20 million tonnes of CO2 annually. […] Continue reading →

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Making our Earth

Posted on March 21, 2022 by gcomartin

New findings by the AKARI space telescope, coupled with surface modeling at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Tokyo Institute of Technology present new evidence that the asteroid matter which composes Earth was located much further out in the solar system than initially thought. Their study involved computer modeling to develop reflective spectra of hypothetical […] Continue reading →

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Reversing Falls

Posted on February 20, 2022 by gcomartin

In Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 100 billion tons of water flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy each day by way of the Saint John River. Yes, in and out of the same river. The water level of the Bay of Fundy changes a dramatic 28 feet between low and high tide. […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 9, 2022 by gcomartin

Brahe was important to astronomy because he developed astronomical instruments and was uniquely accurate in determining and charting the locations of celestial bodies before the advent of the telescope. He also brought artistry to his work, creating a unique observatory and even a novel way to bind his manuscripts. His astronomical contributions include charting accurate […] Continue reading →

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My first eclipse

Posted on January 31, 2022 by gcomartin

The solar eclipse of May 20, 2012 is the most spectacular astronomical event I have ever personally experienced. The event was an annular eclipse with the moon only blocking out the center of the sun, resulting in a ring of light around the dark moon. The eclipse occurred less than 48 hours after apogee, so […] Continue reading →

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Blog 0

Posted on January 24, 2022 by gcomartin

Ocean Avenue, pictured above, is a street running along the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica California. This street is on the course of the Santa Monica Classic! Continue reading →

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