Author Archives: hindsolar

Another Earth?

Posted on April 28, 2014 by hindsolar

One of the biggest questions we have grappled with in the latter portion of class is whether or not there are any earth-like planets. Well, we now have a planet that may be quite similar to Earth. This has been given the name Kepler-186f. It is the same size as Earth, and has temperatures that […] Continue reading →

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You live where?!?!

Posted on April 27, 2014 by hindsolar

    Extremophiles are organisms that live under extreme conditions. There are several different categories for extremophiles, but the category I find most fascinating are extremophiles. Can you imagine living in an environment that is over 250 degrees Fahrenheit? I cannot. However, these organisms can. These organisms were discovered at Yellowstone National Park in 1966. […] Continue reading →

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Wouldn’t it be something…

Posted on April 8, 2014 by hindsolar

The question of life outside of our planet has been one of great interest for a while in the scientific community. When considering extrasolar planets or planets outside of our solar system I often wonder if there is some other planet in another solar system that is much like ours. Not long ago NASA’s Kepler […] Continue reading →

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Is Pluto a Planet?

Posted on April 7, 2014 by hindsolar

  I can recall sitting and listening to an astronomy presentation during my eighth grade year. The man who presented told us that Pluto was no longer a planet. For some reason this bothered me because all my life I had been told that Pluto was in fact a planet. I can also recall taking […] Continue reading →

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A Different Kind Vacation

Posted on March 17, 2014 by hindsolar

During several of our classes we have taken time to watch videos and view pictures of aurora. All that kept going through my head was where I can go to see this and this would be great for a vacation. I found a Huffington Post article about aurora. In it the writer states that the […] Continue reading →

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Distant but Deadly

Posted on March 17, 2014 by hindsolar

93 million miles away there is a threat that can have a huge impact on us. The threat is a solar storm which charged particles erupt from the sun. These particles can create electrical currents that seep into the magnetosphere. The effects of this are huge. GPS systems will be thrown off, people will be […] Continue reading →

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30-Meter Telescope-What does that even mean?

Posted on February 17, 2014 by hindsolar

When I first heard the term 30-meter telescope I was quite confused. Did this mean that the telescope is 30 meters long? Does this mean that the telescope is powerful? Based on the size of the telescope in the image above it is clear that the telescope is powerful. The 30-meters refers to the length […] Continue reading →

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Equal and Opposite

Posted on February 17, 2014 by hindsolar

Newton’s third law of motion tell us that for any force that is applied there is always an equal and opposite force. Physics and Astronomy are tightly intertwined. I thought the example of a plane captures this idea and is quite interesting. Planes must maintain certain altitudes. This is controlled by the wing of the […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2014 by hindsolar

2. Galileo revolutionized how we observe the heavens. Although he did not invent the telescope, he used it as a scientific instrument and published his results (Van Helden, 1977). We have built upon his work and have made countless discoveries about space thanks to his work. 3. a. In 1609 Kepler published his laws of planetary […] Continue reading →

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Westin Hotel

Posted on January 15, 2014 by hindsolar

  Wikipedia Continue reading →

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