Author Archives: Jack Abrams

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Jack Abrams

One of the most exhilarating topics in astronomy to me is the search for extraterrestrial life. The Drake Equation is one way to estimate the number of active and communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way. This equation was formulated in 1961 by Frank Drake to stimulate intellectual discussion about the factors that influence extraterrestrial […] Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Project Orion

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Jack Abrams

Due to the vast distance between stellar systems, a spacecraft traveling beyond our Solar System and into a different star system must reach speeds close to the speed of the light. Project Orion was a theoretical design from the late 1950s and early 1960s that proposed using nuclear explosions for propulsion. The basic idea was […] Continue reading →

Posted in Space Travel | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Project Orion

Solar Eclipse in Nashville

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Jack Abrams

Around 2 pm today on Apr 8, 2024, I was fortunate enough to see the eclipse reach its peak in Nashville amidst intermittent cloud cover. Although Nashville wasn’t in the path of totality like it was in 2017, it was very close! For a quick background on solar eclipses, a solar eclipse happens when the […] Continue reading →

Posted in Moons, Sun | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Solar Eclipse in Nashville

Europa

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Jack Abrams

Alien life could very well be found in our own Solar System, and Europe is a prime candidate! Being one of Jupiter’s moons, Europe is one of the coolest moons of the giant planets in our solar system. It is about 90% the size of our Moon, with an equatorial diameter of 1,940 miles. However, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Moons | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Europa

Geology of Mars

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Jack Abrams

Mars has a fascinating geology that is very comparable to Earth in many ways and also shows its very dynamic history. A well known geological feature on Mars is Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, which stands at a height of approximately 16 miles and spans 374 miles in diameter. To compare, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Terrestrials | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Geology of Mars

Retrograde Motion

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Jack Abrams

Retrograde motion is a fascinating celestial phenomenon that has puzzled astronomers and stargazers for thousands of years. Imagine you were stargazing across multiple nights and traced the planets as they danced across the sky, but suddenly, one of the planets stops, reverses direction, and then after a while, resumes its original motion with the stars. […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Retrograde Motion

Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Jack Abrams

Isaac Newton (January 4, 1643 – March 31, 1727): Isaac Newton was a pivotal figure in astronomy and physics due to his concepts of the laws of motion and universal gravitation. Newton’s laws of universal gravitation, which were formed from his three laws of motion, state that every particle attracts every other particle with a […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context

Blog 1 – Light Speed

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Jack Abrams

The speed of light is a fascinating topic that has significance from everyday life to the vast expanse of the cosmos. The speed of light is the speed at which light travels through a medium, and for a vacuum, this speed has been defined as 299,792,458 m/s. This speed is almost incomprehensible to us due […] Continue reading →

Posted in Light | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Blog 1 – Light Speed

Blog 0

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Jack Abrams

Hi! I’m Jack, a senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. The image below shows where I’m from: Jupiter, Florida! Sadly, my hometown was not named after the planet, Jupiter. Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , | Comments Off on Blog 0