Author Archives: Jack

Where is everybody?

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Jack

The Fermi Paradox addresses the famous question: are we alone? Statistically, it’s extremely unlikely that Earth hosts the only life in the universe. Most of the universe is (by current knowledge) unreachable to humans. But let’s look at our own galaxy. Many estimates say there should be at least a hundred thousand civilizations in theContinue reading “Where is everybody?” Continue reading →

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Meet Makemake: The Dwarf Planet Partially Responsible for Pluto’s Demotion

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Jack

Pluto was discovered in 1930, and was classified as a planet. In 2006, as most of us probably know, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. A significant amount of the population, whether justified or not, are opposed to the removal of Pluto from the official list of planets, primarily out of nostalgia for oneContinue reading “Meet Makemake: The Dwarf Planet Partially Responsible for Pluto’s Demotion” Continue reading →

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A new possibility of life on Mars?

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Jack

A photograph taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in 2011 has recently been released, showing what appears to be a sizable underground cavern on the slopes of Pavonis Mons, a Martian mountain standing 46,000 feet tall, higher than Mount Everest. The possibility of underground caves on Mars is exciting for (at least) two reasons:Continue reading “A new possibility of life on Mars?” Continue reading →

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How did mountains form on Venus?

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Jack

Venus is often described as Earth’s sister planet. Both planets have similar size and densities, indicating somewhat similar core compositions. The primary difference between the two is orbital distance from the sun. Venus, like Earth, is covered with geological features including volcanoes and mountains. We know how mountains formed on Earth – tectonic plates. MountainsContinue reading “How did mountains form on Venus?” Continue reading →

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Is it possible for a star to be invisible?

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Jack

One of the things I’ve always been most curious about on the topic of space is: is it possible for something that emits light (like a star) to emit light such as radio or gamma waves but not visible light? If such an object existed, it would be invisible to us, although it could stillContinue reading “Is it possible for a star to be invisible?” Continue reading →

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The Limitations of Space Travel

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Jack

Let’s just imagine for a moment that humanity eventually advances in technology such that light-speed travel is attainable. The speed of light, roughly 3×10^8 m/s, is the upper limit on travel speed- If light could go any faster, it would. With light-speed travel, humanity will likely attempt to colonize other planets, for a variety ofContinue reading “The Limitations of Space Travel” Continue reading →

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Welcome!

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Jack

Welcome to my space blog! Since the only free site name I could find including my title included “music”, I figured I needed to find a picture involving both space and music. I do like music, though I didn’t name the blog that way on purpose. I play piano and saxophone. Continue reading →

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