Author Archives: Kaitlyn Lane

When the Sun Dies

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

All good things must come to an end, including the ancient (at least relative to humanity), life-giving star we see each day. Even though the sun is considered a young star, it still has a finite lifetime, and it will eventually “die” in about 5 billion years. The image above shows a rough timeline of […] Continue reading →

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Astrobiology – Indicators of Life on Other Worlds

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Astrobiology studies the past, present, and future of life in the universe. One facet of this interdisciplinary field is considering the possibility of life on other planets or worlds. Scientists utilize research in biology, chemistry, astronomy, and cosmology to help determine if life could exist elsewhere in the universe, and if so, how we can […] Continue reading →

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Exoplanets

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

The words in the above picture are hard to make out, but I really liked the visual of some of the known exoplanets graphed on a plot. The color and appearances of these planets are not truly known since we have not directly seen them, but they are inferred based on density, temperature, metal content, […] Continue reading →

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Blog 5: Comets

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Comets are relatively small bodies in our solar system comprised of dust, rock, gases, and ice. They are remnants from the formation of the solar system, and their solid bodies, or nuclei, can range from a few miles to dozens of miles wide. When its orbit gets close to the sun, this nucleus heats up […] Continue reading →

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Kepler Supernova

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

The image above is of Kepler’s Supernova, which Johannes Kepler is credited with discovering with his description of the stellar object in his De Stella Nova. As stars progress through their main sequence lifetime and beyond and use up more of their hydrogen in nuclear fusion, they can fuse heavier and heavier elements. More massive […] Continue reading →

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Nuclear Fusion

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Nuclear fusion is a reaction between molecules where nuclei are combined to form different atomic nuclei and particles, releasing energy. This process powers main sequence stars through stellar nucleosynthesis. Stellar nucleosynthesis can only occur at extremely high temperatures in the cores of stars. Depending on the mass of the stars, i.e. the pressure and temperature […] Continue reading →

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Hypatia of Alexandria

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Hypatia is considered the first female astronomer and mathematician (of whom we have records) of the world. She lived in Alexandria in the 4th century AD, where she studied and taught philosophy and astronomy at the Neoplatonic school of Alexandria. Her father, Theon of Alexandria, was a prominent mathematician and some consider him the last […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Johannes Kepler Kepler was born December 27, 1571, and died on November 15, 1630, at 58 years old. He was an astronomer, a mathematician, and a philosopher. He worked with Tycho Brahe and used his observations to deduce his first law of planetary motion: 1) planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun at one […] Continue reading →

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Blog 1: The Mystery of the Light-Year

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

People often confuse a light-year for a measure of time instead of a measure of distance. This is understandable since it has “year” in the name. A light-year is NOT a measure of time. The true definition of a light-year can be easily understood with a few simple facts and calculations. First, light travels at […] Continue reading →

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Helix Nebula

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

This is an image of the Helix Nebula, located in the constellation Aquarius. Continue reading →

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