Author Archives: liamoneill95

A New Era of Stargazing

Posted on April 24, 2024 by liamoneill95

This beach pictured on Nantucket Island is my favorite place on Earth, and the origin of my interest in astronomy and curiosity of what lies beyond what we know. This beach is on the tip of the island, making light pollution a limited issue and allowing for incredible stargazing when the sun sets beyond the […] Continue reading →

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Life on Mars?

Posted on April 22, 2024 by liamoneill95

Does life/did life once exist in areas of the solar system outside of our home planet Earth? In trying to answer this question, we turn to our closest neighbor and most likely candidate, Mars. As of right now, there is no evidence, past or present, that Mars has ever been home to life. That being […] Continue reading →

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Water on the Moon?

Posted on April 8, 2024 by liamoneill95

We first landed on the moon over 50 years ago, but despite the relative feasibility of going back to the moon, we have only conducted a few missions since then for people to travel to our closest celestial neighbor. Why is that? Going to the moon is incredibly expensive, and there’s always been little reason […] Continue reading →

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Earth’s Distant Twin

Posted on April 8, 2024 by liamoneill95

Kepler-186F is an exoplanet that exhibits strikingly similar characteristics to Earth. The planet is roughly the size of Earth, and is within the “habitable zone” of its red dwarf star, Kepler-186. The habitable zone implies that due to its distance from its star, it’s very possible that the exoplanet could have liquid water on its […] Continue reading →

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Blog 4: Interstellar Travel?

Posted on March 4, 2024 by liamoneill95

Whether you’re an astronomer, scientist, or in a completely unrelated field, the idea of interstellar travel probably intrigues you in some way. Why wouldn’t it? The universe is so grand and diverse that venturing outside of our solar system would likely yield fascinating results. There is only one problem: feasibility. With our current technologies, we […] Continue reading →

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Blog 3: Lander probes

Posted on March 4, 2024 by liamoneill95

Landing of Mars Perseverance Rover The lander probe is a fascinating feat of human engineering. These probes are designed to do a multitude of tasks in order to properly carry out their mission. Let’s work our way backwards. Lander probes, once on the surface of the targeted celestial body, are designed to gather a multitude […] Continue reading →

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Spring Tides and Rising Sea Levels

Posted on February 13, 2024 by liamoneill95

The effects of human-induced climate change are becoming more and more apparent over time. Some of the most highly impacted areas are those on the water, who, when facing spring tides, can experience dangerous levels of flooding. Spring tides occur when the Sun and the Moon are exerting gravitational force on the same line, both […] Continue reading →

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Copernicus in Context

Posted on February 4, 2024 by liamoneill95

Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 and died on May 24, 1543. Throughout Copernicus’ life, many key historical events took place that altered the state of knowledge and culture at the time. In 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Germany. His writing criticized the […] Continue reading →

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Blog 1: Eclipse Chasers

Posted on January 23, 2024 by liamoneill95

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will happen in North America. For those in Nashville, a mere 2-3 hour drive will allow viewers to witness it. For some, it is worth the journey to witness this rare occurrence, and for others perhaps not. For a select few, however, it is always worth the […] Continue reading →

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Introductory Post

Posted on January 23, 2024 by liamoneill95

By me – this is a photo of my sister and I at our favorite beach in Nantucket Island. This is where I first became fascinated with space; there is little light pollution here and for as far back as I can remember, I have stared at the night sky for hours at a time […] Continue reading →

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