Author Archives: samihahplanet

The Fermi paradox: Is there life out there?

Posted on April 27, 2016 by samihahplanet

Source: Youtube Channel Kurzgesagt The Fermi paradox is summarized in the video above. At a bare minimum, the Fermi paradox is the paradox of the Drake equation supposedly estimating a large number of possible planets in our Galaxy harboring life, yet no such evidence of intelligent life has been discovered. There are many possible speculations for why […] Continue reading →

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The Demise of Pluto

Posted on April 10, 2016 by samihahplanet

  Left: Pluto Demoted, Right: Size Comparison The discovery of Pluto had scientists ecstatic. Far out in the distance was this tiny, freezing,  icy planet with moons! Then it was official: Pluto must be added to the list of planets. It’s round, orbits the Sun and has a posse of moons, what more could we need? […] Continue reading →

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Doppler vs. Astrometric: Find the Planet

Posted on April 10, 2016 by samihahplanet

Currently, it’s quite difficult to discover new planets simply by direct observation. This is because the high interference of light caused by the planets’ respective stars makes it almost impossible to detect the light reflected off of planets. However, there are two indirect planet detection methods: Doppler and astrometric. The astrometric method relies on measuring […] Continue reading →

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Sun: Where do you see yourself in 5 billion years?

Posted on March 15, 2016 by samihahplanet

Currently, our nearest and dearest star is at the ripe middle age of about 4.5 billion years old. This means that the Sun is a “main sequence star,” so it converts the hydrogen in its core to helium. However, about 4 billion years from now, the Sun will being to transition to a red giant, […] Continue reading →

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Sun: Where do you see yourself in 5 billion years?

Posted on March 15, 2016 by samihahplanet

Currently, our nearest and dearest star is at the ripe middle age of about 4.5 billion years old. This means that the Sun is a “main sequence star,” so it converts the hydrogen in its core to helium. However, about 4 billion years from now, the Sun will being to transition to a red giant, […] Continue reading →

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Dating the Solar System?

Posted on March 15, 2016 by samihahplanet

No,  I’m not referring to taking our Solar System out to a romantic dinner and movie. What astronomers and physicists are interested in is the age of our Solar System. And given the vastness and inaccessibility of most of the Solar System, revealing the true age of it has proven to be quite the challenge. Astronomers have, however, been able to […] Continue reading →

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One Shift, Two Shift, Redshift, Blueshift

Posted on February 16, 2016 by samihahplanet

Images: Redshifted, blueshifted spectra,   The Doppler shift You’re probably already familiar with the doppler effect of sound. Every time you hear a car zoom past, it pitch changes from higher as it approaches to lower as it leaves. This is because sound is dependent on the relative position of the observer, and if the sound […] Continue reading →

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One Shift, Two Shift, Redshift, Blueshift

Posted on February 16, 2016 by samihahplanet

Images: Redshifted, blueshifted spectra,   The Doppler shift You’re probably already familiar with the doppler effect of sound. Every time you hear a car zoom past, it pitch changes from higher as it approaches to lower as it leaves. This is because sound is dependent on the relative position of the observer, and if the sound […] Continue reading →

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We’re all attractive (by gravity!)

Posted on February 16, 2016 by samihahplanet

We like to think science has everything figured out—and it has in fact come very far to that end. But there are still many things in the world and the universe that has researchers scratching their heads. One of these phenomena is gravity, the force that attracts all objects. Sure, we know how to calculate […] Continue reading →

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We’re all attractive (by gravity!)

Posted on February 16, 2016 by samihahplanet

Images: Gravitational Field,  Conic Sections We like to think science has everything figured out—and it has in fact come very far to that end. But there are still many things in the world and the universe that has researchers scratching their heads. One of these phenomena is gravity, the force that attracts all objects. Sure, […] Continue reading →

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