Author Archives: yvan247

Moons are Cool!

Posted on May 7, 2021 by yvan247

One thing that I think is going to stick with me the most is how cools moons are. Entering this class all I knew was our moon, and although that’s our girl, been here since day one, she’s pretty basic (no offense Luna, I still love you). So, I though all moons were like her, […] Continue reading →

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Meet the Snottite

Posted on May 6, 2021 by yvan247

I would like to introduce you to the Snottite. The Snottite is a microbial mat of extremophilic bacteria that hang around walls and ceiling of caves just like stalactites. That’s maybe why they have the same suffix. But yes, it does get its name for its mucus like consistency but they are every bit extremophile. […] Continue reading →

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Enceladus got life?

Posted on April 5, 2021 by yvan247

Thanks NASA’s Cassini mission, scientists have been able to confirm that underneath the icy crust of one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, lies a global ocean. Naturally, that begs the question could there possibly be something living in that ocean. When looking for life in our solar system, the first thing we look for is water […] Continue reading →

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Becoming One with Saturn

Posted on April 5, 2021 by yvan247

On September 17, 2017, NASA’s Cassini’s spacecraft exhausted its fuel supply. This marked the end of a 20 yearlong space exploration and 13 yearlong orbit around The planet Saturn. The Cassini Mission was monumental in more ways than one. It was the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, first to land in the outer solar system, […] Continue reading →

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The Cleanest Place on Earth

Posted on April 5, 2021 by yvan247

While working with or assembling new instruments or components used for space travel , NASA engineers and scientists must make their way to the clean room where they will give satellites and spacecrafts a final inspection before they can be launched into space. As the name suggests this room has to be free of any […] Continue reading →

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The Iron Catastrophe

Posted on April 5, 2021 by yvan247

Many believe that under the Earth’s crust, deep within the center of our planet, lies a molten core of iron and nickel responsible for heating up the earth’s and being the source for the lava that flows form our volcanoes. This is an understandable misconception as the temperature of the core of the earth rivals […] Continue reading →

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An Eclipse’s Blinding Beauty

Posted on March 23, 2021 by yvan247

We’ve all been told when we were children to NEVER stare directly into sun. Whether it be our parents, teachers, or someone on tv, right before we were sent out to get our daily exercise, we were made sure to know to avoid making eye contact with that big, bright, bulb in the sky. But […] Continue reading →

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Reaching Absolute Zero

Posted on March 23, 2021 by yvan247

Our discussion towards the infamous “coldest temperature possible” dates back to the 1700s when French physicist Guillaume Amontons hypothesized that since temperature is the measure of heat in a system, then there must be a lowest possible temperature. But it took 200 years for any significant progress towards reaching that coldest point to begin. After […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on March 16, 2021 by yvan247

Nicholas Copernicus (Feb 9th, 1473- May 24th, 1543) Copernicus was born just 5 years before first Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition was a tactic by the catholic monarch ruling over Europe to spread Catholicism all across territories they controlled. They deployed officers to target individuals engaging in heresy, that is displaying beliefs or actions that […] Continue reading →

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Introductory Post

Posted on February 1, 2021 by yvan247

What’s up everybody! This is the first post on my blog “Close to Home” to help y’all get to know me a little bit. I’m a junior majoring in HOD with a business minor thinking about adding an astronomy minor, we’ll see. No pressure Prof. G. I was raised in Houston, Tx but was born […] Continue reading →

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