Author Archives: zhengjs1

Culmination Reflection Post

Posted on May 4, 2021 by zhengjs1

After taking Astronomy 2110, not only has my perspective of our Solar System changed and widened, but also did my view on the universe as a whole. Perhaps one of the biggest eye-openers for me came near the beginning of the semester when we learned just how vast our Universe is as a whole. BeforeContinue reading “Culmination Reflection Post” Continue reading →

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Monster from the Deep

Posted on May 4, 2021 by zhengjs1

Extremophiles are definitely some of the most persistent living beings. These microorganisms are able to survive in conditions regarding temperature, acidity, and/or chemical concentration beyond extreme that would prove fatal to almost all carbon-based life on Earth. While many extremophiles prove to look nightmarish, one type of extremophiles might give the others a run forContinue reading “Monster from the Deep” Continue reading →

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Commercial Space Travel?

Posted on March 27, 2021 by zhengjs1

Have you ever thought about traveling to space? While we’re far from intergalactical travel and settlements on other planets, space tourism and commercial space flights are closer to reality than ever before. A year ago, humans were able to access space through a non-government funded space vehicle for the first time in history under SpaceContinue reading “Commercial Space Travel?” Continue reading →

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Flying by Worlds

Posted on March 26, 2021 by zhengjs1

So how exactly are we able to know so much about the features, terrains, and even atmosphere of the planets and moons of our solar system? Well, one of the main tools used by scientists to explore planets are flybys. In general, flybys are when a spacecraft travel closely past a world for observation andContinue reading “Flying by Worlds” Continue reading →

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Reflecting Telescopes

Posted on February 27, 2021 by zhengjs1

Telescopes have allowed us to bring what is far and mysterious up close and personal. Scientists and astronomers have built telescopes for a variety of uses, whether it’s for imaging, spectroscopy, or time monitoring. Within the realm of telescopes, there a two main types: refracting and reflecting telescopes. Between the two types, reflectors are theContinue reading “Reflecting Telescopes” Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 17, 2021 by zhengjs1

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer, was important to our history for discovering three laws of planetary motion that are now named after him as well as finding key evidence for the highly-debated Sun-centered idea. Kepler’s first law explained that each planet orbits the Sun following an elliptical path with the Sun as aContinue reading “Historical Astronomers in Context” Continue reading →

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Our Entire Universe in One Year

Posted on February 6, 2021 by zhengjs1

Imagine if we were able to fit the history of our entire universe—from the Big Bang all the way up to today—into a single calendar year. That would be crazy right? Well look no further because that’s exactly what the Cosmic Calendar is. Created and popularized by Carl Sagan, the cosmic calendar compresses 14 billionContinue reading “Our Entire Universe in One Year” Continue reading →

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Introduction

Posted on February 1, 2021 by zhengjs1

Hey guys! My name is Jeff Zheng and I’m a current freshman planning to major in Economics and possibly/hopefully something else as well by the end of my undergrad. While I have never taken an astronomy course before, I’m super excited to learn about our Solar System through this class. Anyway here’s the link forContinue reading “Introduction” Continue reading →

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