Category Archives: Aliens

The Rare Earth Hypothesis

I was inspired by Victoria’s post to think more about the Fermi Paradox, and specifically, explanations of the uniqueness of intelligent life on Earth. The Rare Earth Hypothesis is one such explanation; it postulates that conditions favorable to life (and particularly intelligent life) are incredibly rare in the universe. It is in opposition to hypotheses […] Continue reading

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Adaptive Archaea

Discovered in 1970, Archaea might be the least well-known of the three domains of life (the others being Bacteria and Eukaryota), but it is a fascinating and diverse group of organisms and quite possibly the first on Earth. Like bacteria, archaea are unicellular, prokaryotic organisms, meaning that they lack nuclei and other membrane-bound organelles in […] Continue reading

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Where is everybody?

Despite evidence that suggests that there should be extraterrestrial civilizations, we have not yet detected any signs of these civilizations. This issue is called the “Fermi Paradox,” after Enrico Fermi—a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. Compared to the lifespan of the universe, our sun is relatively young at 4.6 billion years old, so there are older stars […] Continue reading

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Enceladus

Enceladus is a medium-size moon of Saturn, with a diameter of about 500 km. Its surface temperature is quite chilly, ranging between 32.9 K (-240 degrees Celsius) and 145 K (-128 degrees Celsius); this is partially because of its distance from the Sun, and also because of its highly reflective surface. The entire moon is … Continue reading Enceladus Continue reading

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The 1 Shocking Discovery NASA Doesn’t Want You To Know…

  VectorStock For most, the discoveries of NASA are taken at face value and seen as trustworthy. However, for a growing number of conspiracists, alternative facts are rising into prevalence. I would like to introduce one of these alternative facts in this blog post. Although it may seem unbelievable, hopefully after a proper explanation, you … Continue reading The 1 Shocking Discovery NASA Doesn’t Want You To Know… Continue reading

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Is There Life on Mars?

Mars, our red-tinted planetary neighbor, has long attracted human curiosity. Due to its unusual color, it was named after the Roman god of war. Although it is so much smaller than our planet (only about half Earth’s diameter and one-tenth its mass), it shares certain Earth-like features, particularly volcanoes and a great canyon. These structures, […] Continue reading

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Life off Earth

I’m truly baffled by the sheer size and scale of the Universe in comparison to the scale of the life I live, and the implications of that scale on finding life off of Earth. At any point in time, my attention is engulfed by only 10 or so meters of my surroundings, and often only … Continue reading Life off Earth Continue reading

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Enter The Hypolith

Hypoliths are photosynthetic bacteria that inhabit the desert. Despite the Namib desert in Namibia being one of the most extreme environments on Earth, hypoliths thrive under quartz rock under these harsh conditions. This desert can go years without rain and it is subject to constant solar radiation and scorching heat. With very little water and … Continue reading “Enter The Hypolith” Continue reading

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Final Post (Reflection)

The Observable Universe (Thus Far) I learned quite a bit this semester and it definitely changes the way in which I look at the universe. Coming into the course I could name the planets of our Solar System and that is about it, so I basically had no previous astronomical knowledge. For the most part … Continue reading Final Post (Reflection) Continue reading

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Final Post (Reflection)

The Observable Universe (Thus Far) I learned quite a bit this semester and it definitely changes the way in which I look at the universe. Coming into the course I could name the planets of our Solar System and that is about it, so I basically had no previous astronomical knowledge. For the most part … Continue reading Final Post (Reflection) Continue reading

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