Category Archives: Class

Culmination of ASTR-2110 Blog Post

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Leo Silva

a. I was most surprised by how much we can discover about celestial bodies from our long distances. In the cases of other stellar systems, we may not know so much, but within our own, we’re able to study other bodies and make deductions about their properties to such a granular level– and this was […] Continue reading →

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The Fermi Paradox Explained

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Alekzander Waller

Source The Fermi Paradox describes the contradiction between high and low probability of extraterrestrial civilizations that exist in the universe and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations. The term is named after the physicist Enrico Fermi who asked “Where is everybody?” during a conversation about the likelihood of alien life in […] Continue reading →

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What are the Odds?

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Leo Silva

The Drake Equation is a formula proposed to estimate the number of technologically advanced civilizations within a given galaxy that may be capable of communicating with us. It doesn’t calculate anything with certainty but, instead, aims to stipulate that if we give X, Y, Z, criteria, what would we expect to see? How many civilizations […] Continue reading →

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Extremophiles

Posted on December 5, 2024 by jasonljohnson465

Image from Cosmos Magazine Extremophiles are organisms capable of living under extreme conditions. This includes but is not limited to extreme temperature, radiation, pressure, and pH level. Given the extremely resilient nature of these organisms, they are some of the most abundant life forms. These creatures are fascinating as they have helped to stretch our […] Continue reading →

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So Where Is Everybody?

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Matthew Marcus

As one may have gathered from reading the many, many pages of “The Cosmic Perspective,” the human race has learned a lot about the universe. We can determine the masses, chemical compositions, and orbital paths of celestial bodies. We’ve identified thousands of planetary systems in outside our own. We know how stars are born and […] Continue reading →

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Blog 08 – My Farewell

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Mercedes

Thank you all for reading my blog posts. Please enjoy my final farewell and concluding thoughts on the course with information from the Pearson Textbook. Enjoy this Milky Way photo from the Farmer’s Almanac. During the time throughout this course, the fact that surprised me the most was the geological activity of other planets and […] Continue reading →

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Blog 07 – Methanogens

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Mercedes

Methanogens are a type of extremophile. While browsing information on extremophiles, these caught my attention because they “ convert inorganic organic compounds into methane and carbon dioxide” (ScienceDirect). These microorganisms prove to be responsible for human flatulence. In addition to their unique productions, Methanogens can be found in the guts of animals, deep marine sediment, […] Continue reading →

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Reflection on Astro 2110

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Henry Wang

The most surprising thing I learned in this course is the sheer vastness of space, to the point where there is still a lot about our own solar system that we don’t know. I did know prior that the Universe is infinite, because it is ever expanding, but it’s a lot different to think that […] Continue reading →

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Where are the Aliens?

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Henry Wang

One of the most common topics in science fiction (and conspiracy theories) is aliens. The coolest part is that they can be literally anything. There’s terrifying monstrous aliens like the Xenomorph from Alien and there’s much more lovable ones like E.T. It’s fascinating to think about life outside of the (relatively) small planet we call […] Continue reading →

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Extrasolar Planets and How to Find Them

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Justinc

Extrasolar planets are planets that are found outside the Solar System. Stars are relatively easier to find than extrasolar planets as they are generally bigger and luminous (give off light). But planets, neither generate much light nor are they as big as stars so how do scientists find them? Well there are four main ways […] Continue reading →

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