Category Archives: Class

Cool Parts of the Atmosphere of Venus

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Charles Littleton

Composition of Venus’ Atmosphere 96.5% Carbon Dioxide 3.5% Nitrogen Venus lacks a magnetic field. Its ionosphere separates it from outer space and the sun’s wind. 4 Billion Years Ago it is assumed that the atmosphere of Venus was a lot like earth’s atmosphere. There could have been liquid water. The area 50-65 km above the […] Continue reading →

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Nuclear Fusion

Posted on March 22, 2022 by jadonroy

Nuclear fusion is an incredibly interesting topic by which one of the most important parts of our solar system and cosmos utilizes constantly. In the core of our very own sun, hydrogen is converted into helium in a process known as nuclear fusion. In the sun and other stars, Nuclear Fusion reactions power this process […] Continue reading →

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Blog #3: Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating

Posted on March 22, 2022 by nadiamcglynn

Radioactive decay is one of the processes by which Earth produces heat. Radioactive isotopes start off unstable (these are called the parent isotopes), and so they decay into other, more stable daughter/progeny isotopes. The decay produces alpha, beta, or gamma radiation which is then converted into thermal energy. The decay of isotopes like uranium, thorium, […] Continue reading →

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What was Theia?

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Charles Littleton

Theia was about the size of Mars. It orbited with Earth.  It crashed into the Earth and the debris helped create the moon. The core of Theia combined with the core of Earth. Scientists disagree on this and some believe that it formed into multiple moons. It is hypothesized to have orbited in the L4 […] Continue reading →

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Solar System Formation and Coincidences

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Brian

Our solar system has many characteristics that can seem like odd coincidences. Why are all of the planets in the same orbital plane? Why are their orbits all nearly circular instead of being more eccentric? Why do they all orbit in the same direction around the Sun? The nebular theory of solar system formation, asContinue reading “Solar System Formation and Coincidences” Continue reading →

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Blog #4: Coronal Mass Ejections

Posted on March 22, 2022 by nadiamcglynn

Coronal Mass Ejections are ejections of solar wind and plasma from our Sun’s corona. The blast from a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), carries about a billion tons of material away from the sun at speeds ranging from 250 km/s to almost 3000 km/s. (NOAA) If they are directed toward Earth when they are ejected from […] Continue reading →

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Binary Star Collision

Posted on March 22, 2022 by sissichen17

Binary stars were stars orbiting each other, and they might eventually collide due to the stellar mass loss or gravitational radiation which caused the decay of orbits. Stellar collisions could be amazing and rare, which happened once every 10000 years in our globular clusters. It was very likely, from scientists’ approximation, that a binary star […] Continue reading →

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Composition of Planets within the Solar System

Posted on March 22, 2022 by sissichen17

Different elements were occupied in different planets within the solar system. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars were terrestrial planets made of rocks, which were composed of diverse metal elements including magnesium and aluminum. Specifically, mercury obtained a thin exosphere of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium, and potassium. Venus consisted of an iron core and a carbon-dioxide […] Continue reading →

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Proxima: Our Cosmic Neighbor

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Quint Gfroerer

The closest star to our solar system is one named Proxima Centauri. Proxima Centauri is a relatively small star, as it is a red dwarf star with about 12.5% the mass of the Sun and only about 0.17% as bright as the Sun. Proxima Centauri resides about 4.25 light years away from Earth, and is […] Continue reading →

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The Cassini Spacecraft

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Quint Gfroerer

The story of the Cassini spacecraft is one of scientific discovery and self sacrifice. Cassini was launched in 1997 and spent 20 years in space, focusing on the planet Saturn, its moons, and its rings, before the spacecraft’s intentional demise in 2017. Through Cassini, we were able to land a probe on Titan, Saturn’s largest […] Continue reading →

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