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Category Archives: Physics
St. Elmo’s fire is a real thing
One really cool thing I learned about this semester is a thing called “St. Elmo’s Fire.” (I’m pretty sure the textbook mentions it somewhere, and after stumbling across it I was instantly curious.) So… what is it? For starters, it definitely does not involve Emilio Estevez or a fuzzy red puppet (or is it muppet?)…
Interstellar Travel
In many science fiction movies, spaceships race through the galaxy at extremely high speeds, seemingly ignoring many of nature’s laws that govern our universe. With what we know about the universe right now, it is impossible for any object to travel faster than the speed of light. Any man made object has not reached speeds … Continue reading Interstellar Travel Continue reading
Posted in Physics, Science
Tagged astro2110, blog7, interstellar travel
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Hydrothermal Vents: The Origin of Life?
Astrobiology is becoming an increasingly discussed topic as new exoplanets are being found and we discover more about the worlds of our own solar system. Of course, for there to be life on other planets, it first needs to come into existence on its own through abiogenesis, or the creation of life through non-biological sources. … Continue reading Hydrothermal Vents: The Origin of Life? → Continue reading
Posted in Class, Physics
Tagged astro2110, blog6, Solar System
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What’s in a Black Hole?
There are few things in the entire Universe that are as terrifyingly awesome as a black hole. To have a region of space exist that contains gravitational forces so strong that literally nothing can escape it (whether it’s a particle, light, or any electromagnetic radiation for that matter) seems like a concept straight out of … Continue reading What’s in a Black Hole? → Continue reading
Are We Alone?
As we’ve seen over the past few generations, our ability to harness technology to accomplish things never before seen or done has only increased exponentially. As a race, we’ve been able to photograph a black hole, we’ve been able to send probes to places in space that were thought to be unreachable, and we’ve just … Continue reading Are We Alone? → Continue reading
The Northern Lights
One of the world’s most fascinating and natural wonders are the Northern Lights. These magical lights come in a variety of dancing colors. This seemingly random light show occurs as a result of interactions of Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere with solar winds. Solar winds released by the Sun’s sunspot regions travel through space until … Continue reading The Northern Lights → Continue reading
Posted in Light, Physics, Sun
Tagged astro2110, blog7, northern lights, Solar System
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How Hard is Interstellar Travel?
Traveling to other solar systems seem pretty easy in the movies, but in real life, it could get quite complicated. First of all, the closest star system to us is Alpha Centauri, which is 4.37 light-years away, which is very far from us even if we can travel at the speed of light. But even … Continue reading How Hard is Interstellar Travel? → Continue reading
Posted in Physics
Tagged astro2110, blog6, interstellar, Solar System
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exo… moons?
What are exomoons? Well, we have already studied exoplanets (short for extra-solar planets) which are planets that are not from our star system. Accordingly, exo-moons are moons that orbit planets that orbit stars that aren’t the Sun. Sounds pretty cool, right? Well exomoons get even more interesting. In fact, exomoons are currently the subject of…
Asteroid Defense Systems
As it currently stands, Earth has no recourse if a large asteroid decides to strike. Something on the scale of the Cretaceous-Paleogene event would devastate humanity. So, how do we protect ourselves against such an impact? Enter NASA and the “National Near-Earth Object Preparedness and Strategy Plan.” According to them, five steps need to be … Continue reading Asteroid Defense Systems → Continue reading
Posted in Physics, Public Policy, Small SS Objects
Tagged asteroids, astro2110, blog5, impact
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Pulsars are cool
Pulsars are pretty dang cool. Pulsars are a kind of neutron star that rotates really rapidly. As they spin about their axis, they shoot off “pulses” or beams of energy. These beams are emitted from their magnetic poles. Pulsars (like all neutron stars) are formed from…