Category Archives: SolarSystem

Large Asteroid Flyby on April 29th

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Phillip Yoon

If you’ve been scrolling through random news articles over the past few weeks, you may have come across an article about a large asteroid that may end human civilization if it strikes the Earth. Just to be clear, this asteroid will not hit Earth and will barely have any effect on civilization. NASA is currentlyContinue reading “Large Asteroid Flyby on April 29th” Continue reading →

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The Interiors of the Giants of the Solar System

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Jonah

The giants of our solar system, other than the Sun of course, are quite different from the terrestrial planets whether it comes to the atmospheres, the surfaces, size, or other planetary features. One key difference is the interior of these giant planets. Terrestrial planets, for context, have a very dense core followed by a rockyContinue reading “The Interiors of the Giants of the Solar System” Continue reading →

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Meet Makemake: The Dwarf Planet Partially Responsible for Pluto’s Demotion

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Jack

Pluto was discovered in 1930, and was classified as a planet. In 2006, as most of us probably know, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. A significant amount of the population, whether justified or not, are opposed to the removal of Pluto from the official list of planets, primarily out of nostalgia for oneContinue reading “Meet Makemake: The Dwarf Planet Partially Responsible for Pluto’s Demotion” Continue reading →

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Big Planets’ Moons and Life Outside “Habitability”

Posted on March 29, 2020 by remieri

Astrobiology has long relied on the concept of a “habitable zone”, that is a zone around a star that is the right distance from said star to hold liquid water, and therefore life. This concept is absolutely valuable, especially insofar as it allows us to classify new exoplanets and identify potential exoplanets that may hostContinue reading “Big Planets’ Moons and Life Outside “Habitability”” Continue reading →

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Jovian Planet Interiors

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Emily Chen

The Jovian planets are often called “gas giants,” making it sound as if they were entirely gaseous. However, this name can be misleading, as it is true Jupiter and Saturn became giant primarily because they captured so much hydrogen and helium gas, but their strong gravity compresses most of the “gas” into forms of matterContinue reading “Jovian Planet Interiors” Continue reading →

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Why Does Titan Have an Atmosphere?

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Reece Boggs

It’s pretty perplexing as to why Saturn’s moon, Titan, has such a thick atmosphere but a planet like Mars does not. Since the most widely accepted explanation of why Mars has such a thin atmosphere is it losing its magnetosphere as its core cooled and does not contain nearly as much metallic iron has theContinue reading “Why Does Titan Have an Atmosphere?” Continue reading →

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Jupiter’s Moons

Posted on March 28, 2020 by emily

Scientists believe that Jupiter has 79 moons, the most in the solar system. This is most likely because Jupiter is more massive, therefore is can hold on to more massive stuff the orbit around it. Additionally, the fact that Jupiter developed further away from the Sun in the formation process giving it access to moreContinue reading “Jupiter’s Moons” Continue reading →

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Blog #6 (EC): The Fermi Paradox

Posted on March 24, 2020 by John Harrington

An interesting concept that occupies the minds of many philosophers and scientists alike is the idea of life outside of Earth (and outside of our solar system). Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi posited that there exists a paradox describing the possibility of life outside of our world: there is no physical evidence to prove (or evenContinue reading “Blog #6 (EC): The Fermi Paradox” Continue reading →

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Blog #5: Pluto’s Demotion

Posted on March 24, 2020 by John Harrington

Several years ago, as I’m sure we all remember, Pluto was demoted from Planet status to Dwarf Planet status. This change was an interesting (and controversial) one because Pluto essentially remains in limbo between the two classifications. Pluto was the smallest planet in the solar system–but it’s now the largest dwarf planet in the solarContinue reading “Blog #5: Pluto’s Demotion” Continue reading →

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The Chelyabinsk Meteor and Other Near-Earth Objects

Posted on March 23, 2020 by gabezharovtothemoon

Both of my parents were born and raised in the Soviet Union, with my dad spending the first twenty years of his life in Chelyabinsk, a city east of the Ural Mountains which serve as a border between Europe and Asia. From my father’s stories, the city did not seem to have much excitement otherContinue reading “The Chelyabinsk Meteor and Other Near-Earth Objects” Continue reading →

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