Category Archives: SolarSystem

Blog 5: Saturn’s Rings

Saturn’s most distinct feature is its stunning rings, visible even through basic telescopes! Thanks to flyby and orbiter missions around the planet, we have wonderful photos of Saturn and its rings. The image above shows the rings on the night side of Saturn, part of which fall into the planet’s shadows and the other part … Continue reading Blog 5: Saturn’s Rings Continue reading

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Black Holes Discovered in Milky Way Center

For many years now, the astronomy community has believed that there must be a single super-massive black hole at the center of our galaxy, but new research done by astronomers at Columbia University may have changed that belief. According to their research, data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory has shown that there are at least … Continue reading Black Holes Discovered in Milky Way Center Continue reading

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Black Holes Discovered in Milky Way Center

For many years now, the astronomy community has believed that there must be a single super-massive black hole at the center of our galaxy, but new research done by astronomers at Columbia University may have changed that belief. According to their research, data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory has shown that there are at least … Continue reading Black Holes Discovered in Milky Way Center Continue reading

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The Peculiar Dwarf Planet: Haumea

Haumea is a recently discovered dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt that has some very unique features. The first thing many people notice is that Haumea is shaped more like a football than a sphere. This is due to the fact that Haumea spins around its axis roughly every four hours. This extreme rotation causes … Continue reading The Peculiar Dwarf Planet: Haumea Continue reading

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The Peculiar Dwarf Planet: Haumea

Haumea is a recently discovered dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt that has some very unique features. The first thing many people notice is that Haumea is shaped more like a football than a sphere. This is due to the fact that Haumea spins around its axis roughly every four hours. This extreme rotation causes … Continue reading The Peculiar Dwarf Planet: Haumea Continue reading

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The Potential (and the Potential Challenges) of Life on Europa

When discussing the potential of finding life in our solar system, people are inclined to think of discovering large and complex life forms such as humans on another planet. Surprisingly, if we are to find life in our solar system outside of Earth, it will most likely be in the form of microorganisms within another … Continue reading The Potential (and the Potential Challenges) of Life on Europa Continue reading

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The Potential (and the Potential Challenges) of Life on Europa

When discussing the potential of finding life in our solar system, people are inclined to think of discovering large and complex life forms such as humans on another planet. Surprisingly, if we are to find life in our solar system outside of Earth, it will most likely be in the form of microorganisms within another … Continue reading The Potential (and the Potential Challenges) of Life on Europa Continue reading

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Sunspots

Sunspots are areas of the sun that appear dark because they are cooler than their surroundings and are used as an indicator of solar activity. They are formed because material at the solar equator moves significantly faster than the materials at the poles, causing the magnetic field lines to become warped. If the magnetic field … Continue reading Sunspots Continue reading

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Voyager 1

Voyager 1 is currently the farthest spacecraft we have ever sent out. It was launched in 1977 and is currently 141 AU or 13 billion miles away from Earth right now. It is traveling at 38,000 mph but has not even travel a full light day yet. The original purpose of the Voyager missions was … Continue reading Voyager 1 Continue reading

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Martian Dust Devils

  Martian dust devils are much like tornadoes on Earth. Both storms form the same way, but what distinguishes these dust devils from the tornadoes on Earth is that they are much bigger ( 1-2 km across and 8-10 km wide!) and the fact that dust devils occur much more frequently on Mars than tornadoes … Continue reading Martian Dust Devils Continue reading

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