Category Archives: Universe

The Largest Structure in the Universe

Posted on April 11, 2016 by clharrell

Through our studies of the solar system this semester, we have focused particularly on the scale of the universe. Throughout the cosmos, there are countless structures that are far more massive than any we perceive. Our galaxy is held together by gravity, forming a cluster. We can also observe clusters being held together by gravity […] Continue reading →

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The Crab Nebula

Posted on April 10, 2016 by astr2110geoffren

When a star dies, it goes supernova and shoots everything that it was once made of across space. The explosion that formed the Crab Nebula was first documented by the Chinese in 1054 AD. Though, you didn’t need to be an astronomer to recognize the explosion or its resulting nebula. The Crab Nebula was visible for […] Continue reading →

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Supermassive Black Holes

Posted on April 10, 2016 by 2016spaceodyssey

Astronomers have recently discovered a supermassive black hole in a region of space that is sparsely populated.  The black hole is 17 billion times bigger than the Sun (by mass), making it one of the larger black holes ever discovered.  The strange part is that scientists had only ever found supermassive black holes at the […] Continue reading →

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Kepler Concerns

Posted on April 10, 2016 by nickwtheastronomer

One of NASA’s most prized space probes may be in need of some roadside assistance after a scheduled Thursday communication session revealed the craft has entered emergency mode. The Kepler spacecraft was launched in 2009 and is equipped with telescopes and instruments critical to the discovery and analysis of extrasolar planets. Little is known so […] Continue reading →

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Titan’s Peaks

Posted on April 10, 2016 by nedastro2110

Mountains have always been a source of fascination for me. I climbed my first 14er, Mt. Yale (Elevation 14,199 ft.), when I was in middle school. Hopefully one day I can return to Colorado to climb more as well as many other mountains in this world. One of my favorite mountains is Mount Amiata in […] Continue reading →

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A Lonely Planet Wandering Through Space

Posted on April 10, 2016 by 2016spaceodyssey

Astronomers have recently announced the discovery of a planet without a sun.  Known as PSO J318.5-22, the planet is a gas giant six times the mass of Jupiter, nowhere near large enough to be a Brown Dwarf.  In the past rouge planets or “planetary-mass objects” have been discovered but their size was large enough that […] Continue reading →

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Why We Think Dark Matter Exists

Posted on April 10, 2016 by solarsystemjoe

Solely based on our experiences, we might be inclined to say that most of the universe is composed of “normal matter,” electrons, quarks and other subatomic particles.   However,  we have reason to believe that there are other kinds of matter in the universe, dark matter and dark energy.  In fact, according to this pie […] Continue reading →

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The Darkest Planet in the Universe

Posted on April 10, 2016 by nickwtheastronomer

The planet sullenly staring back at you is TrES-2b and no it is not just going through a phase, this exoplanet is indeed the universe’s ultimate goth. TrES-2b is a gas giant which was first detected in 2006 by the Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey (TrES) employing the transit method of exoplanet discovery. In the transit method […] Continue reading →

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Another Step Toward the Stars

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Michaela Thomas

Unless you missed it somehow, you’ll know that today Elon Musk’s company Space X successfully landed a reusable rocket on a drone ship in the ocean. This rocket returned from space immediately after detaching from the supply ship headed toward the International Space Station. This is an important feat since it means so much less …

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Another Step Toward the Stars

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Michaela Thomas

Unless you missed it somehow, you’ll know that today Elon Musk’s company Space X successfully landed a reusable rocket on a drone ship in the ocean. This rocket returned from space immediately after detaching from the supply ship headed toward the International Space Station. This is an important feat since it means so much less […] Continue reading →

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