Tag Archives: blog8

Martian Aurora?

Source: National Geographic NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft has recently detected a strange aurora in the lower atmosphere of Mars. Dubbed “Christmas lights” by scientists, the mysterious phenomenon occurred for five days in December, following a solar electron storm. On Earth, auroras are formed when these particles slam into atmospheric atoms, but on Mars, the lack of […] Continue reading

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Studying the Effects of Space Travel on the Human Body

NASA is conducting an experiment to determine the effects of living in space on the human body. Such studies have been done before, but this one is unprecedented in the length of time the subject will spend in space (a full 365 days) and in that the participants are identical twins. One astronaut named Scott […] Continue reading

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The Toughest Creature in the World

In the early 1700s, several different scientists examining the components of water and water habitats came across a miniscule creature …

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0.58% vs 24%

The new NASA 2016 budget proposal of $18.53 billion was a $519 million increase from the $18.01 billion of 2015. However, despite NASA’s countless achievements and positive reputation, many people believe NASA’s budget is too high. Disregarding the significant influence that politics exerts on NASA, the main reason for public dissatisfaction towards NASA is due to … Continue reading 0.58% vs 24% Continue reading

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0.58% vs 24%

The new NASA 2016 budget proposal of $18.53 billion was a $519 million increase from the $18.01 billion of 2015. However, despite NASA’s countless achievements and positive reputation, many people believe NASA’s budget is too high. Disregarding the significant influence that politics exerts on NASA, the main reason for public dissatisfaction towards NASA is due to … Continue reading 0.58% vs 24% Continue reading

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Blog Post #8: Mike Brown and Eris

We did blog posts on historical astronomers, so why not take a look at recent history, too? Mike Brown was briefly mentioned …

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Kepler Search for Exoplanets

The Kepler spacecraft entered its 4th observing campaign in February. There are nearly 16,000 target stars, which are being searched for exoplanets and other astrophysical phenomena. Included in the target are two open star clusters in the Taurus constellation. Onboard fuel is projected to last until December 2017. In its previous campaigns, the Kepler team […] Continue reading

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Ganymede’s Ocean Confirmed?

Recent observations of Ganymede by Hubble appear to suggest that it may truly have an ocean far beneath its crust. Aurorae on the planet, caused by Ganymede’s magnetic field (the only moon in the solar system to have one), and their behavior seem to be suggestive of this high possibility. Ganymede’s distance from Jupiter allows […] Continue reading

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Saturn 2.0

So all the planets know that Saturn’s rings give it a really over-inflated ego.  But now there’s good news!  Maybe it’ll quit bragging now that it looks like there’s another planet with a bigger ring system.  Scientists think they’ve found an extrasolar planet with an elaborate ring system, the first discovery of a planet with… Continue reading

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Krakatoa: Will It Erupt Again?

Krakatoa is one of the deadliest volcanoes in human history. The island of Krakatoa (Krakatau) is part of the Indonesian Island Arc. It’s a volcanic island that has undergone a dramatic eruption in 1883. In May 1883, sailors began noticing clouds of ash rising more than 6 miles above the volcano as shown on the […] Continue reading

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