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Tag Archives: asteroids
nASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission
The sample return capsule from the OSIRIS-REx mission OSIRIS-REx was NASA’s mission to collect a sample from the asteroid Bennu. In September 2023, OSIRIS-REx returned to Earth to drop off material from Bennu. OSIRIS-REx continued on a new mission, OSIRIS-APEX. The objective of the new mission is to study Apophis, which the spacecraft will reach […] Continue reading
bLOG 6: HOW MUCH DOES SIZE MATTER (FOR VOLCANISM and CRYOVOLCANISM)?
Even some of the smallest world in our solar system exhibit (or have exhibited) evidence of volcanism or cryovolcanism. Asteroids like Vesta, with radii of only several hundred kilometers, displays features that indicate that they once exhibited active volcanism and even separation by differentiation. Although their volcanism lasted for periods that were geologically very brief, […] Continue reading
Space Potatoes!
(Diagram showing various asteroids, very potato shaped, you may notice) As Dr. G says, “When I say Asteroids, you say Space Potatoes!” But what exactly does that mean? The reason we liken asteroids to potatoes is because of their shape (unfortunately, they do not taste as good as those beautiful starchy tubers) (Side note: in […] Continue reading
Posted in Observables, Small SS Objects
Tagged asteroids, astro2110, blog6
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Bog 5 – Chelyabinsk Meteor
A relatively recent and frightening meteoric event occurred in the quaint city of Chelyabinsk in Russia on February 15, 2013. This incident is rather interesting since damage caused by the meteor was not due to impact, but rather violent shockwaves produced by the airborne-meteor’s explosion over the city. The explosion occurred when the meteor, roughly […] Continue reading
Mine
Gotteem. This ain’t about Valentine’s Day. Nor is it about Minecraft. Nor the seagulls from Finding Nemo. This is about asteroid mining. You’ve been jabaited. But stick around for the ride of your life, or well, a mildly exciting exploration of the next generation of mining. The Earth is limited in its resources, as we […] Continue reading
The Kuiper Belt: Exploring New Horizons
Hello (again), and welcome (back) to my Astronomy Blog! Today’s post is about the Kuiper Belt and its objects. What is the Kuiper Belt? The Kuiper (Kai-per) Belt is a donut-shaped region beyond the orbit of Neptune. Within the Kuiper Belt, it is estimated that millions of icy objects (or even trillions of these objects, […] Continue reading
Posted in Class, Dwarf Planets, Historical
Tagged asteroids, astro2110, blog5, Comets, Kuiper Belt, NASA, new horizons, pluto
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What would happen if an asteroid struck present-day Earth?
We normally only see asteroids striking Earth in science fiction (what a relief!). NASA actually has an observatory whose sole purpose is to track both asteroids and comets and that appear like they might come close to Earth. During December of 2022, there were 5 asteroids that were placed on watch. Two of these asteroids […] Continue reading
Where Did We Get Our Water?
We know that Earth is the only planet in the solar system currently capable of housing liquid water. The other planets are too low pressure or too hot for water to exist as it does on Earth. However, other bodies in the solar system do have solid water, also known as ice! The moon and […] Continue reading
Asteroids and nucleotides | blog VIII
Just five days ago, researchers identified the last two nucleotide bases in asteroid samples that had previously been unrecognized. Professor and researcher Yasuhiro Oba at Hokkaido University in Japan, alongside a team of scientists, successfully identified the missing cytosine and thymine nucleases. Unlike the other bases, Cyt. and Thy. have very delicate structures, making them […] Continue reading
Posted in Class | Astr 2110
Tagged asteroids, astrobiology, blog8
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Nucleobases in Asteroids
Nucleobases are the building blocks of DNA and RNA. There are five total nucleobases (adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine, and uracil) and three of the five have been found in meteorites. Recently, the last two nucleobases have also been identified. Th… Continue reading
Posted in Class
Tagged asteroids, astro2110, blog7, Solar System: Small SS Objects
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