Tag Archives: astro2110

Blog 8: Why Try?

Humanity is constantly being humbled by nature on our very own planet, not to mention the vast expanse of the cosmos. The fastest thing we have ever created, the Parker Solar Probe, was clocked at 330,000 miles per hour in 2020, as it orbited around the sun at an absolutely breakneck pace. Parker’s speed constitutes […] Continue reading

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Drake Equation

After watching a ton of Sci-Fi movies and hearing just how big the universe is, you start to wonder if we are really the only things out here in space. The universe is so massive that there has to be something else out there. Right? We can’t say for sure because we haven’t searched all […] Continue reading

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Visualizing Exoplanet s

The subject of my blog 5 post was the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. While learning about this system of extrasolar planets, I was fascinated by the  illustrations of exoplanets that can’t be photographed by telescopes. Tim Pyle and Robert Hurt are two artists who create renderings of exoplanets by using data about an exoplanet’s size, mass, […] Continue reading

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Blog 7: The Fermi Paradox

Many scientists have theorized that we are not alone in the universe. Indeed, there are many scenarios that should lend themselves to the existence of life. The conditions inherent in theoretical models that have been developed to explain Earth’s formation and subsequent development of life exist elsewhere. Not only do they exist, but they appear […] Continue reading

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NASA’s Astrobiology Program

Astrobiologists at NASA use data from many NASA missions to study the possibility of life on other worlds. Here are a few ways they use data from other missions to support the NASA Astrobiology Program:  Chandra X-ray Observatory   The Chandra X-ray Observatory is a telescope that detects emission from extremely hot regions of space (exploded […] Continue reading

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Blog 7 – Extremophiles

Extremophiles are organisms, usually microbacteria, that can survive in extreme environments. These environments are characterized by conditions uninhabitable to humans. The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, is iconic for its bright, seemingly unnatural colors. However, these colors are a result of extremophiles, specifically, thermophiles! Thermophiles are classified as “heat-loving” organisms, and are one […] Continue reading

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The End of the Universe

One of the more morbid questions that astronomers have debated over the last few decades has been the possibility of the end of the universe. With the widespread acceptance of a model of the universe that is in some way finite, there are questions about how the state of that universe could change over time. […] Continue reading

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Historical Astronomers in Context— Galileo

Picture of Galileo Galileo (February 15, 1564 – January 8, 1642) made major strides in the argument for heliocentrism, observing sunspots and the phases of Venus, two pieces of information that seemed to point to the imperfection of the celestial world and that the Sun was the gravitational center of the Solar System about which […] Continue reading

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Blog 8 – ASTRONOMY!!!

My favorite astronomy image! In this blog post, I will give an overview of my experience in astronomy so far, and what I am excited about in the future. I have found ways to integrate astronomy in many conversations. My favorite example is when I related the world of astronomy to a concept that came […] Continue reading

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Blog 7 – Drake Equation “Haters”

Frank Drake in front of his “Drake Equation” I had a great time learning about and using the Drake Equation during our class period. However, after doing more research, I found many people who are heavily against the Drake Equation. In this blog post, I will review some of their main arguments. First, on “Y […] Continue reading

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