Tag Archives: astro2110

Blog 6: Asteroid Size

Asteroids, with their varied shapes and sizes, are fascinating objects of the solar system. Their shapes are largely dictated by gravitational forces, with larger asteroids having enough gravity to form into roundish objects. These space rocks are riddled with craters due to many collisions over time. Among them, Ceres stands out as the largest, with a diameter just under […] Continue reading

Posted in Universe | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Blog 6: Asteroid Size

The Not so Coolest Exoplanet

Now, I am from Phoenix, Arizona and it gets pretty hot over there. Which is why I think this is the “coolest” exoplanet. 55 Cancri E. Take a look at this beauty. Artist representation of 55 Cancri E This is a planet I can get down with. It looks exactly like Mustafar from Star Wars. […] Continue reading

Posted in Exoplanets | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Not so Coolest Exoplanet

Blog 5 – Pluto

Johns Hopkins University HUB As we learned in class/from Dr. Stern’s Pluto talk, we really did not know a whole lot about Pluto until the historic New Horizons flyby in 2015. However, that daring team of scientists allowed us to discover new things about Pluto that people had not even fathomed before. For example, Pluto […] Continue reading

Posted in Space Travel | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Blog 5 – Pluto

Upcoming Mission: Dragonfly

Since our class is coming to a close, I have been curious about future astronomical missions. What will the students who take ASTR 2110 learn that we do not have access to yet? One of NASA’s upcoming missions in partnership with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, is called Dragonfly and it will be observing the […] Continue reading

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Upcoming Mission: Dragonfly

The Kuiper Belt

The Kuiper Belt was foreign to me before this class. I had never heard of it and because of that it stuck out to me. The basics of the Kuiper Belt is that it is the large region beyond Neptune. It stretches from about 30au-50au from the Sun. So far NASA says that only 2000 […] Continue reading

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Kuiper Belt

The Differences Between our Jovian Planets – Blog #6 – Cameron Klein

As I read through section 11.1 in our textbook, I realized that I did not comprehend as much as I would have liked about the differences between our Jovian planets. Therefore, I feel as though doing more research about them and writing this blog post will serve as an amazing study tool! This blog post […] Continue reading

Posted in Jovians | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Differences Between our Jovian Planets – Blog #6 – Cameron Klein

Comets – Blog Post #5 – Cameron Klein

After learning briefly about asteroids and comets during previous units, I became intrigued by them. I had known a little bit about comets and where they are located within our solar system, but as I was reading about this in our textbook, I realized just how much more there was to learn. Comets are extremely […] Continue reading

Posted in Small SS Objects | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Comets – Blog Post #5 – Cameron Klein

Our Closest Stellar Neighbor

If I am going to be honest, my decision to dedicate this blog post to the Alpha Centauri system comes from a TV show that I watched a few years ago. Netflix’s remake of Lost in Space follows a family as they travel across the universe to Alpha Centauri to start a colony there. Captured […] Continue reading

Posted in Exoplanets, Stars, Universe | Tagged , | Comments Off on Our Closest Stellar Neighbor

SpaceTech – An Emerging Industry

The SpaceTech industry is filled with companies attempting to reduce costs and drive innovation in the world of space exploration. In this blog post, I will cover a few leading companies in this space. Continue reading

Posted in Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on SpaceTech – An Emerging Industry

Blog 5: Pluto and its Largest Moon

Pluto, situated 40 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, orbits the Sun every 248 years. Its path stands out due to its highly elliptical shape and inclination relative to the ecliptic plane, distinguishing it from the other planets. Pluto is orbited by five moons, with Charon being the largest and most notable. Charon orbits Pluto […] Continue reading

Posted in Moons, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Blog 5: Pluto and its Largest Moon