Tag Archives: astronomy

Planet X: The Real 9th Planet?

With Pluto’s demotion to a “dwarf planet,” the solar system was left with 8 planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It now seems that the number 8 may not survive for long, as researchers are now searching for a 9th planet that they think exists in the far-away outer solar system. […] Continue reading

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Pluto: the Eccentric “Planet”

Most of us have heard of Pluto’s downgrade from the category of planet to “dwarf planet,” but it is less well-known why it was demoted. One of the main reasons had nothing to do with size and everything to do with Pluto’s strange orbit. Instead of orbiting with the sun roughly at the center of […] Continue reading

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Are We Alone?

  I’ll actually take the liberty of answering that. Of course not! How, in our exponentially infinite and ever expanding universe, could it have been us that just happened to luck out on the single life supporting planet? There is certainly other life out there, it’s just a matter of where and what type. Operating […] Continue reading

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Climate Change from the Perspective of Astronomy: Venus and the Earth

Today we hear about climate change pretty often. Whether it’s politicians debating on policy or the “please recycle” signs on the backs of plastic products, the reality of pollution and the other bad ways humans have influenced the environment is hard to ignore. CO2 emissions  and the greenhouse effect are common themes in this topic, […] Continue reading

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Shine on, Crazy Diamond

All the light we see and information we receive in our day to day lives is all thanks to the sun- but do we ever really stop to think what allows the sun to produce to light we so rely on? The sun actually relies heavily on quantum physics to even exist- which sounds very […] Continue reading

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Retrograde Motion: Illusions and Jinxes

Understanding the heavens has proven confusing for countless generations of humans in part because of the illusions caused by our perspective from earth. For millennia, the majority opinion was a geocentric universe, where the sun, moon, planets, and stars revolved around the earth, since they all seemed to do so from the earth’s perspective. All […] Continue reading

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A Powerful Letter

Chapter 3 explained to us how Galileo solidified the Copernican revolution, and sealed the case on how Earth would be viewed in perspective of the universe. In 1615, Galileo wrote a letter to Grand Duchess Christina, in attempt to accommodate his observations’ confirmation of Copernicanism with the doctrines and scripture of the Church. He held … Continue reading A Powerful Letter Continue reading

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A Powerful Letter

Chapter 3 explained to us how Galileo solidified the Copernican revolution, and sealed the case on how Earth would be viewed in perspective of the universe. In 1615, Galileo wrote a letter to Grand Duchess Christina, in attempt to accommodate his observations’ confirmation of Copernicanism with the doctrines and scripture of the Church. He held … Continue reading A Powerful Letter Continue reading

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Physics in the Olympics

We have all heard the joke which rings all too true: the Olympics need one average person competing for reference. Last night, olympic figure skaters dazzled the international community with their many spins and jumps. I found myself extremely curious as to how the skaters are able to spin so many times with apparent ease. … Continue reading Physics in the Olympics Continue reading

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Physics in the Olympics

We have all heard the joke which rings all too true: the Olympics need one average person competing for reference. Last night, olympic figure skaters dazzled the international community with their many spins and jumps. I found myself extremely curious as to how the skaters are able to spin so many times with apparent ease. … Continue reading Physics in the Olympics Continue reading

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