Tag Archives: blog4

The Great Red Spot

Posted on March 22, 2021 by derrick37027

The Great Red Spot refers to a gigantic storm on the planet Jupiter. Imagine the largest hurricane you can think of, multiply that by 1000, then make the entire vortex the color of a penny. In fact, this hurricane is so big that, at one point, it was three times the diameter of Earth. FirstContinue reading “The Great Red Spot” Continue reading →

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Solar Flares

Posted on March 22, 2021 by wendyyb

The sun is massive. And despite it being so far away, I can’t help but wonder if activity on the sun could possibly effect life on Earth. Enter: solar flares. According to NASA, solar flares are “great bursts of electromagnetic energy and particles that can sometimes stream from the Sun”. Occasionally, solar maximums occur whichContinue reading “Solar Flares” Continue reading →

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Climate Change: Why You Should Care

Posted on March 22, 2021 by hunterspiveyastr

We constantly hear about climate change in the media. So many political figures and social media users seem to argue about it on the daily. They debate whether it is real or not, whether it matters if it is real, or are we even the ones causing it if it is real? Along with theseContinue reading “Climate Change: Why You Should Care” Continue reading →

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Scenes from Hubble: Saturn’s Seasons

Posted on March 22, 2021 by allyworthington

Images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope show changing seasons on the gas giant, Saturn. Saturn has a slower orbit than Earth (29 years to orbit the sun!), which makes each “season” on the planet over 7 years long. Similar to Earth, Saturn is tilted on an axis, which affects the intensity of sunlight on sides … Continue reading Scenes from Hubble: Saturn’s Seasons → Continue reading →

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A History of Observing the Sun

Posted on March 22, 2021 by mwdobson3

Kevin Durant, a two-time NBA champion, once tweeted: “I’m wondering how do these people kno what’s goin on on the the sun.. ain’t nobody ever been.” Like his tweet from 2010, I too wondered how humans have been able to study the Sun’s surface and what discoveries have been made to determine the surface’s characteristics.Continue reading “A History of Observing the Sun” Continue reading →

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Pivoting from Principle

Posted on March 22, 2021 by rightascensionanddeclinolan

Astronomy is awesome.  It lets us make cool observations (e.g., things that inform our understanding of the foundations of the universe, like the Cosmic Microwave Background), helps us ask big questions (e.g., why does the universe exist?), and reminds us that not all questions have answers (e.g., we can’t really expect an answer to theContinue reading “Pivoting from Principle” Continue reading →

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Martian Lakes

Posted on March 22, 2021 by brandonlipper

With the intimate connection between water and life, the discovery and understanding of water on Mars has been a crucial point of research that is continuing to be updated. Although there is no liquid water on the surface of Mars, there is water in the form of ice in polar caps and glaciers. If allContinue reading “Martian Lakes” Continue reading →

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The Star Destroyer: Supernova

Posted on March 21, 2021 by brynicdew

Stars take the idea of a “last hurrah” to beautifully explosive level. When a star runs out of energy and collapses, it will condense into a bundle of energy and explode. Supernovas are by far the largest explosion in the universe and can only occur to a star that is truly massive. Supernovas normally occurContinue reading “The Star Destroyer: Supernova” Continue reading →

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No sunspots on the Sun?

Posted on March 21, 2021 by connorrobbwilcox

Have you ever seen pictures of the Sun and noticed that it has dark spots on its surface? These sunspots are cooler than the other regions on the Sun, but they also represent the beginning of new solar cycles. In fact, some signs point to the next cycle, Cycle 25, having a much smaller numberContinue reading “No sunspots on the Sun?” Continue reading →

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BepiColombo and Learning about Mercury

Posted on March 21, 2021 by laineroberts

As discussed in chapter 9 of our textbook, scientists still have a lot to learn about Mercury, especially since it doesn’t seem to follow quite the same patterns that most of the planets in our solar system follow, studying the planet could possibly help scientists to gain a better understanding of planets outside of ourContinue reading “BepiColombo and Learning about Mercury” Continue reading →

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