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Tag Archives: blog5
The Great Red Spot
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. In my opinion it is also one of the most interesting. One of the interesting features on Jupiter is its Great Red Spot. The Great Red Spot is a churning, red hurricane that is twice the size of Earth. It was first discovered in 1831, soContinue reading “The Great Red Spot” Continue reading
An Important Musician In Astronomy
Many will remember William Herschel as the one who found planet Uranus. This founding was shocking and revolutionary. After all, Uranus was the first star found by humans for a long time. Nevertheless, there are many more interesting things one can say about William Herschel. For one, he did not train to be an astronomer.Continue reading “An Important Musician In Astronomy” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Historical
Tagged astro2110, blog5, history
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Comets: where do they come from?
A comet is made of a nucleus (inner core), coma (cloudy envelope around the nucleus), and then a tail. Where exactly do these beautiful, fast-moving cosmic snowballs come from? Scientists are able to trace comets that we see in the inner solar system by retracing their orbits. Through this, scientists believe that comets come fromContinue reading “Comets: where do they come from?” Continue reading
How Big Can a Planet Get?
Jupiter is big. Not only is it the biggest planet in our solar system, but it is large enough to fit all the other planets in the solar system inside of it. However, Jupiter is not as dense as Earth, and even though it can fit about 1,300 Earths inside of it, it is approximatelyContinue reading “How Big Can a Planet Get?” Continue reading
Life on Europa?
When considering the likeliest hosts for extraterrestrial life in our very own system, Europa surely is near the top of possible candidates. One of Jupiter’s 79 (!) moons, it possesses the smoothest surface of any celestial body in the solar system. Because of this and imaging from probes, scientists have hypothesized that Europa has aContinue reading “Life on Europa?” Continue reading
Why isn’t Pluto a planet?
Contrary to what Jerry Smith says in Rick and Morty, Pluto is not a planet. But why did Pluto lose this designation in 2006? The International Astronomical Union has 3 main criteria to determine what is a planet and what is not. These three criteria are: having an orbit around the sun, having sufficient massContinue reading “Why isn’t Pluto a planet?” Continue reading
Dwarf Perspective
There are many celestial bodies in the Kuiper Belt. One notable object is a dwarf planet named Makemake. This dwarf planet was one of the objects NASA used to demote Pluto from its previous planet status down to dwarf planet status. NASA wasn’t aware of other bodies that looked like Pluto, and when they foundContinue reading “Dwarf Perspective” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Dwarf Planets, Observables
Tagged astro2110, blog5, NASA, pluto
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Plasma Bubble Around Uranus
On January 14, 1986, Voyager 2 captured a picture of Uranus, capturing the planet’s chilling-blue color. Although the giant planet was already known for being odd — spinning on its side and having an off-center magnetic field. However, it was also recently identified that the icy planet has a giant magnetic bubble around it madeContinue reading “Plasma Bubble Around Uranus” Continue reading
Posted in Class
Tagged astro2110, blog5, gas giants, uranus
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Would Landing on Europa Make Us Europeans?
As I commented in a previous blog post, one of the most fascinating questions that a person studying the solar system can ask is whether life exists outside of our Earthly home. Within this question lay an abundance of philosophical arguments, all counteracting one another and seeking to define the ‘correct’ answer to this question.Continue reading “Would Landing on Europa Make Us Europeans?” Continue reading
So Close, Yet From So Far ☄️
The above image is of Comet Atlas, which is a comet that has been getting closer and much, much brighter over the past few weeks. If it doesn’t fizzle out, Comet Atlas will be able to be seen by the naked eye in as little time as a couple of weeks, at places without much … Continue reading So Close, Yet From So Far ☄️ Continue reading
Posted in Class, SolarSystem
Tagged astro2110, blog5, Comets, Kuiper Belt
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