Tag Archives: blog5

Blog 5: Pluto

Pluto is a very weird, and unknown “mass”. Since being alive, our generation has known Pluto as the 9th planet of the solar system, and now as a giant rock, or dwarf planet. Despite this, Pluto has some very cool features that aren’t seen other places in the solar system, such as Ice Volcanos. Although […] Continue reading

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Cryovolcanoes on Pluto

A recent discovery published by Nature Communications has revealed a series of ice volcanoes on the surface of Pluto. The images which lead to this discovery were captured by Nasa’s New Horizons in 2015, but it was only recently that scientists were able to identify specific peaks that they now believe are ice volcanoes, known […] Continue reading

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Kepler-186f

Kepler-186f is an extrasolar planet that was discovered on July 23, 2015. It was the first rocky planet about the size of Earth found in the habitable zone. The habitable zone is an area around a star where the temperature is good for liquid water. Oth… Continue reading

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You Can’t Sit With us

The famous used to be planet kicked out by none other than Neil deGrasse Tyson is now considered a dwarf planet, ever since 2006. Pluto was reclassified because it didn’t meet the three criteria the IUA uses to define a full sized planet Criteria Must orbit a star  It must be big enough to have […] Continue reading

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Explore Giants

Earth may seem special to us, but it is just one of a near countless number of planets in our universe—a rather small one at that. Giant planets are those planets that dwarf Earth in size. They are gaseous bodies, meaning that they are primarily composed out of a swirling combination of gasses held togetherContinue reading “Explore Giants” Continue reading

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Kuiper Belt Objects

The Kuiper Belt is a region in the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune as shown in the photo above. Although they have only scratched the surface, there has been about 2,000 objects discovered so far in the Kuiper belt. It is said to be filled with bits of rock and ice, along withContinue reading “Kuiper Belt Objects” Continue reading

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The Heart of Pluto

Pluto’s beloved carotid glacier, Tombaugh Regio, has been the apple of astronomers’ eyes ever since New Horizons made its fly-by in 2015. This fly-by gave us the highest resolution images of Pluto we’ve ever been able to capture, and in these new photos, a particular feature on the dwarf planet’s surface rose to a meteoricContinue reading “The Heart of Pluto” Continue reading

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Types of Kuiper Belt Objects

You have likely heard of the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter, but did you know we also have the Kuiper belt? It’s approximately 20 AU (astronomical units) wide and is located beyond Neptune. Several dwarf planets such as Pluto, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris are all located here. Unlike asteroids which are mostly composedContinue reading “Types of Kuiper Belt Objects” Continue reading

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A Dwarf Planet is Still Cool!

On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union changed Pluto’s status from planet to dwarf planet.  This caused an outrage amongst the public.  Memes were created and shared expressing Pluto’s sadness at its “demotion” from planetary status.  Textbooks had to be changed and the general public was oddly passionate over an object in space’s official title.  Nevertheless, people wereContinue reading “A Dwarf Planet is Still Cool!” Continue reading

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Blog 5: Is there life on Europa?

The moon Europa orbits Jupiter alongside three other unique satellites described as “Jupiter’s Galilean moons”; these moons although similar in size to our moon (especially Io and Europa) display geological activity very different from what is observed on our own. Europa in particular, after telescope observation and satellite missions such as Voyager 1 and 2,Continue reading “Blog 5: Is there life on Europa?” Continue reading

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