Tag Archives: blog5

The Sun is Not On Fire

In the video above, it may seem that the sun is a boiling ball of fire.  Fires provide us light and heat similar to our sun, so it makes sense that people would think that the sun actually is a ball of fire.  However, fire requires a chemical to be burned.  The sun is made up […] Continue reading

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Planet Earth in the Splash Zone

We often take for granted our Earthly paradise; with its warm temperatures and comforting blue skies, it’s easy to overlook the uniqueness that is Earth. This is even especially true when we consider the vast amount of liquid water on our planet. Water itself is not all that special, it can be found all over … Continue reading Planet Earth in the Splash Zone Continue reading

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Almost Interstellar

So, has humanity become Earth’s first interstellar species?  It all depends on whether the Voyager 1 spacecraft has left our solar system or not. Voyager NASA First, some history.  The Voyager program actually consisted of two space probes, Voyager 1 and 2, launched September 5, 1977 and August 20, 1977, respectively.  The probes were launched […] Continue reading

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Greenhouse Gases

As noted in the textbook, the Earth is hotter than it would be without it’s atmosphere.  According to the EES 201 notes, just based on incoming solar radiation and 30% reflected back to space, the Earth is 255 K.   … Continue reading Continue reading

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Building the Launch Pad of the Future

NASA’s Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program is currently upgrading and modifying Launch Pad 39B (pictured above) at the Kennedy Space Center. The Space Launch System, with the Orion spacecraft atop it, will release from this … Continue reading

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Things You can Do with a WMD

If your knowledge is lacking, historically… A WMD stands for a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Commonly they refer to nuclear weapons: fission based and fusion based. Fusion based weapons are more powerful. I will talk about fusion based weapons. Because they make a bigger bang. I like big bangs. Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Exactly. But […] Continue reading

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NASA Pinpoints Cause of 2011 Arctic Ozone Hole

The causes of ozone depletion are ozone destroying chemical reactions (CFCs), frigid temperatures, and sunlight. Both poles undergo ozone depletion during the winter months, but the Arctic’s ozone typically experiences […] Continue reading

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The Birth of Solar System

It is so amazing that we live in such an organized solar system. Most planets rotate in the same direction as the Sun’s rotation, and of all planets are very close to the same plane. A theory of solar system formation must explain all these characteristics. The nebular theory seems to explain these phenomena neatly. […] Continue reading

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Quantum What?

The Sun is really hot, yeah we all know that. We also know that all of this heat is produced by the fusion of hydrogen into helium in the core. However, did you know that the temperature required to produce fusion here on Earth (100 million K)  is much greater than the temperatures present in […] Continue reading

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How much did the Apollo Missions Cost?

Recently, due to Budgetary Concerns, the Government has made cuts to NASA programs and has eliminated the Space Shuttle Program.  As a result many scientists and space enthusiasts have complained that NASA expenses are minuscule compared to the many other articles of government expenses on the budget.  In addition, according to our book, many people have […] Continue reading

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