Tag Archives: blog5

The Moons of the Jovian Planets

Posted on April 17, 2022 by McKenzieKing

Some of the most well known moons in our Solar System, aside from our own, are Jupiter’s Moons. They are known as Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. However, there are over 170 known moons that orbit all of the Jovian…

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Using Variable Stars to Find Exoplanets

Posted on April 17, 2022 by alexlitt

One of the preeminent methods for finding exoplanets is tracking periodic variations in stellar brightness. In class, we practiced this technique by examining the light curves of certain variable stars and identifying the presence of orbiting exoplanets. In the real world, scientists must first identify variable stars and then determine which of these variable stars’ […] Continue reading →

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Blog 5: Comets

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Comets are relatively small bodies in our solar system comprised of dust, rock, gases, and ice. They are remnants from the formation of the solar system, and their solid bodies, or nuclei, can range from a few miles to dozens of miles wide. When its orbit gets close to the sun, this nucleus heats up […] Continue reading →

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The Moons of Jupiter

Posted on April 17, 2022 by AndreaS

Jupiter has many moons, but the largest of them are the Galilean moon, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io. This post will explore the defining features of these Jovian moons. The largest of Jupiter’s moons is Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System. In fact, Ganymede is larger than Mercury. This moon has a liquid […] Continue reading →

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Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

Posted on April 17, 2022 by alexbawa

Growing up, I grew to recognize Jupiter’s distinctive birthmark, but I never attempted to understand it. I figured their were clever astronomers out there who knew what was going on and I’d end up absorbing what they know from a TED talk at 1.5x speed. After looking into it though, it turns out the Great […] Continue reading →

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Blog 5: Eris

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Charles Littleton

Eris is a trans-Neptunian object and is the second-largest dwarf planet in the solar system. It was discovered in 2005. It is .28 % the mass of Earth. Eris has one large moon, Dsymonia.It is about  96 AU away from the sun. Its orbital period is 559 Years. Its surface has methane ice. This shows […] Continue reading →

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Interesting facts about Pluto and our path to exploring it

Posted on April 17, 2022 by jadonroy

Dr. Alan Stern is most known for his role as the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. Recently, Dr. Stern spoke at Purdue University on October 10, 2019, discussing and examining the topic of “What If We Return to Pluto?” During this discussion, he detailed many interesting […] Continue reading →

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Jupiter’s Magnetosphere

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Sheila Chau

Jupiter’s magnetosphere is by far the strongest. This is because of how thick its layer of metallic hydrogen is and its high-speed rotation rate. Its strength is 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s. It’s so large that it begins to avert the solar wind almost 3 million kilometers before it even reaches Jupiter. Jupiter’s magnetosphere in…Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Jovian Layers

Posted on April 17, 2022 by solarelizabeth

The formation of our solar system helps explain the composition of the Jovian planets. Past the frost line, hydrogen compounds condensed into ices. The four jovian planets started as icy planetismals, but Jupiter and Saturn captured much more hydrogen and helium gas than Uranus and Neptune during solar system formation. This is probably because Jupiter […] Continue reading →

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Hot Jupiters: Migration and Orbital Changes

Posted on April 17, 2022 by jordanekstein

Hot Jupiters are gas giants that have orbital periods that are very close to their stars; often less than 10 days. Usually this means they are less than 0.1AU away from their stars which is one tenth the distance between earth and the sun. While scientists originally did not think giant planets could exist this […] Continue reading →

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