Tag Archives: blog6

Plutonium: Not Just a Power Source in “Back to the Future”

Posted on April 17, 2021 by connorrobbwilcox

Did you ever wonder how spaceships and shuttles have the power to take off and travel through that big black expanse we call space? Or ever thought about how these rockets survived with the limited technology we had in the 1950s, 60s and 70s during the Space Race? Well the answer has to do withContinue reading “Plutonium: Not Just a Power Source in “Back to the Future”” Continue reading →

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Blog 6: Huygens’s Descent to Titan

Posted on April 17, 2021 by mattj3

The Cassini orbiter, initially launched on October 15, 1997, traveled seven years with the objective to relay observations of Saturn and its satellites. Attached to this spacecraft was also the Huygens probe, designed to enter the atmosphere and land on the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. On January 14, 2005, Huygens executed its mission;Continue reading “Blog 6: Huygens’s Descent to Titan” Continue reading →

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Shine Bright like a Diamond ~Planet~

Posted on April 17, 2021 by adisonfields

That’s right, there exists a planet that appears to be one giant diamond.  55 Cancri e was discovered in 2004, orbiting a nearby star in our galaxy.  This star is actually visible to the naked eye in the night sky and is a part of the constellation Cancer.  Based on its mass, radius, and host star’s composition, itContinue reading “Shine Bright like a Diamond ~Planet~” Continue reading →

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The New Space-Based Instrument of American Imperialism– The Space Force

Posted on April 17, 2021 by wslopes

At first glance, I thought the newest branch of the US Military, Donald Trump’s “Space Force”, was going to be tasked with things such as dealing with more existential threats from Space, such as a life ending asteroid or something. While I was confused as to why this would warrant a 6th branch of theContinue reading “The New Space-Based Instrument of American Imperialism– The Space Force” Continue reading →

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Radiant Rings

Posted on April 17, 2021 by brynicdew

The rings of the Jovian planets are absolutely stunning, almost making you wish Earth had a few of its own! Every Jovian planet has its own group of rings to stare at. Saturn is quite famous for its bright, illustrious seven rings. These rings are named A-G in the order they were discovered. Surprisingly, dataContinue reading “Radiant Rings” Continue reading →

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Who Owns Space?

Posted on April 17, 2021 by weatherbysofferings

One of my foremost interests in life is politics, and whenever we’re engaged in astronomy, I can’t help but to view it through that lens. As such, one question has been nagging me – how is ownership and control of certain places defined in space? One of the foundational pieces of legislation on the matterContinue reading “Who Owns Space?” Continue reading →

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Shepherd Moons

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Mykayla

Saturn is known for its rings. For years, astronomers wondered what they were. Now we know that the rings of Saturn are made up of lots of icy particles ranging from the size of a grain of sand to a boulder. These particles comprise many different individual rings. The rings are flat, and appear toContinue reading “Shepherd Moons” Continue reading →

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Ultima Thule: The Space Peanut

Posted on April 17, 2021 by hunterspiveyastr

When the New Horizon spacecraft set out into our solar system in January of 2006, we felt like we had a pretty good idea of all the possible things we could find in our solar system. While we may find some surprises, we figured everything would be mostly roundish, and composed of some rocky/icy surfaceContinue reading “Ultima Thule: The Space Peanut” Continue reading →

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What’s in a name?: Gonggong & Xiangliu

Posted on April 17, 2021 by wendyyb

Much like many of their small world counterparts, Gonggong and Xianglu are a dwarf planet and moon (respectively) named after characters in mythology. Gonggong, a dwarf planet residing in the scattered disc beyond Neptune, is named after a Chinese water god. Gonggong is depicted as having a copper human head, read hair, and a dragon-likeContinue reading “What’s in a name?: Gonggong & Xiangliu” Continue reading →

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The Mythology of Jupiter’s Moons

Posted on April 17, 2021 by bellagoodnight

When I heard about the names of Jupiter’s moons, I immediately wanted to dive into the mythology behind them! The four largest moons of Jupiter, each interesting in their features, are also interesting in their mythological stories as people who were lovers of Zeus. In this post, I will briefly describe the story behind theseContinue reading “The Mythology of Jupiter’s Moons” Continue reading →

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