Tag Archives: blog7

Exoplanets 🌌

Posted on April 27, 2017 by mariabulanova

What is an exoplanet? “An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is any planet that orbits a star other than the Sun”, – Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Over the years we have discovered many exoplanets of any size, temperature, surface, etc. But how to astronomers do this? How do you find an exoplanet? These planets are very small and […] Continue reading →

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Beyond our Solar System

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Haley's Comet

Extrasolar planets are a recent discovery in the time of our Universe. So far, there are 3,475 confirmed exoplanets. These planets are most often comparable to the gas and ice giants that we have in our Solar System. However, there is a constant search for planets that are similar to ours: in the habitable zone around their respective… Continue reading Beyond our Solar System Continue reading →

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The Arecibo Message

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Nick Belsten

The Arecibo Observatory was constructed in 1963 as the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope. Sitting in a naturally spherical valley in Puerto Rico, this telescope looks decidedly different from the pristine optics associated with optical telescopes such as the Keck Observatory or the Hubble Space Telescope. This is because the Arecibo Observatory peers … Continue reading The Arecibo Message → Continue reading →

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Earth(s) 2.0

Posted on April 26, 2017 by ritam216

The idea of life in other star systems has long intrigued mankind. However, it is likely that before life can be identified we must discover the planets upon which this life would spawn. Within the star system TRAPPIST-1, seven Earth-sized planets have been discovered, three of which are within the star’s habitable zone. The star […] Continue reading →

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The Drake Equation

Posted on April 24, 2017 by connormorency

The Drake Equation can be used to estimate the number of communicating civilizations in the milky way galaxy. First proposed … More Continue reading →

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Ceres Harbors Building Blocks of Life

Posted on April 24, 2017 by abbeyroth

Ceres, the largest asteroid in the Solar System, and now considered a dwarf planet, may have once been habitable. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft collected samples from the surface and were found to contain organic compounds and amino acids, which are often referred to as the building blocks of life. Dawn has also discovered evidence of a subsurface… Continue reading Ceres Harbors Building Blocks of Life Continue reading →

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Blog 7- Methanogens and Life on Enceladus

Posted on April 24, 2017 by sullivrs

Recently, a NASA reported suggested that one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, could be a world that may be conducive to supporting life (source).  Enceladus, which is covered in ice and significantly farther from the Sun than the Earth is, may not seem like a world where one might suspect life to be able to develop.… Continue reading →

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Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Posted on April 24, 2017 by pkunetz97

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, also known as “Brewer’s yeast”, is a very strange extremophile. It is known as an “Osmophile”, or an organism that thrives in environments with high sugar concentrations. Many people fear osmophiles because they are responsible for the spoiling of many sugary drinks such as orange juice or soda. However, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae is a species […] Continue reading →

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Are We Alone?

Posted on April 24, 2017 by nazshaiful

One thought-provoking question always lingers in my mind, and I believe that I am not the only one. Are we alone? The space as we know it – vast, spacious – seeming to disappear into nothingness as it expands. Reaching far away, way out of my realm of understanding and it scares me. We are … Continue reading Are We Alone? Continue reading →

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Tardigrades: Powers of the “Water Bear”

Posted on April 23, 2017 by josiezd

Hot, cold, dry, wet, and even the vacuum of space – somehow, the tardigrade can survive them all. Continue reading →

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