Tag Archives: Class

Blog 05 – Enceladus

Posted on November 3, 2024 by Mercedes

The image shows the lower portion of Enceladus’ jets taken in 2010. Image and information gathered from the NASA website. Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, got its name in Greek mythology because Saturn (Cronus) was the leader of the Titans. Despite its namesake, it is only about 310 miles across which is about the size […] Continue reading →

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Radioactivity is all around us

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Michael

We have learned about radioactivity in class, and we hear about it in the news, but many do not have direct experience with radiation. It is a scary word that elicits a lot of fear in most; for example, concerns about safety have stopped nuclear power from gaining dominance despite otherwise being a superior source […] Continue reading →

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Nuclear Fusion

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

The sun Nuclear fusion is the process that creates the massive amount of energy needed to power the sun. In the sun’s core 4 Hydrogen atoms collide to create 1 Helium atom, 2 electrons, 2 neutrinos, and 2 gamma ray photons. The amount of Helium created is less than the overall mass of Hydrogen used […] Continue reading →

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Blog 04 – Proxima b

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Mercedes

The closest star system to Earth is Alpha Centauri, a three-star system. A planet, Proxima b, approximately 1.3 times the mass of ours orbits off the smallest star, Proxima Centauri. This planet orbits its star even closer than Mercury does the Sun and only takes 11 days to complete a single one! Despite this, Proxima […] Continue reading →

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Parker Solar Probe

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Michael

Today I want to talk about the Parker Solar Probe, the most interesting spacecraft that I have heard of. It is a remarkable piece of technology, and has set records as the fastest object ever built and the closest man-made object to the Sun. The Parker Solar Probe relies on gravity assists from Venus to […] Continue reading →

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Blog 03 – Forming the Solar System

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Mercedes

The current idea of the solar system’s formation is the nebular theory, which states that it occurs in a five-stage process. First, there is the shock of a gas cloud called a supernova which causes the cloud to collapse. Next, gravity causes the heating, flattening, and spinning. It changed the shape and temperature of the […] Continue reading →

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Satellites and Telescopes

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Michael

For this post I wanted to discuss the effect that satellites have on astronomical observations. There are many problems that limit our ability to make observations, such as light pollution, the diffraction limit, and technological limitations. Despite this, astronomers have steadily been improving their equipment and building new complex telescopes to overcome these limitations. However, […] Continue reading →

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Blog 02 – History of Astronomy

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Mercedes

Ancient Mesopotamia is the earliest known source of modern astronomical research. Babylonian MUL.APIN texts provide data on stars’ locations and celestial descriptions dated to 1200 BCE. The group used their fingers and 360 units (comparable to modern 360 degrees) to chart the sky, distances, and celestial movement and occurrences. They used their star passages to […] Continue reading →

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HW3- Historical Figures in Context

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Mercedes

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) Tycho Brahe was important in the history of astronomy. He created many new astronomical instruments and accurately calibrated them. Tycho was one of the first to correct for “atmospheric refraction.” In addition to this, he and his assistants discovered several anomalies that would lead to the future astronomical developments and models. Photo […] Continue reading →

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A Moving Sky

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

Stars in Yellowstone National Park Have you ever heard of horoscopes, zodiac signs, or noticed you can see different constellations in the sky during different times of the year? This is all due to the shifting of our perspective on Earth throughout the year. No, the stars are not rotating around us out there. They […] Continue reading →

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