Tag Archives: earth

UY Scuti

Posted on March 15, 2016 by chasejaeger

The size of the Sun is difficult to comprehend. With a diameter of 865,000 miles, The Sun has the volume of 1.3 million Earths. If we were to place the Earth next to the Sun, we would simply see a tiny spec next to the Sun. However, the Sun is not even close to the […] Continue reading →

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A Viral Photo Gone Wrong

Posted on March 15, 2016 by annamcc9

This image was talked about in class today; it has gone viral as a supposed image of Earth from the Hubble Deep Space Telescope. There are a number of reasons why this is absolutely impossible. One clear reason is the size of the atmosphere. From this distance, the atmosphere on Earth could not possibly be […] Continue reading →

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Why We Should All Love Earthquakes

Posted on March 15, 2016 by 2016spaceodyssey

Earthquakes are one of the most obvious consequences of Earth’s plate tectonics.  The crust slowly moves along the with the “current” of the mantle as the Earth surface constantly rearranges itself.  Without plate tectonics, it is very possible that life could not have taken a foothold on Earth.  On Mars, which does not have plate […] Continue reading →

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Lunar and Solar Tides

Posted on February 16, 2016 by annamcc9

Tides are a fascinating effect of the Moon and Sun’s gravitational forces acting on the Earth. They are a visible sign of how distance effects the strength of a gravitational force. Because the Sun is so large, it has the greatest gravitational force acting on the Earth. However, because it is so far away, the […] Continue reading →

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Fuller-Mooning in the Winter

Posted on January 26, 2016 by nickwtheastronomer

Whoa there. Before you flag this post as inappropriate, answer this question. Was this photo taken at noon or at midnight? If you answered midnight, congratulations! And surprisingly enough, this stunning photo of a full moon could only have been photographed in the winter. But why winter? Don’t we get full moons year-round? This is […] Continue reading →

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Chase’s Solar System blog 2016-01-26 19:46:22

Posted on January 26, 2016 by chasejaeger

Earth’s Elliptical Orbit and Seasons Though a common misconception about the cause of seasons is that they are caused by the Earth’s distance to the Sun, in actuality, seasons are caused by Earth’s 23 degree axial tilt. But why do changes in Earth’s distance from the Sun have virtually no effect on temperatures on Earth? […] Continue reading →

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The Great Shift

Posted on January 25, 2016 by alecsolarsystem

The Earth is like the top from Inception. As it spins around at very high speeds it wobbles or “precesses” back and forth as the force of gravity from the Moon and Sun tug it from different directions, but it will never fall over. This movement, although much slower and less noticeable than the Earth’s […] Continue reading →

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New Horizon’s Approaches Pluto: So What?

Posted on April 28, 2015 by agiantchicken

NASA’s New Horizon’s spacecraft is only three months approaching Pluto, and for the first time, we have a true color picture of the Pluto/Charon dwarf planet system. As I sit here typing this, I say, “so what?” Well, it turns out that this is the first time that any spacecraft has traveled so long and […] Continue reading →

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Krakatoa: Will It Erupt Again?

Posted on April 5, 2015 by pgolemanska

Krakatoa is one of the deadliest volcanoes in human history. The island of Krakatoa (Krakatau) is part of the Indonesian Island Arc. It’s a volcanic island that has undergone a dramatic eruption in 1883. In May 1883, sailors began noticing clouds of ash rising more than 6 miles above the volcano as shown on the […] Continue reading →

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The Earth With No Moon

Posted on April 2, 2015 by lukegchapman

This video, though it is 8 minutes, is fascinating. Its main focus is what the Earth would be like without the Moon. The most surprising thing I got from this was that humans would probably not exist because they would not be able to withstand the extreme conditions that the Earth would experience without the… Continue reading →

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