Tag Archives: extraterrestrial

I want to belive.. but I can’t!

As I do so often, I would like to talk about the possibility of extraterrestrial life within the Universe. I will take this last blog as an opportunity to reflect on the things which I have been able to learn from the course as a whole as it relates to one of the topics I […] Continue reading

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Where are they?

The likelihood of life outside of our planet is a heavily debated topic.  Overall, it seems reasonable to assume that with all of the unexplored universe around us, and the conditions required to sustain life that are not all that hard to find, there should be plenty examples of life elsewhere.  Despite this, and the overwhelming beliefContinue reading “Where are they?” Continue reading

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Extraterrestrial Life Becomes Slightly Less Likely

The six most common elements found in living organisms on Earth are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and phosphorus. Recently, astronomers have been attempting to look more into the origins of phosphorus in the universe, and through observations of the Crab Nebula, they found that the amount and distribution of phosphorus in the Milky Way … Continue reading “Extraterrestrial Life Becomes Slightly Less Likely” Continue reading

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Oumuamua – space rock or spaceship?

Some scientists called it an asteroid.  Others theorized that it was an alien spacecraft.  Still others cast it off as a mere “space cucumber.” This mysterious space rock known as Oumuamua (Hawaiian for “first messenger”) has captivated scientists since its discovery in mid-October of 2017.  Oumuamua was discovered in Hawaii, hence its awesome name. This…

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Super-Earths spotted in the sky!

Hey everyone! This semester in Astronomy 201, I have learned a lot. Coming with almost no prior background in astronomy, I was truly shocked and astounded to learn so many things about the Earth, the solar system around us, and the universe as a whole. One thing in particular that interested me was learning about… Continue reading

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Light Travel Time and Observing Extraterrestrial Life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#mediaviewer/File:NASA-HS201427a-HubbleUltraDeepField2014-20140603.jpg A topic that has really intrigued me is the speed of light and the time it takes for light to travel. The above image was taken by the Hubble Space telescope of galaxies billions of light years away. Some of these galaxies even extend back in time to only a few hundred million years of […] Continue reading

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The Probability of Life “Out There”

  Is there other intelligent life in the universe? Mathematically speaking, there’s almost got to be some. In fact, it would be quite surprising to find out that there aren’t other intelligent life forms, let alone simple life. Life as we know it can exist in a plethora of places and environments on Earth itself, … Continue reading The Probability of Life “Out There” Continue reading

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The Meaning of the Drake Equation

The Drake equation was originally created by (and is named after) astronomer Frank Drake. Given the values of a number of variables, his equation may be used to estimate the number of species in the galaxy capable of interstellar communication. Drake’s proposed equation is as follows: N = R * fp * ne * fl […] Continue reading

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