Tag Archives: Moon

The Rare Earth Hypothesis

I was inspired by Victoria’s post to think more about the Fermi Paradox, and specifically, explanations of the uniqueness of intelligent life on Earth. The Rare Earth Hypothesis is one such explanation; it postulates that conditions favorable to life (and particularly intelligent life) are incredibly rare in the universe. It is in opposition to hypotheses […] Continue reading

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Blog 4: Humans back on the Moon and on to Mars

NASA’s plans for sending people to Mars are intertwined with their plans to send humans to the Moon more consistently, and hopefully to be able to establish a human presence their within the decade. They plan to launch the Gateway, a spaceship that will orbit the moon to support future trips there. They plan to launch … Continue reading Blog 4: Humans back on the Moon and on to Mars Continue reading

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Antipodal Tides

It makes sense that the tide comes in as the Moon approaches that side of the Earth. The gravitational pull attracts the water away from the Earth. It would seem them that logically a low tide would happen at a location farthest from the Moon. But that is not the case. image link In the … Continue reading Antipodal Tides Continue reading

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Blog 2: When is the Best Time to Surf?

When’s the right time grab your surfboard and hit the beach? High tides cause closeouts, which blocks a surfer’s path, and low tides cause slow-rolling waves, which are low frequency and high amplitude waves. Ideally, you want to surf during mid tide conditions. But first, what causes these changes in tide? Tides are caused by … Continue reading Blog 2: When is the Best Time to Surf? Continue reading

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Tides and the Limits of Human Understanding

This story begins where so many great ones do (including the unnecessarily long URL of my blog) – by making fun of Bill O’Reilly: Like many people. Bill can’t grasp how the tides operate. And, in his defense, the explanation isn’t exactly obvious to the layperson. As the moon orbits Earth, its gravitational influence produces … Continue reading Tides and the Limits of Human Understanding Continue reading

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Blog #1: Solar Eclipse Calendar

A solar eclipse is when the moon comes between the sun and the Earth and completely or partially blocks the light from the sun. This can only occur when the moon is at the nodes of its orbit and when its precession allows it to be in this position while being between the sun and … Continue reading Blog #1: Solar Eclipse Calendar Continue reading

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Footprints on the Moon

Going to the moon – a feat that was never even dreamed by our ancestors. It seems unthinkable. Being able to go to something so far away. Being able to survive the harshness of space, even just momentarily inside a puffy marshmallow suit. It was unthinkable, a few centuries ago. But now we have evidence: […] Continue reading

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Footprints on the Moon

Going to the moon – a feat that was never even dreamed by our ancestors. It seems unthinkable. Being able to go to something so far away. Being able to survive the harshness of space, even just momentarily inside a puffy marshmallow suit. It was unthinkable, a few centuries ago. But now we have evidence: […] Continue reading

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Io: Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon

If you showed me a picture of Io, my first thought would not be that it is a moon. To me, it looks like a block of cheese, a little rotted in certain places. That is because it looks so different from our idea of a moon, or that is Earth’s moon. Earth’s moon is … Continue reading Io: Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon Continue reading

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Io: Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon

If you showed me a picture of Io, my first thought would not be that it is a moon. To me, it looks like a block of cheese, a little rotted in certain places. That is because it looks so different from our idea of a moon, or that is Earth’s moon. Earth’s moon is … Continue reading Io: Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon Continue reading

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