Tag Archives: NASA

On This Day in Astronomy History…

Posted on April 29, 2018 by maxflorsheim

  On April 27th, 1961, fifty-seven years ago, NASA launched Explorer 11 into space. This satellite held the first gamma-ray telescope to go into space. Gamma rays are the wavelength of light with the highest energy levels. These wavelengths can originate from sources such as supernova explosions, supermassive blackholes, and solar flares. While scientists had […] Continue reading →

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Where Do We Go from Here?

Posted on April 29, 2018 by therestisstardust

Given that NASA is a government agency, it’s a little worrisome how it’s funding can be pretty wantonly taken and given as the government sees fit. (That’s why privatization of the space industry through companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX is so necessary) However, Nasa is currently budgeted .5% of our national budget- that’s 18.4 billion-so […] Continue reading →

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Jupiter As Never Seen Before

Posted on April 9, 2018 by maxflorsheim

Juno, NASA’s space probe orbiting Jupiter, has just completed it’s fourth flyby of the jovial planet. In doing so, it sent back surprising images which revealed new features of Jupiter. Specifically, the images changed scientist’s previous perception of the planet’s interior composition and structure, as well as its weather patterns. In studying massive cyclone’s captured […] Continue reading →

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On This Day in Astronomy History…

Posted on April 9, 2018 by maxflorsheim

On this day, April 9th, 59 years ago in 1959, NASA introduced the world to their first ever astronauts, the Mercury 7.  A press conference was held in D.C. to announce the line up, and reveal America’s next move in the space race against the Soviet Union. This came a year after NASA had introduced […] Continue reading →

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NASA Applied Sciences: Not just rocket science

Posted on March 18, 2018 by Taylor Matalon

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is known throughout the world as an organization whose focus in on what lies beyond Earth. A lesser-known NASA department, Applied Sciences, is an example of the opposite. Applied Sciences diverts resources and minds towards using satellite and aeronautical engineering for the Earth Sciences. Applied science measures air … Continue reading NASA Applied Sciences: Not just rocket science Continue reading →

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Almost InSight

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Nathan Xiao

InSight is short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, and is NASA’s next big spacecraft. A little contrived, but its memorable. InSight is a Mars lander designed to study the inside of Mars: the crust, mantle, and core. It does so by measuring the planet’s seismology, heat flow, and precision tracking. … Continue reading Almost InSight → Continue reading →

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NASA Cuts and Privatizing Space – Trump’s Plan

Posted on February 13, 2018 by lexisastronomyblog

The Trump administration’s NASA budget request for 2019 was revealed today, and many of the requests come at the dismay of many prominent people in the space and astronomy field. Most of the requests call for NASA to pursue commercial partnerships. For example, the administration requests NASA stop directly funding the International Space Station (ISS) … Continue reading NASA Cuts and Privatizing Space – Trump’s Plan → Continue reading →

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On This Day in Astronomy History…

Posted on February 7, 2018 by maxflorsheim

  Thirty-four years ago today, on February 7th 1984, NASA Astronaut Bruce McCandless II became the first person to fly untethered from their spacecraft. McCandless, who just recently passed December 21st at the age of 80, was able to travel 320 feet from the space shuttle Challenger without any connection to the shuttle. He accomplished […] Continue reading →

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Blog 01: Megamasers

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Caroline Henning

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has recently captured an awe-inspiring picture of a distant “exotic” galaxy, UGC-6093. It is an active, barred galaxy–this means the center, featuring a bar across the illuminated center, hosts an active galactic nucleus. In this center region, matter is sucked into a supermassive black hole, thereby emitting the intense radiation that … Continue reading Blog 01: Megamasers → Continue reading →

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No Mars After All?

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Paolo Dumancas

Humans have long dreamt to venture to Mars, and NASA fueled those dreams, especially in recent years. With the Space … More Continue reading →

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