Tag Archives: Solar System

Blog 8 – Evidence for a Europan Ocean

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Jack Walton

Europa, Jupiter’s 4th largest and 2nd closest Galilean moon, is thought to have a large saltwater ocean covered by a layer of ice. An article from Nasa details the evidence for the existence of this ocean. The first piece of evidence is the matching zig-zagging cracks on the surface that indicate that the surface was […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Moons | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Blog 8 – Evidence for a Europan Ocean

When the Sun Dies

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

All good things must come to an end, including the ancient (at least relative to humanity), life-giving star we see each day. Even though the sun is considered a young star, it still has a finite lifetime, and it will eventually “die” in about 5 billion years. The image above shows a rough timeline of […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Stars, Sun | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on When the Sun Dies

Blog 7:Fermi Paradox

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Charles Littleton

The Fermi paradox is the conflict between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrials and the high estimates for their existence . The name came from the Italian-American Physicist Enrico Fermi. He was roughly quoted as saying “Where is everybody?” This paradox has been explained by saying that the number of intelligent civilizations is very low. […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, General | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Blog 7:Fermi Paradox

Astrobiology – Indicators of Life on Other Worlds

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Astrobiology studies the past, present, and future of life in the universe. One facet of this interdisciplinary field is considering the possibility of life on other planets or worlds. Scientists utilize research in biology, chemistry, astronomy, and cosmology to help determine if life could exist elsewhere in the universe, and if so, how we can […] Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Class, Exoplanets | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Astrobiology – Indicators of Life on Other Worlds

What I’ve learned

Posted on May 4, 2022 by joubertklopper

Walking into astronomy class in late January, I was not even sure if I would be able to name the eight planets in our solar system. It is safe to say that I’ve learned a lot. I think the most important thing I learned is how big our universe really is and how everything explains […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Jovians, Terrestrials | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What I’ve learned

The Future of Space Travel – The Skyhook

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Johann West

Infrastructure is everywhere. Most every way of transport that we consider using regularly has immense infrastructure. Cars have roads, trains have rails and stations, and airplanes have airports and runways. But with space travel, we take the brute force method, spending immense amounts of money and forcing a rocket to defy gravity and get itself …

Continue reading The Future of Space Travel – The Skyhook

Continue reading →

Posted in Space Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Future of Space Travel – The Skyhook

The Fermi Paradox : Are We Alone?

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Johann West

The Fermi Paradox Picture The universe is magnificently huge, and hence should have countless opportunities for life to develop, but that then begs the question, where are all the aliens? Due to the expansion of the universe being faster than the speed of life, there may be life throughout many galaxies, or even most of …

Continue reading The Fermi Paradox : Are We Alone?

Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Galaxies, Space Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Fermi Paradox : Are We Alone?

Barophiles

Posted on April 30, 2022 by solarelizabeth

The barophiles we have found are tiny organisms, usually bacteria, living in areas with intense pressure. They are found on ocean floors where pressure can reach about 400 atm. For reference, the atmospheric pressure at sea level is 1 atm. Some barophiles known as obligate barophiles cannot survive in low pressures. The barophile Halomonas salaria […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Science, Universe | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Barophiles

Bracewellvon Neumann Probes

Posted on April 30, 2022 by solarelizabeth

Human space travel is slow and each mission must be meticulously planned. What if there were a way we could learn more about the universe more efficiently? John Von Neumann, in charge of computing the design of a bomb, wondered how else he could use his computing skills. He developed the idea of self-reproducing automation. […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Bracewellvon Neumann Probes

Blog #7: Sara Seager Ted Talk

Posted on April 29, 2022 by nadiamcglynn

I watched the 2015 Ted Talk from Sara Seager (of the Seager Equation) called The Search for Planets Beyond our Solar System. She sets out to introduce what we currently know about our solar galaxy and extra solar planets. She presents a few interesting artist conceptions of the various exoplanets we know of (mainly from […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Exoplanets, Universe | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Blog #7: Sara Seager Ted Talk