Tag Archives: Solar System

Solar System Formation and Coincidences

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Brian

Our solar system has many characteristics that can seem like odd coincidences. Why are all of the planets in the same orbital plane? Why are their orbits all nearly circular instead of being more eccentric? Why do they all orbit in the same direction around the Sun? The nebular theory of solar system formation, asContinue reading “Solar System Formation and Coincidences” Continue reading →

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Blog #4: Coronal Mass Ejections

Posted on March 22, 2022 by nadiamcglynn

Coronal Mass Ejections are ejections of solar wind and plasma from our Sun’s corona. The blast from a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), carries about a billion tons of material away from the sun at speeds ranging from 250 km/s to almost 3000 km/s. (NOAA) If they are directed toward Earth when they are ejected from […] Continue reading →

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Theory of the Creation of the Moon

Posted on March 22, 2022 by McKenzieKing

Over the decades, there have been many hypotheses made about how our Moon was formed. There are many possibilities that we can rule out simply due to the facts that we know about the Universe. Firstly, we know that the…

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How Astronomy may harm Life on Earth

Posted on March 22, 2022 by gcomartin

A new study by Nature Astronomy has tapped an estimate for the greenhouse gas emissions of the astronomy industry. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the global astronomy industry is much smaller than many other industries, its emissions are strikingly large. The number estimated by this study is a staggering 20 million tonnes of CO2 annually. […] Continue reading →

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Making our Earth

Posted on March 21, 2022 by gcomartin

New findings by the AKARI space telescope, coupled with surface modeling at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Tokyo Institute of Technology present new evidence that the asteroid matter which composes Earth was located much further out in the solar system than initially thought. Their study involved computer modeling to develop reflective spectra of hypothetical […] Continue reading →

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The Different Atmospheres in our Solar System

Posted on March 21, 2022 by jordanekstein

An atmosphere consists of the gases surrounding a planet. Atmospheres are created by volcanism (outgassing of volcanoes involves eruptions that take gasses from the earth’s interior and put them into the atmosphere), evaporation (of compounds such as water), and life (outgassing of carbon dioxide and oxygen). Life is an interesting component of an atmosphere as […] Continue reading →

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Earth’s Atmosphere and Life

Posted on March 21, 2022 by solarelizabeth

Earth’s atmosphere is conducive to life in a way other terrestrial worlds’ atmospheres are not.  This is because of the greenhouse effect, which keeps Earth warm and allows water to exist in its liquid form. Other planets such as Mercury which do not have an atmosphere or the greenhouse effect are extremely hot during the […] Continue reading →

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The moon’s origin

Posted on March 21, 2022 by joubertklopper

Earth’s moon is unique for several reasons. Earth’s moon relevant to its planet’s size, Earth is the largest in our solar system and that fact has drawn my curiosity to the subject of the moon’s origins and what makes it so unique. It is speculated that the moon originated when another terrestrial planet, Theia crashed […] Continue reading →

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Earth and Venus: Zach and Cody?

Posted on March 21, 2022 by joubertklopper

Scientists argue that Venus is earth’s astronomical twin for a number on reasons. Like Zach and Cody from the Disney Channel sitcom, The Suite Life of Zach and Cody their physical similarities and dependance on each other cannot be overlooked. Looking at Earth and Venus’ similarities, the similar diameter comes to mind. The diameter of […] Continue reading →

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The Sun’s Nuclear Fusion

Posted on March 20, 2022 by solarelizabeth

The Sun has been producing a huge amount of energy for over 4 billion years through nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is the process by which the Sun converts mass to energy. Albert Einstein’s equation, E=mc^2, reveals that a little bit of mass has a huge amount of potential energy which indicates why the sun has […] Continue reading →

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