Tag Archives: space

Blog #4

Composition -The solar system is primarily composed of the Sun, which makes up about 99.8% of its total mass. The Sun is primarily composed of 74% hydrogen and about 24% helium with some amounts of heavier elements. Planets in our solar system are divided into two main groups based on their composition: the terrestrial planets […] Continue reading

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Blog Post #3

The solar system began to form from a giant molecular cloud of gas and dust particles about 4.6 billion years ago. This cloud most likely experienced a shock wave from a nearby supernova, which could have made it collapse under its own gravity. It then began to spin and flatten into a disk shape due […] Continue reading

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What color is the Sun? (not yellow)

by me The Sun is the brightest and biggest celestial body in our solar system. Its diameter is 865,000 miles, which is about 110 Earths long. Without the Sun’s light, there would be no life on Earth. The Sun is so important to us humans, yet some people don’t take the time to appreciate its […] Continue reading

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What Americans Think of Space

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA’s Crew-5 Dragon spacecraft In 2023, the Pew Research Center surveyed over 10,000 American adults to understand Americans’ views of space issues.  Here are a few of Pew’s findings :  Pew also asked respondents how they would rate priorities for NASA’s space efforts. The survey listed the nine priorities […] Continue reading

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NASA’s MAVEN mission

The MAVEN spacecraft NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft (MAVEN) is studying Mars’s atmosphere. MAVEN was launched in November 2013 and arrived and arrived at Mars in September 2014. The MAVEN mission is helping scientists learn about how Mars loses its atmosphere and how/when the planet lost its water.  MAVEN is an orbiter spacecraft […] Continue reading

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Gravitational Mysteries

by me The idea of gravity, the fundamental force that controls how objects move in the universe, is both intriguing and mysterious. Gravity is a force that pulls objects toward each other; it controls everything from an apple falling from a tree to a planet’s orbit around a star. It’s a force that operates over […] Continue reading

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The New Wave

In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have found evidence of ripples in the fabric of the universe, caused by the movement of colossal black holes. Albert Einstein once hypothesized this phenomenon –  gravitational waves. Essentially, these are cosmic tremors that stretch and squeeze space itself. Imagine throwing a stone into a pond and watching the ripples […] Continue reading

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Tides

Most people (including my past self) think that tides are only caused by the moon. While the moon does have a big impact on the tides. The sun also plays a big role in the way the tides move. The moon and the sun both have gravitational forces that pull on the Earth and cause […] Continue reading

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Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

After meticulously calculating the data that Tycho Brahe collected, Kepler discovered three different laws that described how planets move. Kepler’s First Law – The planets orbit in ellipses, not circles nor epicycles. For majority of history, it was thought that planets orbit through epicycles because the orbit of the planets must be perfect. However, the […] Continue reading

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Historical Figures Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473, and died on May 24, 1543.  Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, and died on November 15, 1630.  Tycho Brahe was born on December 14, 1546, and died on October 24, 1601.  Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564, and died on […] Continue reading

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