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Tag Archives: space
Extremophiles, and What They Mean For Life in Space
Extremophiles are organisms on Earth that thrive in extreme environment that most other organisms wouldn’t be able to survive in. They are found in places that at a glance, seem unlivable, places like inside volcanoes, or deep in the ocean under extreme pressures. So why do these extremophiles matter when thinking about space? The ideaContinue reading “Extremophiles, and What They Mean For Life in Space” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Galaxies, Moons, Stars
Tagged astro2110, blog6, jupiter, life, life in space, planets, pluto, Solar System, space, Uncategorized
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Life on Europa?
When considering the likeliest hosts for extraterrestrial life in our very own system, Europa surely is near the top of possible candidates. One of Jupiter’s 79 (!) moons, it possesses the smoothest surface of any celestial body in the solar system. Because of this and imaging from probes, scientists have hypothesized that Europa has aContinue reading “Life on Europa?” Continue reading
Why is Pluto No Longer a Planet?
It’s no secret Pluto has been out of the privileged circle of celestial bodies to be considered planets for over a decade now. But many don’t realize what events led to this ousting, and the reasonings for doing so. Pluto had long since been considered a planet since its discovery in the 1930’s. Yet startingContinue reading “Why is Pluto No Longer a Planet?” Continue reading
Could There be Life on Europa?
Europa is one of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, meaning it’s one of the four largest moons that orbit Jupiter. What makes it particularly special is that it is considered one of the most likely places in our solar system (outside of Earth) that might contain life. Now, at a glance, it seems like that shouldn’t beContinue reading “Could There be Life on Europa?” Continue reading
Gravitational Waves
Gravitational waves are a fascinating concept. The thought starts from the idea that gravity moves at the speed of light. Now, at the start this sounds like a silly idea. Doesn’t the force of gravity always act on people? Yet take this example. Say the sun were to simply disappear. Not explode or change, butContinue reading “Gravitational Waves” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Galaxies, Sun
Tagged astro2110, Black Holes, Einstein, gravity, light-speed, space
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The Revolutionary James Webb Telescope
In a previous post, I wrote about the Hubble telescopes revolutionary Hubble Legacy Field image. This ended the era of Hubble, which was the source of most of the discoveries of our solar system over the past decades. The new James Webb telescope is now set to be put into orbit in 2021, and itContinue reading “The Revolutionary James Webb Telescope” Continue reading
How Does the Sun Create Enough Energy to Reach the Entire Solar System?
The heat and light energy, that which allows for life on Earth and provides energy for the entire solar systems, comes from a powerful yet simply process from deep within the core of the sun. This process is called nuclear fusion. Essentially, single protons, which can also be defined as singular hydrogen molecules, fuse togetherContinue reading “How Does the Sun Create Enough Energy to Reach the Entire Solar System?” Continue reading
Posted in Light, Sun
Tagged astro2110, blog3, energy, fusion, nuclearfusion, Solar System, space
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Spacecraft in the Solar System
As we have learned so much about the solar system, much of our knowledge comes from telescopic observations, ground-based and those in Earth’s orbit, as well as spacecraft explorations. Robotic spacecraft operate primarily with preprogrammed instructions and carry radios that allow them to communicate with controllers on Earth. Having sent robotic spacecraft missions to numerousContinue reading “Spacecraft in the Solar System” Continue reading
Spring Tides and Neap Tides: How the Angle of the Sun and Moon Directly Impact How Earth is Stretched
The size and fluctuation of tides are directly related to geography and the physics of various places around Earth. The average size of tides, however, rises and falls each month in direct correlation to the angle of the Sun and Moon in relation to Earth. These extremes are called spring tides and neap tides, andContinue reading “Spring Tides and Neap Tides: How the Angle of the Sun and Moon Directly Impact How Earth is Stretched” Continue reading
Posted in Galaxies, Universe
Tagged astro2110, blog2, hubble, Solar System, space, spring, tides, Uncategorized
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How Do We Understand the Size of Our Universe?
It is hard for us to truly fathom the sheer size of our universe, this is clear- the distances involved are simply too big to comprehend with just the human mind. But we have begun to understand the nature of this size, and order the magnitudes of the universe in ways we can understand. TheContinue reading “How Do We Understand the Size of Our Universe?” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Universe
Tagged astro2110, space, Uncategorized
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