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Tag Archives: space
May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine
One of my recent blogs crushed the dreams of many Star Wars fans by debunking the close proximity of asteroids within an asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back. That is why, in the spirit of Star Wars Day, I will be sharing an aspect of the films that Star Wars ended up getting correct:Continue reading “May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine” Continue reading
Our Neighbor the Space Octopus
While the potential of finding microorganisms on Mars has intrigued us here on Earth for a while now, more advanced life may live on Jupiter’s fourth largest moon: Europa. In fact, Professor Monica Grady has proposed that, not only is life on Europa likely, but said life may include organisms with intelligence similar to thatContinue reading “Our Neighbor the Space Octopus” Continue reading
Posted in Aliens, Class, Moons, Space Travel
Tagged astro2110, blog7, Europa, jupiter, life, Moon, Solar System, space, technology
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Han Solo Is Working Too Hard
While science-fiction flicks like Star Wars produce some exhilarating and high-stakes chase scenes with the help of treacherous asteroid fields/belts, in reality, you could probably navigate these asteroid belts blind-folded. With all due respect to Han Solo’s piloting skills and his less than twelve parsecs Kessel run, he would not actually have needed to utilizeContinue reading “Han Solo Is Working Too Hard” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Small SS Objects
Tagged asteroids, astro2110, blog6, sci-fi, Solar System, space, starwars
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Which Exoplanet Could Be Planet B?
The transit method has already been used to discover a few thousand exoplanets and continues to discover more through both old observations and current missions. With this method, the brightness levels of stars in other solar systems are measured. When the brightness dims, this is a sign that an extrasolar planet may have passed inContinue reading “Which Exoplanet Could Be Planet B?” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Exoplanets, Light, Universe
Tagged astro2110, blog6, exoplanet, extrasolar, planets, space
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Becoming One with Saturn
On September 17, 2017, NASA’s Cassini’s spacecraft exhausted its fuel supply. This marked the end of a 20 yearlong space exploration and 13 yearlong orbit around The planet Saturn. The Cassini Mission was monumental in more ways than one. It was the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, first to land in the outer solar system, […] Continue reading
Posted in Class, Historical
Tagged astro2110, blog5, cassini, exploration, NASA, saturn, space
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Space Travel
In 1961, Alan shepherd became the first american astronaut in space who was trained and sent to space by NASA. 2 years ago marked the 60th anniversary of NASA and their endeavors into space. During those years, they have sent over 350 people into space and the number will only keep going up. I thinkContinue reading “Space Travel” Continue reading
Martian Lakes
With the intimate connection between water and life, the discovery and understanding of water on Mars has been a crucial point of research that is continuing to be updated. Although there is no liquid water on the surface of Mars, there is water in the form of ice in polar caps and glaciers. If allContinue reading “Martian Lakes” Continue reading
Posted in Aliens, Class, SolarSystem
Tagged astro2110, blog4, Mars, Rover, Solar System, space, water
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Is the Moon actually made of cheese?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. However, the story of why the Moon’s surface looks the way it does it still an interesting one and one that helps us understand the solar system as a whole. The surface of the Moon most closely resembles that of Mercury (due to the lack of geological activity that comesContinue reading “Is the Moon actually made of cheese?” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Moons, SolarSystem, Universe
Tagged astro2110, blog3, Moon, Solar System, space, Time
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Tidal Friction: a 5 hour long day to a month long day
Due to the Universal law of gravitation, we know that objects of equal mass have a larger gravitation force between them when they are closer together. Because the near side of the Earth is closer to the Moon than the far side of the Earth, the force between the Moon and the near side ofContinue reading “Tidal Friction: a 5 hour long day to a month long day” Continue reading
Hello!
My name is Nolan Siegel, and I am looking forward to blogging this semester! I’m a student at Vanderbilt University studying political science and economics (with minors in astronomy and scientific computing), and I like asking big questions about the universe and my place within it. ASTR 2110 is my fourth astronomy course, and IContinue reading “Hello!” Continue reading