Tag Archives: technology

The Future of Exoplanet Analysis

Posted on April 16, 2022 by Brian

The search for extrasolar planets and alien life is a fascinating research focus that sits at the intersection of astronomy, physics, planetary science, and biology. As we have discussed in class, discovering exoplanets is a very difficult task, but we have discovered roughly 5,000 exoplanets to date and are making significant progress in that area.Continue reading “The Future of Exoplanet Analysis” Continue reading →

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Asteroid Mining

Posted on April 8, 2022 by jesszhang782

Rocky asteroids contain metals that are commonly used on Earth. What if there was a way to mine those metals from asteroids and bring them back to Earth? The potential gains seem promising, as even a small asteroid can contain enough industrial metals … Continue reading →

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Nuclear Fusion: The energy of the universe… but not the energy of the Earth?

Posted on March 23, 2022 by alexlitt

Nuclear fusion is the fundamental source of energy generation in our universe. Stars (like our Sun) undergo nuclear fusion in their cores and emit energy in the form of heat and light. This stellar energy stands in the way of a dark, cold, lifeless universe, and provides the necessary ingredients for life on Earth. Sadly, […] Continue reading →

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Climate Change and Cryptocurrency (Post 3)

Posted on March 22, 2022 by ccatanese1

Climate change is a pressing issue in that it has the capability to completely destroy the way humans live life on Earth. One of the main types of emissions is CO2 and it is causing our atmosphere to heat rapidly. Cryptocurrency is a new trend that is focused on decentralizing finance and allowing owners of […] Continue reading →

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Legacy Survey of Space and Time: The future of astronomical observation is here…. almost!

Posted on March 22, 2022 by alexlitt

Just two years from now, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will commence operations, beginning its mission to image nearly 40 billion celestial objects over 10 years! These observations will be made with the world’s largest digital camera and an enormous 8.4 meter (in diameter) telescope, ensuring that its images will be of the highest quality. […] Continue reading →

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Blog #3: Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating

Posted on March 22, 2022 by nadiamcglynn

Radioactive decay is one of the processes by which Earth produces heat. Radioactive isotopes start off unstable (these are called the parent isotopes), and so they decay into other, more stable daughter/progeny isotopes. The decay produces alpha, beta, or gamma radiation which is then converted into thermal energy. The decay of isotopes like uranium, thorium, […] Continue reading →

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The Future of Fusion

Posted on March 22, 2022 by alexbawa

While stars are powered by nuclear fusion, nuclear reactors here on Earth have yet to make that leap. Fission is our only readily available source of nuclear power, but it is significantly less lucrative than its counterpart. The difference is the process, which combines two isotopes of hydrogen to trigger an energy release instead of […] Continue reading →

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Unmanned Spacecraft and AI

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Johann West

There are 4 types of unmanned space craft that are used to collect data: flybys, orbiters, landers, and sample return mission spacecraft. Flybys simply pass by a celestially object, and are generally the cheapest as they usually require no fuel propulsion after leaving Earth’s orbit. Flybys mostly observe through the use of telescopes and other …

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Blog #2: Archeoastronomy

Posted on February 20, 2022 by nadiamcglynn

Reflecting on how science and astronomy have grown and blossomed into what we study today really illustrates how amazing ancient feats of astronomy and observation were. The impacts of ancient observations of the night sky still effect us today, including in the name of months, the days of the week, and the length of our days and years. Continue reading →

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The First Space Telescope

Posted on February 19, 2022 by jesszhang782

Telescopes have come a long way since they were invented in 1608. Not only have ground based telescopes made significant advances, but in recent decades telescopes have even been launched into space to mitigate the effects of Earth’s atmosphere on obse… Continue reading →

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