Tag Archives: Uncategorized

Creation of the Kuiper Belt

Posted on April 9, 2016 by OscarBen

Recently in class we’ve been talking about the outer portion of our Solar System. Beyond Neptune lies the Kuiper Belt, the disc-shaped region that begins at about 30 AUs and ends around 55 AUs. The Kuiper Belt is home to hundreds of thousands of icy bodies, an estimated trillion or more comets, and Pluto, according to… More Creation of the Kuiper Belt Continue reading →

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Io

Posted on April 7, 2016 by lawlorsolarsystem

Io is Jupiter’s third largest moon. What is notable about Io is that it is the most geologically active body in the entire Solar System. It is extremely volcanic, and is the only body other than Earth that we  have observed with active volcanism. The volcanic activity occurs because Io is greatly affected by tides […] Continue reading →

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The Possibility of Life on Enceladus

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Michaela Thomas

One question that still excites both amateur and professional astronomers is the possibility of life on other worlds. Certain important elements, however, must be present in order for organic life to exist. Enceladus, one of Saturn’s icy moons, has an underground ocean that may be a source of life, either sometime in the ancient past …

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The Possibility of Life on Enceladus

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Michaela Thomas

One question that still excites both amateur and professional astronomers is the possibility of life on other worlds. Certain important elements, however, must be present in order for organic life to exist. Enceladus, one of Saturn’s icy moons, has an underground ocean that may be a source of life, either sometime in the ancient past […] Continue reading →

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Dyson Spheres on the Horizon?

Posted on March 15, 2016 by nickwtheastronomer

We may be getting one step closer to the fabled hallmark of an advanced civilization, the Dyson Sphere. Pioneered by Freeman Dyson in the 1960s, a Dyson Sphere takes the process of energy generation to a level literally out of this world. A Dyson Sphere is a massive assemblage of solar energy collectors placed in […] Continue reading →

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The moon of Europa, or your practical guide to ice skating in space

Posted on March 15, 2016 by d51blog

Do you love astronomy? Do you also love ice skating? (I’m looking at you, Dr. G..) What if I told you that you could have the best of both worlds? You can(!), albeit approximately 4.2 AU away from Earth. Enter Europa, Jupiter’s icy sixth (both largest and closest) moon. Europa is an extremely young moon despite being […] Continue reading →

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Terraforming Venus: An Alternative Look At Terraforming

Posted on March 15, 2016 by andyastronomer

After exploring terraforming on Mars and finding a good amount of information on Venus in the process, I thought it would be interesting to explore the prospects of terraforming Venus in the hopes of one day making it habitable. As I mentioned in my previous blog, Carl Sagan published an article in 1961 advocating for […] Continue reading →

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Terraforming Venus: An Alternative Look At Terraforming

Posted on March 15, 2016 by andyastronomer

After exploring terraforming on Mars and finding a good amount of information on Venus in the process, I thought it would be interesting to explore the prospects of terraforming Venus in the hopes of one day making it habitable. As I mentioned in my previous blog, Carl Sagan published an article in 1961 advocating for […] Continue reading →

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When the Sun Shows Off

Posted on March 15, 2016 by evinske

  There’s a spectacular light show every year at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. The grand venue boasts thousands and thousands of lights each year around Christmas. Yet, you don’t have to find a $30 parking spot at a debatably overrated hotel to see a grand, sparkling event. In fact, there’s a place giving […] Continue reading →

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A Vacation on Venus?

Posted on March 15, 2016 by harperastronomyblog

I was recently reading a book in which humanity had terraformed all of the Terrestrial planets (and also some gas giant moons) in the solar system, and it got me thinking: could humanity ever actually terraform a planet. And if so, which planet? After researching this question, Venus seems the most likely candidate for a […] Continue reading →

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