Monthly Archives: November 2024

So Where Is Everybody?

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Matthew Marcus

As one may have gathered from reading the many, many pages of “The Cosmic Perspective,” the human race has learned a lot about the universe. We can determine the masses, chemical compositions, and orbital paths of celestial bodies. We’ve identified thousands of planetary systems in outside our own. We know how stars are born and […] Continue reading →

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Blog 08 – My Farewell

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Mercedes

Thank you all for reading my blog posts. Please enjoy my final farewell and concluding thoughts on the course with information from the Pearson Textbook. Enjoy this Milky Way photo from the Farmer’s Almanac. During the time throughout this course, the fact that surprised me the most was the geological activity of other planets and […] Continue reading →

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Blog 07 – Methanogens

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Mercedes

Methanogens are a type of extremophile. While browsing information on extremophiles, these caught my attention because they “ convert inorganic organic compounds into methane and carbon dioxide” (ScienceDirect). These microorganisms prove to be responsible for human flatulence. In addition to their unique productions, Methanogens can be found in the guts of animals, deep marine sediment, […] Continue reading →

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Reflection on Astro 2110

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Henry Wang

The most surprising thing I learned in this course is the sheer vastness of space, to the point where there is still a lot about our own solar system that we don’t know. I did know prior that the Universe is infinite, because it is ever expanding, but it’s a lot different to think that […] Continue reading →

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Where are the Aliens?

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Henry Wang

One of the most common topics in science fiction (and conspiracy theories) is aliens. The coolest part is that they can be literally anything. There’s terrifying monstrous aliens like the Xenomorph from Alien and there’s much more lovable ones like E.T. It’s fascinating to think about life outside of the (relatively) small planet we call […] Continue reading →

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Extrasolar Planets and How to Find Them

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Justinc

Extrasolar planets are planets that are found outside the Solar System. Stars are relatively easier to find than extrasolar planets as they are generally bigger and luminous (give off light). But planets, neither generate much light nor are they as big as stars so how do scientists find them? Well there are four main ways […] Continue reading →

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Are There Planets Outside of Our Solar System?

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Matthew Marcus

The answer to this question is a resounding yes. Before the Copernican Revolution, back when many cultures still believed the Earth to be the center of the universe, the fact that these exoplanets exist would have been largely unthinkable. But today, well over 5,000 exoplanets have been discovered. When these distant bodies have eluded us […] Continue reading →

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All About Comets

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Matthew Marcus

In popular media, comets are often depicted as huge balls of fire streaking across the sky. See Sozin’s Comet from Avatar the Last Airbender as an example: It may then be surprising to learn that asteroids are small, ice-rich bodies that are completely frozen for the majority of their life cycles. Comets tend to have […] Continue reading →

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What Exactly is Pluto?

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Justinc

Did you know, Pluto isn’t considered to be a planet? Well you might’ve known that because of widespread media covering this information, but you may not know the reason why. There’s three qualifications of being officially considered a planet: it needs to orbit the sun; it needs to be big enough to be a spherical […] Continue reading →

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The Europa Clipper Mission

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

Artist’s concept of Europa Clipper orbiting Europa. On October 14th, 2024 the Europa Clipper Mission was launched into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Heavy Rocket. It is now on a 6 year journey of 1.8 billion miles to circle the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. The Europa Clipper blasts into space on a […] Continue reading →

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