Monthly Archives: November 2024

Blog 06 – Antennae Galaxies

The image of the Antennae Galaxies released May 19, 2008 NASA article. Please refer to this photo when reading the following blog post- specific aspects of the image are mentioned. The Hubble Heritage Collection released a photo in 2008 that showed a shocking image of the Antennae Galaxies. While it may just look like a […] Continue reading

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Some “Firsts” of Exoplanets

Before the discovery of any exoplanets (prior to 1992), scientists hypothesized that star systems will planets (planetary systems) similar to our own solar system might exist around other stars– even without having confirmed evidence of them in the same way we do today. In some ways, they expected that these other planetary systems would likely […] Continue reading

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Binary Star Systems.

A binary star system A binary star system is a pair of stars which orbit a common center of mass. In fact, they are quite common in the universe. Types of Binary Star Systems Visual Binaries: Such a binary system can be resolved as two separate stars using a telescope. Spectroscopic binaries: here, the components would be close enough to one another that it would not be possible to visually distinguish the two. […] Continue reading

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Icy Giants: Uranus and Neptune

Uranus and Neptune The Outermost Planets Past the gas giants Saturn and Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune are the ice giants. These distant planets provide insight of our solar system. Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has a peculiar axial tilt. While the other planets rotate on an axis that is close to perpendicular to their orbital plane, Uranus rotates on its side. Its orbit causes extreme seasons to take place as one pole would face the Sun continuously for decades, followed […] Continue reading

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Comets: What are they?

Comets are icy, small bodies containing rock, frozen gases, and dust. Referred to as “cosmic snowballs”, comets are found in the outer parts of the solar system like the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud. A comet is made up of 3 parts: nucleus, coma, and tail. The nucleus is its icy center. The coma […] Continue reading

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The Kuiper Belt: What’s in it?

Found outside of Neptune’s orbit, the Kuiper Belt is home to many important objects within our solar system. The Kuiper Belt is contains icy bodies (aka KBOs) in the shape of a doughnut. Many of these KBOs are extremely old, but with little sign of change since its formation. After the formation of our solar […] Continue reading

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Blog 05 – Enceladus

The image shows the lower portion of Enceladus’ jets taken in 2010. Image and information gathered from the NASA website. Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, got its name in Greek mythology because Saturn (Cronus) was the leader of the Titans. Despite its namesake, it is only about 310 miles across which is about the size […] Continue reading

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