Monthly Archives: December 2024

Tardigrades and extraterrestrial life

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Michael

I first saw a picture of a tardigrade when I was a child, and even then, I was fascinated. I prefer the more affectionate term “water bear”, and these cute little “micro-animals” are a classic example of just how resilient life can be. As we briefly discussed in class, tardigrades have survived exposure to outer […] Continue reading →

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Culmination of ASTR-2110 Blog Post

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Leo Silva

a. I was most surprised by how much we can discover about celestial bodies from our long distances. In the cases of other stellar systems, we may not know so much, but within our own, we’re able to study other bodies and make deductions about their properties to such a granular level– and this was […] Continue reading →

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The Fermi Paradox Explained

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Alekzander Waller

Source The Fermi Paradox describes the contradiction between high and low probability of extraterrestrial civilizations that exist in the universe and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations. The term is named after the physicist Enrico Fermi who asked “Where is everybody?” during a conversation about the likelihood of alien life in […] Continue reading →

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What are the Odds?

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Leo Silva

The Drake Equation is a formula proposed to estimate the number of technologically advanced civilizations within a given galaxy that may be capable of communicating with us. It doesn’t calculate anything with certainty but, instead, aims to stipulate that if we give X, Y, Z, criteria, what would we expect to see? How many civilizations […] Continue reading →

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Extremophiles

Posted on December 5, 2024 by jasonljohnson465

Image from Cosmos Magazine Extremophiles are organisms capable of living under extreme conditions. This includes but is not limited to extreme temperature, radiation, pressure, and pH level. Given the extremely resilient nature of these organisms, they are some of the most abundant life forms. These creatures are fascinating as they have helped to stretch our […] Continue reading →

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Final Blog

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

Picture credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine I was very surprised that there are so many bodies in our own solar system that have a real chance of having some sort of microbial life. I always thought the other planets and moons in the solar system were much too far away from the sun or […] Continue reading →

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Life Elsewhere in the Universe?

Posted on December 1, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

Picture Credit: Columbia University As generations of humans have looked out on the stars, a never ending barrage of questions has ensued. As we learned that these celestial bodies were stars and planets similar to our own, the natural next question was is there anybody else like us out there? The bad answer is no. […] Continue reading →

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