Author Archives: Henry Wang

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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How Do Spacecraft Move?

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Henry Wang

We’ve all seen videos of spacecraft launching: 3, 2, 1, Blastoff! The main booster rocket burns a tremendous amount of energy to escape Earth’s gravity, reaching terminal velocity. Rocket Launch But when they enter space, this much force is wholly unnecessary, there is no gravitational field to escape, so how do spaceships move? The main […] Continue reading →

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Extrasolar(exo) Planets

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Henry Wang

Extrasolar planets, or as they are better known: exoplanets, refers to any planet that exists outside of our own solar system, which is quite a lot. Astronomers are naturally very interested in planets in other solar systems, learning about their properties, sizes, or age. This information helps us understand our own solar system but also […] Continue reading →

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The Asteroid Belt

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Henry Wang

Asteroids are a really interesting part of the solar system, but is strangely absent from most models of the solar system. So what exactly is the Asteroid Belt? Diagram of The Asteroid Belt The Asteroid Belt is a ring of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter and is made up of millions of them. They vary […] Continue reading →

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Real Life Spaceships

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Henry Wang

Spaceships are a favorite among science fiction authors, be it the Star Destroyers from Star Wars or the massive Covenant fleets from Halo, it’s incredible to think of vehicles that can travel through galaxies. But how close are we to that in reality? UNSC Infinity (Halo Franchise) If we are just talking about sending things […] Continue reading →

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Gravity & General Relativity

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Henry Wang

You throw something up in the air and it falls down. Why? Gravity, obviously, everyone knows that. But what really is gravity? By most common knowledge, gravity is one of the four fundamental forces, and has a lot more to it than just making things fall. Gravity actually works as an attraction between two masses, […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context: Galileo Galilei

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Henry Wang

Galileo (1564-1642) was important to astronomy for many reasons. Galileo invented one of the first versions of a telescope, based on a spyglass, that he used to view the sky. His first major discovery was that the moon isn’t smooth, it has mountains, craters, and features on its surface. He then discovered many interesting things, […] Continue reading →

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Blog #1

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Henry Wang

A sight everyone has seen is the moon, shining brightly over the dark shadows of night. But have you ever wondered why it looks so different all the time? The answer is that the moon is just a rock, not a glowing one, so all of the light we see is just reflected sunlight. Since […] Continue reading →

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Blog #0

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Henry Wang

This is a place I visited last year!

Gran Turismo

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