Author Archives: Ian Vasquez

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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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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Halley’s Comet

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

Halley’s Comet In 1705, Edmund Halley, an English astronomer, used Isaac Newton’s theories to chart the paths of 24 comets. In doing so he discovered that three comets that were seen in 1531, 1607, and 1682 were the exact same comet: Halley’s Comet. He then predicted that the same comet should appear again in the […] Continue reading →

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Starship: The Future of Space Travel?

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

Starship. There is a good chance you may have heard of Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX and the immense progress they have made in the rocket industry, completely obliterating the competition when it comes to number of launches per year. But have you heard of SpaceX’s newest triumph with their rocket, Starship? Starship is the […] Continue reading →

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Nuclear Fusion

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

The sun Nuclear fusion is the process that creates the massive amount of energy needed to power the sun. In the sun’s core 4 Hydrogen atoms collide to create 1 Helium atom, 2 electrons, 2 neutrinos, and 2 gamma ray photons. The amount of Helium created is less than the overall mass of Hydrogen used […] Continue reading →

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All About Telescopes

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

Hubble Space Telescope In the world of telescopes, there are two main types: refracting and reflecting. The first telescopes created by astronomers in the 1600s were refracting telescopes. These work much like eye glasses. A curved lens bends the light into the observer’s eye. The bigger the lens the further into space a person could […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

Tycho Brahe (12/14/1546-10/24/1601) Excommunication of Queen Elizabeth I – Queen Elizabeth I excommunicated from Catholic Church by Pope Pius V on charge of heresy Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day – Thousands of French Protestants killed by Catholics in Paris William Shakespeare – Arguably the greatest contributor to literature ever with with works like Hamlet and […] Continue reading →

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A Moving Sky

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

Stars in Yellowstone National Park Have you ever heard of horoscopes, zodiac signs, or noticed you can see different constellations in the sky during different times of the year? This is all due to the shifting of our perspective on Earth throughout the year. No, the stars are not rotating around us out there. They […] Continue reading →

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First Post!

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Ian Vasquez

My buddy Kian and I under the northern lights back home in Minnesota. What are the northern lights? Published by Continue reading →

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