Category Archives: Moons

Europa, a Galilean Moon of Jupiter

Posted on April 10, 2016 by solarsystemjoe

As the title suggests, Europa was discovered by Galileo in 1610.  Although Galileo’s instruments for investigating the cosmos weren’t as sophisticated as ours are today, the relatively large size of Europa, a size comparable to the moon’s size, made it possible for it to be discovered in 1610.  And since then, Europa has been investigated […] Continue reading →

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Something like acid rain, but a lot worse

Posted on April 10, 2016 by philhawkins221

captain’s blog, Stardate 69741.0 So we’re spending a lot of time talking about moons lately. If I weren’t so well-educated in the astronomy of our Solar System I would maybe think: “you’re just learning about moons, isn’t that kind of boring?” But I AM so well-educated in the astronomy of our Solar System and know […] Continue reading →

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Fun Facts about Titan

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Alex Pratte

Out of all the moons in our solar system, my favorite one would have to be Titan. Titan is the second largest moon in our solar system, second only to that fat piece of lard Ganymede. However, Titan, has something that Ganymede doesn’t and that is an “earth like cycle of liquids flowing across its […] Continue reading →

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Volcanic Io

Posted on April 9, 2016 by lindseynestor

Volcanoes are one of the coolest geographical features of Earth (in my opinion), but volcanoes outside of our world are even cooler. Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active world in our solar system – in other words, it is FULL of volcanic awesome-ness. Io’s volcanic activity produces HUGE volcanic plumes. To give some […] Continue reading →

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Io

Posted on April 7, 2016 by lawlorsolarsystem

Io is Jupiter’s third largest moon. What is notable about Io is that it is the most geologically active body in the entire Solar System. It is extremely volcanic, and is the only body other than Earth that we  have observed with active volcanism. The volcanic activity occurs because Io is greatly affected by tides […] Continue reading →

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The Possibility of Life on Enceladus

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Michaela Thomas

One question that still excites both amateur and professional astronomers is the possibility of life on other worlds. Certain important elements, however, must be present in order for organic life to exist. Enceladus, one of Saturn’s icy moons, has an underground ocean that may be a source of life, either sometime in the ancient past […] Continue reading →

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The Possibility of Life on Enceladus

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Michaela Thomas

One question that still excites both amateur and professional astronomers is the possibility of life on other worlds. Certain important elements, however, must be present in order for organic life to exist. Enceladus, one of Saturn’s icy moons, has an underground ocean that may be a source of life, either sometime in the ancient past …

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The Solar Shepherds

Posted on April 4, 2016 by evinske

Rings. It’s what many senior girls are looking for right now, just as graduation approaches. Spring brings the rings, right? The giant planets, however, sport perhaps the most breathtaking rings of all. What many won’t notice about rings of giant planets, such as Saturn, are its imperfections. The darker regions of the rings do not […] Continue reading →

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Jupiter’s Less Popular Moons

Posted on March 28, 2016 by hallesolar

Io, Europa, Ganymede and Castillo get a lot of love, but the 63 other members of Jupiter’s posse are often overlooked. This NASA webpage provides in-depth information about each of Jupiter’s 67 moons. 50 of them are official moons and have names to reflect that status. However, the other 17 are mere “Provisional Moons,” which […] Continue reading →

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The moon of Europa, or your practical guide to ice skating in space

Posted on March 15, 2016 by d51blog

Do you love astronomy? Do you also love ice skating? (I’m looking at you, Dr. G..) What if I told you that you could have the best of both worlds? You can(!), albeit approximately 4.2 AU away from Earth. Enter Europa, Jupiter’s icy sixth (both largest and closest) moon. Europa is an extremely young moon despite being […] Continue reading →

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