Category Archives: SolarSystem

Methane-Based Life

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Jonathan Roberts

Is liquid water necessary for life to form? If judging strictly from the only life we know, of course. However, humanity’s exploration of the universe has just begun, and we can’t say for sure what lies beyond Earth. Other worlds within our solar system have organic compounds that life could possibly evolve from. In particular, … Continue reading Methane-Based Life → Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Moons, Science, Space Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Methane-Based Life

The Rare Earth Hypothesis

Posted on April 25, 2019 by epiphany9

I was inspired by Victoria’s post to think more about the Fermi Paradox, and specifically, explanations of the uniqueness of intelligent life on Earth. The Rare Earth Hypothesis is one such explanation; it postulates that conditions favorable to life (and particularly intelligent life) are incredibly rare in the universe. It is in opposition to hypotheses […] Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Exoplanets, Terrestrials | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Rare Earth Hypothesis

Adaptive Archaea

Posted on April 25, 2019 by epiphany9

Discovered in 1970, Archaea might be the least well-known of the three domains of life (the others being Bacteria and Eukaryota), but it is a fascinating and diverse group of organisms and quite possibly the first on Earth. Like bacteria, archaea are unicellular, prokaryotic organisms, meaning that they lack nuclei and other membrane-bound organelles in […] Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Terrestrials | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Adaptive Archaea

A Whole New World!

Posted on April 24, 2019 by reallyroyalqueen

Because the caves, mines, and crevasses on Earth are filled with extremophiles, NASA uses those lifeforms as a guide to its exploration of the universe. The hidden parts of the planet have to make their own way of survival. Surface life has photosynthesis, but subsurface only a tiny fraction of that energy trickles down so … Continue reading A Whole New World! → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, General, Observables, Terrestrials | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A Whole New World!

The Northern Lights

Posted on April 21, 2019 by richardtli

One of the world’s most fascinating and natural wonders are the Northern Lights. These magical lights come in a variety of dancing colors. This seemingly random light show occurs as a result of interactions of Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere with solar winds. Solar winds released by the Sun’s sunspot regions travel through space until … Continue reading The Northern Lights → Continue reading →

Posted in Light, Physics, Sun | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Northern Lights

exo… moons?

Posted on April 10, 2019 by justinrstevens

What are exomoons? Well, we have already studied exoplanets (short for extra-solar planets) which are planets that are not from our star system.  Accordingly, exo-moons are moons that orbit planets that orbit stars that aren’t the Sun.  Sounds pretty cool, right?  Well exomoons get even more interesting.  In fact, exomoons are currently the subject of…

Continue reading →

Posted in Moons, Physics, Science | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on exo… moons?

Never Tell Me The Odds

Posted on April 7, 2019 by JSpin

One of the best getaway scenes in movie history is in The Empire Strikes Back, when Han Solo navigates the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field, with TIE Fighters in hot pursuit. The scene starts with the Falcon getting hit by two asteroids. The asteroid field appears to have thousands of asteroids all flying around … Continue reading Never Tell Me The Odds → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Small SS Objects | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Never Tell Me The Odds

The Dawn Mission!

Posted on April 7, 2019 by michaelfung1661

As I was reading through Chapter 12 I came across text on the Dawn Mission and my curiosity led me to searching for more! For something I hadn’t heard of before, its profound contributions and interesting factoids are beyond astonishing! I am a huge – and I mean HUGE – Star Wars fanatic, and to … Continue reading The Dawn Mission! → Continue reading →

Posted in SolarSystem, Space Travel | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Dawn Mission!

Makemake

Posted on April 7, 2019 by richardficek

Makemake is a reddish-brown dwarf planet in the outer solar system and the fourth body identified as a dwarf planet; it, along with Eris and Haumea, were responsible for Pluto’s drop in status from planet to dwarf planet. It is the second brightest known object in the outer solar system (behind Pluto) and is 870 miles (1,400 … Continue reading Makemake → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Dwarf Planets | Tagged , | Comments Off on Makemake

Has Anyone Been Hit By a Meteorite?

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Campbell Flower

We are pretty used to things falling from the sky unexpectedly, as this often results in humans falling victim to injury. So it is pretty natural to ask, has anyone been hit by a meteorite: a piece of rock and metal that has survived passage from space through Earth’s atmosphere and ultimately fallen to Earth’s … Continue reading Has Anyone Been Hit By a Meteorite? → Continue reading →

Posted in Historical, Small SS Objects | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Has Anyone Been Hit By a Meteorite?