Category Archives: SolarSystem

“Current” Events on Tides

Posted on February 9, 2019 by josiahgray12

SaltstraumenVideo Blocks The strait at Saltstraumen is one of the most interesting straits on the planet, and it has to do with more than just its notable beauty. Saltstraumen is the location of one of the strongest tidal currents in the world. When the tides come in and out from the large bodies of water … Continue reading “Current” Events on Tides → Continue reading →

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The Qiantang River Tidal Bore

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Jiayu Kang

The Qiantang River runs for 459 km through Zhejiang, China, and flowing into the East China Sea via Hangzhou Bay. From Aug 15th to 21st in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, travelers come to Hangzhou Bay to see the largest tidal bore in the world, which can reach up to 9 meters in height and travel … Continue reading The Qiantang River Tidal Bore → Continue reading →

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Tides and the Limits of Human Understanding

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Jonathan Roberts

This story begins where so many great ones do (including the unnecessarily long URL of my blog) – by making fun of Bill O’Reilly: Like many people. Bill can’t grasp how the tides operate. And, in his defense, the explanation isn’t exactly obvious to the layperson. As the moon orbits Earth, its gravitational influence produces … Continue reading Tides and the Limits of Human Understanding → Continue reading →

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Our Earth, the Spinning Top?

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Sam Bianco

What if I told you that in a couple thousand years from now, your Zodiac sign would no longer be your Zodiac sign? It may be devastating to devout followers of astrology, but the relative positions of the Zodiac constellations are changing very, very slowly, at least from our viewpoint. This is due to a … Continue reading Our Earth, the Spinning Top? → Continue reading →

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Blog #1: Solar Eclipse Calendar

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Katie

A solar eclipse is when the moon comes between the sun and the Earth and completely or partially blocks the light from the sun. This can only occur when the moon is at the nodes of its orbit and when its precession allows it to be in this position while being between the sun and … Continue reading Blog #1: Solar Eclipse Calendar → Continue reading →

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Life on the Moon!!…Kinda

Posted on January 21, 2019 by dayvon

Does extraterrestrial life exist? Can living things even survive on another world? These are questions that have been asked for a long time and continue to be asked today. China tried to address the latter recently by experimenting with cotton seeds along with 6 other organisms, including potato seeds and fruit fly eggs, on their … Continue reading Life on the Moon!!…Kinda → Continue reading →

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The Dark Side of the Moon

Posted on January 20, 2019 by josiahgray12

Besides a popular Pink Floyd album, what is “the dark side of the Moon”? Most people have not given much though to what it means or how it got its infamous name. For me the first image I get is of the moon I know and love turning over to the dark side of the … Continue reading The Dark Side of the Moon → Continue reading →

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The Size of Our Solar System

Posted on January 20, 2019 by haivilo

The actual size of the universe is basically immeasurable as it is constantly expanding. But even if we could measure it, our human brains wouldn’t actually be able to understand how big it really is. Our solar system is roughly 122 AU, an AU being the distance between the Earth and the sun. This is … Continue reading The Size of Our Solar System → Continue reading →

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Grasping the Scale of the Solar System (with help from Josh Worth)

Posted on January 20, 2019 by jpeilbert

Have you ever wondered just how big the Solar System is? One helpful website to answer that question is Josh Worth’s “If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel” site. This beautiful website allows you to scroll through the Solar System, to-scale, as if the Moon were only 1 pixel (that is, teeny-tiny and barely visible … Continue reading Grasping the Scale of the Solar System (with help from Josh Worth) → Continue reading →

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The OORT CLOUD and You

Posted on January 20, 2019 by chiefkeith7

You might find yourself looking at a (to-scale) diagram of the planets of the solar system (and Pluto), such as the following: and think to yourself “Wow, Pluto is so much farther out from the sun than the Earth is. The solar system is so massive!”. And while you would be correct in your statement, … Continue reading The OORT CLOUD and You → Continue reading →

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