Category Archives: SolarSystem

What would life be like on Pluto for humans?

Posted on April 5, 2015 by karenagrebenc

photo from space.com Above is an artist’s conception of what Pluto would look like if one could stand on one of the dwarf planet’s moons and stare back at Pluto.  But this article goes on to tell us what our experiences would be if we were to actually step foot on the surface of Pluto […] Continue reading →

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The Galilean Moons

Posted on April 5, 2015 by oliviasn

When I went out observing on the 24th Avenue Parking Garage the other night, every astronomical object that I saw through the telescope amazed me, but Jupiter especially captured my attention. I had never viewed Jupiter through a telescope before, and on this beautiful and mostly clear night, I was able to clearly see not […] Continue reading →

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Jupiter’s volcanic moon: Io

Posted on April 5, 2015 by bryancm1

Io sports a surface temperature well below zero (around -130 degrees C). This is heavily contrasted by the fact that Io is also the most volcanically active body in our solar system. It is known to have over 400 currently active volcanoes. If you weren’t yet convinced about the effects of tidal heating, think about […] Continue reading →

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Put a Ring on It

Posted on April 4, 2015 by michellelei

An interesting characteristic that all the jovian planets possess is their rings. The most remarkable and noticeable of these are Saturn’s, which extend hundreds of thousands of kilometers wide. However, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune all have rings as well, on a much smaller scale. Although the rings are rather wide, they are only 1-1000 m… Continue reading Put a Ring on It Continue reading →

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Io’s crazy volcanoes!

Posted on April 4, 2015 by karenagrebenc

photo from space.com So, we all know that Io is notoriously the volcanic moon of Jupiter, but apparently a couple of years ago it randomly got…MORE volcanic? According to this article, in August of 2013 three large eruptions occurred on Io.  To put it in perspective, this is the number of large eruptions that we […] Continue reading →

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New Horizons

Posted on April 4, 2015 by emilyksharp

Exploring Pluto Pluto, the small icy body at the edge of our planetary system, has been under scrutiny in scientific …

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Mercurial Art

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Marissa LePore

“It appears that Mercury may well be a painted planet,” said Prof Peter Schultz, a co-author from Brown University. Mercury’s dull surface has long been a point of perplexion in the field of planetary geology. Scientists have thought that there must be a mystery darkening agent contributing to the planet’s low reflectance. A new study has given […] Continue reading →

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Do we have Jupiter to thank for Earth?

Posted on March 26, 2015 by jclyncmp

A new study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that Jupiter may just be more than the largest gas giant planet in our solar system. We little earthlings may be here thanks to Jupiter and its…

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Solar Flares: Terrifying, Fascinating, or Both?

Posted on March 16, 2015 by adyacob

Check out this animated gif released by NASA earlier this week. Just a few days ago, the Solar Dynamics Observatory …

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“You want me to hack the planet?”

Posted on March 16, 2015 by pMurs

There are a compendium of factors that allow for life to exist on Earth, one of the most important of which is our core. Earth’s core is made up of molten metal that swirls and churns, generating a powerful magnetic field that shields the planet from radiation and solar wind. Our core is vital to […] Continue reading →

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