Category Archives: SolarSystem

Mining in Space

Posted on April 8, 2014 by colepospisil

Whenever one thinks about mining in space, the image that is likely to come to mind is of drilling an asteroid made of solid gold. However, this is unlikely to be how this process will ever occur. That is partially because the value of the resources that one would receive from them would overcome the […] Continue reading →

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Is Pluto a planet?

Posted on April 8, 2014 by colepospisil

Recently, Pluto was demoted to being called a “dwarf planet”. This has caused an uproar among many people who suddenly discovered that their favorite planet was Pluto. The idea that we change how we refer to a desolate rock is apparently unbelievable to a large portion of the population. The question of whether Pluto is a […] Continue reading →

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Ceres, the Inner Solar System Dwarf Planet

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Chad F

Ceres was discovered in 1801 and is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.  It was originally classified as a planet, but has since been demoted to a dwarf planet.  It is thought to have an icy mantle and a rocky core with the possibility of a subsurface ocean and thin atmosphere. […] Continue reading →

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Saturn’s Rings

Posted on April 8, 2014 by katiew

In the outer solar system, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all have rings, but Saturn’s are by far the largest and most spectacular. Galileo was the first to discover them in 1610, but for years they remained a mystery and much is still unknown about them. In the 1980s, the Voyager missions got a closer […] Continue reading →

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Halley’s Comet

Posted on April 8, 2014 by katiew

Halley’s Comet is the most well known comet because it is the only short-term comet that is visible from Earth with the naked eye. Halley’s Comet was seen multiple times throughout history. The first known observation of Halley’s Comet was in 239 B.C. by Chinese astronomers. When it returned in 164 B.C. and 87 B.C. […] Continue reading →

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Interiors of Jovian Planets

Posted on April 8, 2014 by eschellhase

Jovian planets also go by the name of giant planets. In our solar system we have Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Their interiors look much different than the interiors of the terrestrial planets (Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus, the Moon). Earth contains a metallic, solid core. As a kid I grew up hearing that the gas […] Continue reading →

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Is Pluto a Planet?

Posted on April 7, 2014 by hindsolar

  I can recall sitting and listening to an astronomy presentation during my eighth grade year. The man who presented told us that Pluto was no longer a planet. For some reason this bothered me because all my life I had been told that Pluto was in fact a planet. I can also recall taking […] Continue reading →

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Weird Life on Titan?

Posted on April 7, 2014 by joshkphilips

Image Source People are fascinated by the Universe for a variety of reasons. Some are intrigued by black holes, while others may be obsessed with the formation of stars and planets. But one thing is for sure, the possibility of life elsewhere is definitely an exciting topic no matter what you’re interested in. When we […] Continue reading →

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Is Pluto a planet?

Posted on April 7, 2014 by joshkip

A few weeks ago, I was discussing my astronomy class with a friend, when he interrupted to tell me his summation of the subject: “Spoiler Alert,” he told me. “Pluto isn’t a planet after all.” It wasn’t as thrilling as the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Rings and Diamonds? A Girl’s Best Friend!

Posted on March 27, 2014 by hollyreichert

  On Jupiter and Saturn, scientists have recently discovered that there could be a lot of carbon on the planet.  This carbon could be present in the form of diamonds that rain down from the sky.  While the diamonds eventually melt and don’t stay around for long, they can be as large as a centimeter […] Continue reading →

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