Category Archives: Stars

Crazy Stars

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Jonas Kobza

Stars like our Sun are considered “ordinary” and quite common. They produce energy through hydrogen fusion. A weirder type of star is a white dwarf. These are stars that at one point produced energy through hydrogen fusion, but have run out of hydrogen, and do not have the mass to carry out fusion energy reactions […] Continue reading →

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Blog 3: Fusion

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Jonas Kobza

We hear it all the time: Fusion is the future; it’s how the sun creates energy. But, how does it work? At its core, fusion generates energy by converting four hydrogen atoms (protons) into 1 helium atom with two neutrons (Helium-4 ). On the surface, it is hard to see how any energy is created […] Continue reading →

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Nature’s Closely Guarded Secret – Nuclear Fusion

Posted on March 5, 2024 by John Newell

We are, quite literally, made of stardust. Stars are the birthplace of many of the elements that make up our physical reality as we know it. Heavier elements (heavier than Iron, specifically) were created in a Supernova — a violent explosion of epic proportions at the end of a massive stars life. Inside of every […] Continue reading →

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☆Born to shine, forced to fuse☆

Posted on March 5, 2024 by abbieychen

Stars, like us, have an exciting life journey. Stars are born when gas and dust in cold molecular clouds collapse from gravity. Just like our solar system, the formation of a star involves the gas cloud spinning, heating, and flattening until the star is formed. Something I thought was cool was that stars tend to […] Continue reading →

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Blog 1

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Muhammad Israr

How did we come up with the names and positions of the constellations in the night sky? This is a question I will be answering in this blog, and I hope to contribute to the diverse themes presented in the book. My focus is on the Arabic contribution to the naming of the stars and […] Continue reading →

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The Zodiac and Ascribing Meaning to a Random Existence

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Landon Peaden

Britannica The twelve Zodiac signs are the most famous (and infamous, if you talk to scientists) way of imposing order and grouping onto our lives. Personality tests, Harry Potter houses (which have to be the laziest version out there), “What sandwich am I?” quizzes, these all apply a person’s traits and responses to fundamental questions […] Continue reading →

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Blog #8 Drake Equation

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Astro 2110

Photo summarizing the Drake Equation and possible variables. The Drake Equation is our best estimate for the number of communicating extraterrestrial civilizations that exist in outer space with whom we might be able to communicate. The equation was originally devised in 1961 by the astrophysicist Frank Drake and focuses on a series of assumptions about […] Continue reading →

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Seager Equation

Posted on April 30, 2023 by oilrigatoni

So the Seager Equation was made to mimic Drake’s Equation. It doesn’t find communicable aliens, but rather just that life which is detectable from Earth. It also doesn’t specify intelligent life, so it searches for any discernible life at all, from microbes to megafauna. The equation goes like this: N* : Number of observable stars […] Continue reading →

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Variable Stars and change in the Night Sky

Posted on April 29, 2023 by noahherrero

Image of Omicron Ceti (Mira) Source: Digitized Sky Survey 2 Looking up at the night sky it may seem that while the stars do move around, they remain the same brightness all year round. This was a common belief pushed by philosophers like Aristotle, believing that stars are eternal and invariable. However in 1638 Johannes […] Continue reading →

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Farewell, for now

Posted on April 28, 2023 by 7smessier45

I have always loved the stars, nebulae, planets, and all the space in between, but I never had a chance to seriously study them until this year. I am incredibly grateful that I was able to devote two classes (and a lab!) to learning more about the processes that govern solar system formation and how […] Continue reading →

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