May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine

One of my recent blogs crushed the dreams of many Star Wars fans by debunking the close proximity of asteroids within an asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back. That is why, in the spirit of Star Wars Day, I will be sharing an aspect of the films that Star Wars ended up getting correct:Continue reading “May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine”

Which Exoplanet Could Be Planet B?

The transit method has already been used to discover a few thousand exoplanets and continues to discover more through both old observations and current missions. With this method, the brightness levels of stars in other solar systems are measured. When the brightness dims, this is a sign that an extrasolar planet may have passed inContinue reading “Which Exoplanet Could Be Planet B?”

Is the Moon actually made of cheese?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. However, the story of why the Moon’s surface looks the way it does it still an interesting one and one that helps us understand the solar system as a whole. The surface of the Moon most closely resembles that of Mercury (due to the lack of geological activity that comesContinue reading “Is the Moon actually made of cheese?”

The Cosmic Calendar

Definition: a calendar in which the 14-billion-years of the universe’s existence, from the time of the Big Bang until this moment, are scaled to a period of one year. Origin: The idea of the Cosmic Calendar was first described by astronomer Carl Sagan on the original version of the television show Cosmos in 1980. KeyContinue reading “The Cosmic Calendar”

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started