Why Do Objects Burn as They Enter Earth’s Atmosphere?

SaraRayne Jun 16, 2020

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• Replies: 10

One extremely important consideration that goes into the engineering of spaceships is their ability to withstand the heat of reentry. Pushing through the Earth’s atmosphere causes extreme temperatures that...

What is the Sun Made Of?

SaraRayne Jun 15, 2020

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• Replies: 2

The Sun is a scary hot, violent place. It’s also essential for most forms of life on Earth. Stars are very different from the planets they host, and it’s rather fascinating how they do what they do. Learning...

Are There Other Planets with Water?

SaraRayne Jun 14, 2020

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The Earth is a very special place. To our knowledge, we’re the only planet with life, and that’s significant. We owe a lot of our special circumstances to the presence of water, so naturally that’s the first...

What is a Quasar?

SaraRayne Jun 14, 2020

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• Replies: 7

Astronomical mysteries abound. Whenever something new is discovered, it presents an opportunity to peek into the unknown and learn even more about
the universe. Studying objects and phenomena that are...

Why Are Neutron Stars So Heavy?

SaraRayne Jun 10, 2020

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• Replies: 2

What’s so small that it’s super heavy and just a teaspoon of it would weigh 10 million tons? If you guessed a neutron star, you’re right. We can barely comprehend this kind of scale, but it certainly exists...

Where Do Meteors Come From?

SaraRayne Jun 9, 2020

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• Replies: 0

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Actually, it’s a hunk of rock hurtling through our atmosphere after a million mile trip around the solar system Meteors when they’re in the sky, meteorites if they hit the ground...

What is the Moon’s Effect on the Earth?

SaraRayne Jun 6, 2020

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• Replies: 13

The Moon doesn’t seem to do much, does it? It just moves around up there, always watching with the same stoic face. The truth is, when two large bodies such as the Earth and the Moon are close to one another...

What Would the Moons of Mars Look Like From Its Surface?

SaraRayne Jun 6, 2020

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• Replies: 7

We’ve grown accustomed to seeing our beautiful moon in the sky day after day. Sometimes, when it’s full, we gaze in wonder at its beauty. Most of the time, though, we forget about it. This would all change...

Why Are Spacesuits So Heavy?

SaraRayne Jun 6, 2020

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• Replies: 24

Imagine trying to fix machinery while you’re orbiting Earth, with the Sun pelting you with rays, space dust flying all around, and your only source of oxygen strapped to your back. That’s what astronauts on...

What is the Goldilocks Zone?

SaraRayne Jun 6, 2020

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The story of Goldilocks is often brought up to demonstrate an idea of perfection, or what is “just right.” But what does it mean when applied to space? Where astronomy and astrobiology are concerned, what...

How Do Spacesuits Work?

SaraRayne Jun 6, 2020

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Humans aren’t designed to live in space, but that hasn’t stopped us. All we had to do was figure out what was needed to survive. A little oxygen, some protection from radiation, and suddenly we’re floating...

How Does Light Travel Through Space?

SaraRayne Jun 6, 2020

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• Replies: 7

Every point of light you see in the sky is an entire world sending out energy in the form of light. Your ability to perceive this light even across such vast distances says a lot about not just the nature of...

How Do Space Shuttles Land?

SaraRayne Jun 6, 2020

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Space shuttle technology marked a great leap forward in human innovation and space travel. Not only could we send humans off into space, we could bring them back safely and with a relatively smooth reentry...

Why Does Saturn Have Rings Around It?

SaraRayne Feb 23, 2020

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Have you ever looked at Saturn through a telescope? The moment you see the rings, the actual rings of Saturn, is life changing. Knowing they’re there and seeing them for yourself are two very different...

How Does Satellite Internet Work?

SaraRayne Feb 21, 2020

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• Replies: 1

What would any of us do without the Internet? You wouldn’t be reading this right now if not for the Internet. There wouldn’t be any cat videos, or Youtube to watch them on. Our interconnected world wouldn’t...

How Does the Ozone Layer Work?

SaraRayne Feb 20, 2020

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In 1985, the world was shocked to learn that human activities had depleted an area of the ozone layer so much, we began calling it the Ozone Hole. More than 30 years later, we’re still monitoring it to ensure...

Are There Storms on Mars?

SaraRayne Feb 20, 2020

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• Replies: 1

Earth experiences some wild weather. We have hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, blizzards, and a range of other crazy phenomena. Much of this is due to our atmosphere and weather systems. Mars has a very thin...

Why is Mars Red?

SaraRayne Feb 20, 2020

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Look at Mars in the night sky, and you’ll see a distinctive red glow. Through a telescope, it’s even more clear. And when both rovers and probes send back images of an alien red surface, we know for certain...

Is it Possible to Live on Mars?

SaraRayne Feb 20, 2020

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• Replies: 32

Humans once had a dream to send objects into space. Then we wanted to land on the moon. Next we wanted to explore the solar system. We’ve hit milestone after milestone, and with each mission we learn the...