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Tag: astronomy

Why Are There No Sunspots?

Posted October 5, 2019 by Jennifer Sieben

The surface of the sun is shown with two large, black splotches. Connecting these two splotches is an arc of yellow light drawn coming out of the sun and extending into space.

It’s easy to think of the sun as a simple bright sphere in the sky, constant and unchanging; but, that is far from reality. The sun is dynamic, with many solar flares, cells of convection, and even storms. One of the easiest changes to see are sunspots, which are located on the surface of the… Read more »

Global collaboration in science

Posted August 31, 2019 by Jennifer Sieben

Map of the world showing 2 centers in the United States, 2 in Europe, 1 in India, and 1 in Japan.

Looking back into the archives of scientific papers published in the past few decades, the majority have one, or at most four, authors. Most projects were conducted by a single individual (or a man and multiple uncredited women, but that’s a whole different topic than what I’d like to discuss here): one person started with… Read more »

Graduating ScIU Writers 2019

Posted July 27, 2019 by ScIU Editorial Team

Our blog would be nothing without our writers. Unfortunately they can’t stay here forever; they must go on to their next great adventures in life. So we wanted to take a moment to recognize a few of our authors who have recently left or are preparing to leave soon. We wish you all the very… Read more »

Apollo 11: 5 photos (and 1 video) you might not see in the news

Posted July 20, 2019 by Jennifer Sieben

The anniversary of the first steps on the moon is today and undoubtedly you’ve seen a lot of images from the landing. News media love to show the footprints, the saluting of the flag, and the Earth-rise over the lunar surface. However there are many pictures that get overlooked. So here we present 5 photos (and… Read more »

The Quest for Alien Swimming Pools

Posted May 14, 2019 by Jennifer Sieben

A small section of a darkly lit moon with bright jets of water shooting out from the surface against the blackness of space.

Water is essential to life on Earth. So, if we are searching for life off-world, it would make sense to look for signs of water. Astronomers have been doing exactly that: employing different methods to find the first signs of life outside of our own world. Until recently, it wasn’t known whether there is water… Read more »

‘Oumuamua: What’s in a Name?

Posted April 30, 2019 by Jennifer Sieben

Elongated, dark rock diagonally across a background image of a star field, slightly illuminated from the right.

Sue the T Rex. Lucy the early human ancestor. These are scientific discoveries that are remembered and even loved. They have names and feel real despite being collections of bones. Even the buckyball evokes the idea of fun where other structures of molecules do not. Names are important. Astronomy has been doing this for a… Read more »

Planetary migration and the architecture of planetary systems

Posted October 16, 2018 by Karna Desai

Planets are formed in “protoplanetary disks” composed of gas and dust orbiting a central star. Once a planet has formed in the disk, the radius of its orbit can change due to gravitational forces between the planet and material in the disk. In this way, planets can migrate from their original location, a phenomenon that… Read more »

Obstacles to the Stars

Posted October 9, 2018 by Jennifer Sieben

Starry sky above a dome of an observatory. A bright clouds of stars and dust stretches across the sky on a diagonal.

Taking astronomical images can be a very rewarding process—in part because of the gorgeous images you take, but also in part because of all the obstacles that can prevent you from observing the skies. We can protect our telescopes in buildings during the day to keep them clean and dry, but when night comes and… Read more »

Star clusters: Star families come in all ages, shapes and sizes

Posted July 24, 2018 by ScIU Editorial Team

This post is from ScIU’s archives. It was originally published by Maria Tiongco in September 2016, and has been lightly edited to reflect current events. Have you ever taken time to gaze at the stars on a clear night, either with a casual eye or a telescope?  If so, you might have seen the famous… Read more »

Uncovering the Secrets of Jupiter

Posted July 17, 2018 by Jennifer Sieben

It was over 400 years ago that Galileo Galilei first looked through his handmade telescope and observed the cloud bands that the planet is now famous for. The red gas giant of our solar system was revealed to be surrounded by swirling clouds, including one bright red spot–a cyclone of epic proportions that has been… Read more »

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