astronomy – The Pipettepen

Blog / Auroras: A Light Show Out of this World

July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 / Breanna Turman /

Scientists observed a green aurora on Mars, which is the first time a green aurora has been seen on a planet other than Earth.

Blog / Superflares and Tough Bacteria

March 31, 2020March 31, 2020 / Mackenna Wood /

Humanity has long been faced with the question of the existence of extraterrestrial life. Could there be life elsewhere in the universe, and if there is, could it be anything…

Blog / Ironing out the Detection of Metallic Rain

March 30, 2020March 30, 2020 / Melody Kessler /

The discovery of an exoplanet that rains molten iron captivates the world and captures the promise of combining a telescope with a spectrograph.

Blog / How to Find a Planet in 3 (Not So) Easy Steps

November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 / Mackenna Wood /

Finding an exoplanet using one of the most common methods is pretty easy in theory. But be warned, it’s much harder in practice than it sounds.

Blog / 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Stellar Magnetism

October 2, 2019October 8, 2019 / Liam Jones /

Like the Sun and the Earth, stars have magnetic fields. These magnetic fields are powerful, yet little is known about them.

Blog / “GEER”ing up for Planet Simulation

January 24, 2017January 23, 2017 / Nicole Tackmann /

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see the surface of another planet up close? Well, NASA researchers in Cleveland are making this possible right here on…

Blog / Understanding the Space of Space

January 17, 2017January 17, 2017 / JoEllen McBride /

In the past, the largest obstacle that separated humans was distance. In the first half of the 20th century, we built machines that made it possible to drive non-stop from…

Blog / Cold, What Is It Good For?

December 1, 2016December 7, 2016 / Josh Fuchs /

Winter is officially still three weeks away, although the alternating 30° F nights and 75° F days makes that difficult to remember. The arrival of winter means that it is…

Blog / Perseid Meteor to Light Up Night Sky

August 10, 2016August 9, 2016 / JoEllen McBride / 1

The Perseids are here! This annual meteor shower is one of the best and brightest, but this year it’s predicted to be even more spectacular. So, if you’re in a…

Blog / The End of A Planetary Road Trip

July 30, 2016July 30, 2016 / Josh Fuchs /

Recently, NASA’s JUNO spacecraft slowed down by 1,212 miles per hour in a carefully coordinated 35 minute maneuver. This slowdown is similar to you slamming on the brakes to stop…

Blog / Discovering New Horizons

January 13, 2016October 7, 2019 / JoEllen McBride /

Humans need to explore. Not because it is in our DNA – the gene for exploration hasn’t been discovered yet – but because it is essential to our survival and…

Blog / The Pillars of Creation and Destruction

September 4, 2015October 7, 2019 / JoEllen McBride /

We like to think of the Universe as static. Our time is very short compared to the age of the Universe. But there are processes in space that happen on…