You may have heard the phrases “Hot Jupiter” or “Super Earth” used to describe planets discovered in other solar systems, but what exactly do those terms mean?
Continue ReadingYou’ve probably seen one of the stunning first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, and maybe even heard that the images are “false color”. In this post I’ll talk first about why the false coloring is necessary in the first place, and then guide you through the steps to download the raw images from NASA and then combine them into your own colorful masterpiece.
Continue ReadingAs of February 18, 2022 the Mars Perseverance Rover has spent exactly one Earth year on Mars (although it’ll be another 322 days before it’s been a full Martian year). So what has “Percy” been up to this year?
Continue ReadingThe first exoplanet was discovered by Michael Mayor and Didier Queloz in 1998. So why then did I come across an essay written in 1946 claiming that one was found in 1942?
Continue ReadingNew discoveries in astronomy often make the news. But extracting meaningful information using only light from distant stars can be very difficult, and astronomers do occasionally get it wrong. What…
Continue ReadingNew science on Venus’s atmosphere may inspire new missions to explore “Earth’s Sister”, but did you know that probes landed on Venus’s surface in the 1970’s?
Continue ReadingHumanity 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…
Continue ReadingFinding 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.
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