Tag Archives: Earth

Science, Science, Tech, & Health

The search for Planet X leads to an amazing discovery

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Ever since the discovery of Pluto by Clyde W. Tombaugh in 1930, scientists have been on the search for anything beyond what seemed to be our solar system’s outermost member. Apart from a few moons, and then a 2006 decision that reclassified Pluto as a dwarf-planet, there has not been much information on finding “Planet X.” Well, not until this past week.

An artist's concept of what "the Goblin" might look like in space. Photo from earthsky.org
An artist’s concept of what “the Goblin” might look like in space. Photo from earthsky.org

In new research led by the Carnegie Institution for Science found a extremely distant object that is billions of miles away from Pluto. The object has a orbit that leaves hints of maybe more objects like “Planet X” or a planet that is Earth like.

The object, which is now has the nickname “The Goblin” is only 200 miles wide. The scientific name of the object is the very boring, 2015 TG387. Names like those are usually given to asteroids. The object is almost 8 billion miles away from the Sun. In comparsion, Pluto is two and a half times closer to the Sun.

David Tholen of the University of Hawaii and a member of the Carnegie Institution’s research team said to USA Today, “We think there could be thousands of small bodies like 2015 TG387 out on the solar system’s fringes, but their distance makes finding them very difficult.”

Telescopes from the United States and even as far as Chile were used to determine the location of “the Goblin” and 12 additional moons of Jupiter that were previous unknown.

Research like this could lead to the discovery of either another inhabitable planet or a “Super Earth” that could support life in our Solar System.

 

Science, Science, Tech, & Health

Another “Super Earth” has been discovered

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Another day, another super planet that is “perfect for humans.”  It’s unfortunate that the planet is 111 light years away or in miles- 5.879 x 10 to the 12 (Any math people in here).

photo from netzoe.com
photo from netzoe.com

K2-18b orbits with in the “Goldilocks” zone or habitable zone of a red dwarf star in the Leo constellation.

The study was done by the University of Toronto and University of Montreal in Canada  with a dataset coming from High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher or HARPS for short.

Using a machine-learning approach on the research for the planet, researchers was able to tell a difference if the planet was a rocky-gaseous or if the planet was more Earth like with a layer of ice.

Come to find out, the planet is a rocky base with Earth like features that could allow for the planet to have alien life.

With the future of the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers will be able to tell more about the planet before even ever getting the chance to visit the planet if it were to be possible.

While studying K2-12b, researchers found another planet and named it K2-12c, however the planet will never be inhabitable due to the planet being so close to the red dwarf sun.

With scientists finding more and more planets that are habitable to humans and other life, it’s looking more and more likely that humans will be able to survive after the Earth’s demise.

 

 

Arts & Entertainment, Poetry

Anxiety

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Fluttering, falling, fading,

Once green leaves stained yellow with groundless fears,

Buffeted and shaken by rains that once

Wouldn’t have even been noticed.

One by one the leaves die of terror,

And the branches are left bare.

But instead of doing anything,

The tree lets it happen.

The more the leaves fall,

The less strength there is to hold on to the ones left.

The wind tries to help,

Tickling branches in ways the tree once loved.

But without leaves, the wind feels harsh and exhausting.

tree

“One by one the leaves die of terror, And the branches are left bare.” Photo from: www.staticflickr.com

 

 

Branches snicker, snap, and groan

At the innocent wind.

The bare bony fingers reach towards the sky,

Scraping against the blue in desperation.

But the sky never says anything,

And only the rain that was already coming

Responds to the cries.

Soon there is nothing

To protect from the coming ice,

And all that remains

Is to do

Nothing.

Featured, Science, Science, Tech, & Health

Shut it NASA: Problems after government shutdown

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Coincidentally, the day the government shut down on Oct. 1st, NASA celebrated its 55th birthday. They were hit the hardest during this shutdown leaving only two people in their facilities to maintain communication with the astronauts 250 miles above the Earth’s surface on the International Space Station.

Continue reading Shut it NASA: Problems after government shutdown →

Science, Science, Tech, & Health

Not of this Earth

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Since the beginning of human history, there have been many theories on the origin of life. Some theories include a creator or designer and some include life materializing spontaneously through chemical reactions. Regardless of what set it in motion, there are theories of where it actually began, ranging from the deep depths of the ocean to frozen ice caps to clay and to, most interestingly, the far reaches of outer space. Continue reading Not of this Earth →

Life

The effects of recycling

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From one non-recycler to another, the documentary film Tapped, is sure to change your perspective on how not recycling affects the Earth. This movie examines recycling and how our health and world around us is affected by taking this action seriously. Everyone knows that it’s a good idea to recycle and that by recycling we can help our planet. Yet, every month there is enough aluminum thrown away to rebuild the entire commercial air fleet. This doesn’t include all of the other materials that aren’t recycled. Continue reading The effects of recycling →

Featured, Life

TerraWhat? TerraCycle

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Nowadays, there are so many different ways that people all around the world are helping to clean up the environment. The top ten things you can do to help are:

10. Replace your single-paned windows with double-pane windows.
9. Use a reel or electric lawn mower.
8. Go “mostly organic” in your lawn and garden.
7. Plant trees in your yard and community.
6. Use drip irrigation systems in your garden.
5. Use compost instead of buying chemically enhanced soil.
4. Use a low-flow showerhead.
3. Change as many bulbs in your house to compact fluorescent bulbs, or LED bulbs.
2. Lower your home thermostats.
1. Prevent energy leaks at home. Continue reading TerraWhat? TerraCycle →

Featured, Opinion

Should the human race be saved?

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Do we deserve to be saved? Graphic by Marie Stovall.

The end of the world; most people consider it at one point or another in their life. They either think a meteorite will hit the earth, a massive world war three will emerge or AIDS will spread so fast that we will be doomed. Whatever happens, the question is, should we be saved?

The usual answer is yes, of course the human race should be saved; we need to live. Humans think they are the most important things in the universe. Our extinction, we think, would have drastic effects on the way the world works. But the sad truth is the earth will continue to spin on its axis with or without us. Unless the thing blows up, then there will be no more Earth.

We must realize we are no more important to this planet than the bugs that roam on the ground. Millions of years of evolution have proven that species go in and out of existence on our planet without taking the Earth with it. So again, unless we blow the thing up with our ridiculously giant and stupid nuclear warheads, the planet, even with the terrors of global warming, will be fine.

Let