Have you ever noticed the gorgeous sky this week and wondered why its hue is blue? Well, it all boils down to some science involving physics and chemistry. Sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere is scattered by airborne particles and molecules, particularly gas molecules. Shorter wavelengths of light scatter more easily than longer ones, hence making…
As sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere, its light is scattered by gases and particles – particularly blue wavelengths which tend to be dispersed more efficiently than other colors resulting in beams with bluish tints. Scientists had difficulty pinpointing why the sky appears blue. Its color can be explained by how small molecules scatter sunlight. Sunlight…
New Horizons spacecraft became the first to visit one of the Kuiper belt objects, an area in the outer Solar System where frozen objects reside, and thus revolutionized our understanding of Pluto and its satellites, among many others. The spacecraft comprises a central thrust tube and triangular structures on either side. It contains seven instruments…
After years of development, Orion will finally launch into space this month on December 4. On that date it will embark on its Exploration Flight Test 1 mission without human assistance. NASA will use their Space Launch System rocket, the same one which may one day transport humans to Mars, to launch this experiment. The…
Cassini was a highly complex interplanetary spacecraft. Featuring 12 scientific instruments like imaging cameras, radar, spectrometers, magnetometers and spectrographs – its primary mission was to conduct in-depth studies of Saturn, its rings, and moons. Its orbiter was powered by three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). These produced electricity using plutonium-238 decay. It was a joint NASA/ESA…
Plants undergo many steps in order to produce flowers and seeds. Pollination begins this process when male and female reproductive cells come together in the same area to form a zygote – this allows pollen grains to fertilize male reproductive cells while providing food to form flowers and seeds. Seeds can be dispersed through water,…
Most adults are familiar with the Apollo missions, yet this documentary takes viewers behind-the-scenes to witness both triumphs and tragedies associated with them. Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmaker Tom Jennings used 500 hours of footage, 800 hours of audio, and 10,000 photos to piece this narrative together. Poppy Northcutt, a technical engineer from Cleveland who…
Most people mistakenly assume Mercury to be Earth’s closest planet – however this is often not accurate; Venus actually tends to be closer. Our solar system contains eight planets – including Pluto which was recently demoted due to its eccentric orbit. Let’s cover each one in order, starting with Mercury. Mercury Mercury, our closest planet…
As it descended, Eagle encountered issues not anticipated in simulations. Multiple alarms went off due to too many tasks being attempted at once by its computer system. Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 hours 38 minutes on the moon’s surface before returning to Collins in Columbia’s command module, using seismometers and laser reflectors to measure distances…
