July 2012

New discovery in the search for extraterrestrial life

Planets in an alien solar system are arranged in a similar way to our own solar system.

This new discovery by astronomers supports the prevalent planet formation theory that is out there. It is from the star system known as Kepler-30, which is almost 10,000 light years from planet Earth. The planets that orbit the star Kepler-30 are rather big with a couple of them being even bigger than the gas giant Jupiter.

The current technology that mankind has makes it hard for us to observe any planets that are the size of Earth or smaller at the distances of 10,000 light years or so. But NASA agrees that this discovery is still a breakthrough and sheds light into many theories and ideas that have been made regarding planet formation and how our solar system came into being.

Rest in Peace, Sally Ride

Ride’s courage and inspiring presence will be remembered forever.

My best friend in high school and I bonded over Sally Ride in Spanish class. One of the first things I can ever remember asking her was, “So, who is Sally Ride?” You have to remember that we didn’t have Internet back then, kiddies—well, we were just starting to, but my family sure didn’t have it yet. She was always talking about the first female astronaut and how she wanted to be one, and I was immediately attached to her as a kindred soul—and Ride as a trailblazing one.

The search for asteroids steps up

A private telescope is what asteroid hunters want.

Asteroid mining is set to be the future of space exploration because people on this planet have to start realizing that there has to be a valiant effort made at trying to get more access to resources. We don’t want to wait until it is too late and with the rate of population growth, it is pretty important that a conscientious effort will be made.

For now, though, astronomers and people at NASA seem to be focusing on locating asteroids that could possibly harm life on planet Earth. In order to better protect this planet, asteroid hunters are hopeful that they can obtain a private telescope.