ASTR330 Fall 2021 BLOG

Blog Post #26. Mon Nov 22 13:59:07 2021. Prof. Doug Hamilton wrote:

Blog Post #25. Tue Nov 16 17:03:12 2021. Emma Friedman wrote:

We were just learning about greenhouse gasses and methane.

I saw this article recently, it is very sad.

https://www.space.com/satellites-discover-huge-undeclared-methane-emissions

Blog Post #24. Mon Nov 1 14:28:22 2021. Emma Friedman wrote:

Okay, so apparently jeff (droopy eyed bald headed lunatic) bezos is sending something to the kuiper belt next year.

This guy wants to build an amazon warehouse on Pluto so that those on Neptune who need something delivered on Monday via Prime can get it.

edit: they're just internet satellites in low Earth orbit. Still, nobody wants your space junk, Bezos. You wore a cowboy hat into space. This is why your wife left you.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/01/amazons-project-kuiper-launching-first-internet-satellites-in-q4-2022.html

Blog Post #23. Tue Oct 26 20:19:27 2021. Emma Friedman wrote:

As Henri said, we may have found our first intergalactic planet!! Mazel Tov! Anyway, one of my favorite youtube channels, SEA, posted this interesting video on black holes. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVPsNDonA84&t=233s

Also, if any of you CS people is willing to teach me python, please let me know. I would like to learn it as a valuable skill.

Blog Post #22. Tue Oct 26 16:49:46 2021. Henri Roviera wrote:

Hey everyone, my name's Henri Roviera, and I'm currently majoring in Aerospace Engineering and minoring in Astronomy.

I found an article that mentions the possibly of having discovered the first ever planet outside of our own galaxy, which is insane!

Here is the link for anyone interested: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59044650

Thanks for your time, I hope to keep having a fun semester alongside you guys.

Blog Post #21. Sat Oct 9 15:41:23 2021. Ronald Grossman wrote:

https://www.space.com/supervolcanoes-rocked-ancient-mars-changed-climate

Hello everyone, I want to share this link of an article detailing large craters on Mars are not from asteroid impacts but from super volcanic eruptions that have created calderas.

Blog Post #20. Thu Oct 7 00:02:45 2021. Evan Zheng wrote:

Hello everyone!!

I’m Evan Zheng, and I’m majoring in computer science and considering to minor in astronomy.

I like photography and badminton. I occasionally will go out to take photos of stars

Hope we can have a great in person semester after one year of online classes.

Blog Post #19. Tue Oct 5 09:21:07 2021. Prof. Doug Hamilton wrote:

Hi All,

Here are some details about that "hotspot" in New Mexico that came up in class the other day. Turns out it was once thought to be a hotspot because of a series of volcanic features in a line (like Hawaii), but is no longer thought to be a hot spot because the ages of the volcanic flows do not change systematically along its length (unlike Hawaii).

more details: Jemez Lineament

DH

Blog Post #18. Thu Sep 30 21:48:40 2021. Mohini Dutta wrote:

Hi, everyone! My name is Mohini Dutta. I am a senior studying Computer Science.

I am a simple person who likes to learn about stars and planets.

It's great to be about to personally meet everyone face-to-face this semester.

Blog Post #17. Thu Sep 30 20:48:21 2021. Azhdaha Fayyaz wrote:

I'm taking ENGL 393Q, a professional writing class where we write an article for NASA Viz. NASA Viz is an app where NASA can publish articles with photos and videos. My topic based on the recent article about the discovery of evidence that there is water vapor on Ganymede.

Blog Post #16. Thu Sep 30 19:47:59 2021. Jason Jiang wrote:

Hello! My name is Jason and I'm really interested in technology! I love watching youtube videos that explore parts about the world I've never known before, and from one of my favorite channels, I found this video Where does NASA keep the Moon Rocks? really interesting. We all know about missions that went to space and collect samples for scientists to study, but we never actually talk about what happens to the specimen when they are here on Earth. I think this video takes a very interesting spin on the subject.

Blog Post #15. Thu Sep 30 16:49:39 2021. Nana Owusu wrote:

Hey Everyone, My name is Nana Owusu and I'm a senior majoring in computer science whose also minoring in astronomy. I was looking over homework 1 and am still sort of confused about what exactly 3b was asking, the core size in relation to Earth if each object was made of those elements or is it something else?

Blog Post #14. Sat Sep 25 18:23:42 2021. Kyle Griffin wrote:

Hi everyone! My name is Kyle. I'm a Junior Cyber Sec student here at UMD.

I found this very interesting paper that was published a few days ago on a medieval city near the Dead Sea that could have been wiped out by an exploding meteor 3600 years ago. This is similar to the Tunguska event that occurred in 1908 over Russia.

Here's a YouTube video talking about the paper ... it is highly skeptical of some of the evidence that they use in their paper. Here's the paper itself

Blog Post #13. Fri Sep 24 11:34:37 2021. Ishan Dutta wrote:

Hey everyone! My name is Ishan and I’m a senior majoring in computer science, with my upper-level concentration being astronomy.

I watch a lot of movies and tv shows, and I’ve always enjoyed movies/tv shows that had their plots revolve around space and what’s beyond Earth. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Professor Hamilton is a fan of the show, The Expanse, and I had a great chat with him about the show as well about other space films.

In this class, I’m curious to find out about other’s favorite movies/tv show that involve space (and a whole lot of science fiction). Include it in your blog post!

Blog Post #12. Thu Sep 23 15:09:39 2021. Prof. Doug Hamilton wrote:

@Ron - This is exactly how we think asteroid moons form! Big collisions and fragments fly off. If the fragments happen to be going in roughly the same direction, they can become bound as moons of the largest object.

Blog Post #11. Thu Sep 23 12:46:52 2021. Daniel Guerrero-Martin wrote:

Hi everyone my name is Daniel Guerrero-Martin some facts about myself I work at NASA, my favorite solar system object is Haumea, and in my free time I like to play flag football.

I also found this really cool article about 16 pysche if anyone is interested https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/asteroids/16-psyche/in-depth/

Blog Post #10. Thu Sep 23 11:19:45 2021. Chak Wong wrote:

There is a new telescope coming out that is supposedly better than the Hubble telescope. The new telescope is known as Webb telescope and it claims to be 100x more powerful.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/22664709/james-webb-space-telescope-launch-date-december-science-hubble

Blog Post #9. Fri Sep 17 15:05:06 2021. Ronald Grossman wrote:

https://news.yahoo.com/photos-dog-bone-asteroid-reveal-135712047.html

I came across this recent article showing an asteroid with strange shape resembling a dog bone and two moons orbiting it. Could a collision with other objects have created this unusual shape and the debris that resulted became orbiting moons?????

Blog Post #8. Tue Sep 14 03:35:49 2021. Bharath Hegde wrote:

Hi everyone, I'm Bharath, a Computer Science major (astronomy upper level concentration) looking to start a career in Software Engineering.

Here's a recent article that I found interesting: Static Black Holes Exert Pressure on Their Environment, Scientists Say.

ASTR350 (Black Holes) described the thermal radiation that black holes give off, but I never thought about the idea that they could also create pressure on their environment.

Blog Post #7. Mon Sep 13 17:26:33 2021. Prof. Doug Hamilton wrote:

Cranes of College Park, with crescent Moon and Venus.

Blog Post #6. Sun Sep 12 10:03:00 2021. David Do wrote:

Hello everyone,

My name is David Do and I am Computer Science major looking to also possibly achieve a minor in Astronomy. This is actually my first time at UMD, as I recently transferred from a community college; however, I have really enjoyed this class thus far and in-person learning. Besides Comp Sci, Astronomy has been a subject that has never failed to produce Big Bang levels of epiphany. Learning about our fascinating solar system and what's beyond always peaks my curiosity- an amazing feeling rather than staring at the same sentences over and over again.

Blog Post #5. Thu Sep 2 14:14:55 2021. Ronald Grossman wrote:

Hello everyone,

My name is Ron Grossman, and I am a Golden ID student. I retired from dentistry in 2017 and have re-enrolled at my alma mater to study Astronomy. For 38 years, my universe was the oral cavity. However, my six astronomy classes have offered me a tour of another universe that I was not able to take as an undergraduate, but has fascinated me since I was a kid. As a child, the planets of our Solar System were just faint objects up there. How fortunate for us to have this opportunity to study these worlds and learn about our neighbors.

My education continues to be a journey, not a destination.

Blog Post #4. Tue Aug 31 19:42:43 2021. Charles Parrott wrote:

Hi everybody! My name is Chuck and I'm in my second year of mechanical engineering with Planetary Science as a minor. I've always had an interest in these types of sciences and feel the Planetary Science minor will open up some doors for me in the space industry as a mechanical engineer.

An interesting astronomy related article I found is about the possibility that Earth may used to have two moons, but the smaller one crashed into the larger one we see today at some point. This could explain why the far side of the moon is so different from the near side. Article Link

Blog Post #3. Tue Aug 31 11:43:34 2021. Ross O'Keefe wrote:

Hello everyone! My name is Ross O'Keefe and I am a junior journalism major. I decided to try astronomy as a minor so I could diversify my skillset coming out of college. It is hard to find a job as a journalist nowadays and I'm hoping employers will see the minor and be interested.

My dream is to be a sportswriter but the Astro minor opens up some doors I wouldn't mind traveling into either. My girlfriend is an astronomy major and I've always admired space and the mysteries that surround it.

Hopefully, this class goes well and I can continue to take Astro classes!

Blog Post #2. Mon Aug 30 21:23:20 2021. Emma Friedman wrote:

Hi everyone! My name is Emma and I'm excited to be in this class. I'm an English major and an ASTR minor. I plan to go to law school to practice outer space/ solar system law. Our beautiful solar system is very special to me and I have every intention to protect it.

As far as something cosmic related to share here, I wanted to share a piece of Uranus trivia that always makes me smile. If you take a moment to look at Uranus' moons, you'll see all their names share a theme: Umbriel, Miranda, Oberon, Puck, etc. As a literature nerd, this always gets me: Uranus' moons are named after magical characters in English literature.

Anyway, that was my submission for those bonus points, but also to say hi and offer any help needed on homework--Astronomy seems to be a strong suit of mine and I love talking about it with anyone who will listen ;)

Blog Post #1. Fri Jul 30 15:45:25 2021. Prof. Doug Hamilton wrote:

Welcome to the ASTR330 Blog! I hope that you find it useful. It works best if you all make an effort to post good stuff here for the rest of the class to enjoy. You can even use Simple HTML Commands to include links and images.

But Wait - there's More! Simply post something fun here by September 30 and receive 2 juicy bonus points!*

* Offer void where prohibited by law, you must be enrolled in ASTR330 to participate, you must be a resident of Earth, and bonus points have no cash value.

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