Water is undeniably the source of life. Consequently, it is one main factor that scientists look for when combing the universe for habitable locations. As it turns out, they may not have to look far. Our neighboring planet, Mars, has been confirmed to have liquid water lakes deep beneath its southern polar ice cap. Evidence […]
Diving under Mars’ ice cap Read More »
An apocalypse: the end-all-be-all of Earth as we know it. Various pieces of literature and films have attempted to capture the concept, fueling a fear of the end of the world. Suitably, the collapse of society is quite frightening and not easily acceptable. For centuries, humans have tried to rationalize and control this unease through
In 1980, astronomer Carl Sagan stated, “We’re made of star stuff.” Around 13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang occurred and created the “star stuff” that forms the universe we know today. However, that explosion created more than just matter; it created antimatter too. Always produced as a pair, antimatter and matter are very similar.
Creation and destruction: Investigating the disappearance of antimatter Read More »
On October 12, 2021, a team of Australian researchers, led by PhD student Ziteng Wang, reported the discovery of a possible new object in space. The mysterious source of energy has been labeled ASKAP J173608.2−321635. The catch? It doesn’t fit into a category of anything scientists have ever seen before. ASKAP J173608.2−321635 was first noticed
Picking up on some strange energy: The mysterious space object baffling astronomers Read More »
With a radius of over nine and a half times that of Earth’s and an atmosphere consisting of almost entirely hydrogen and helium, Saturn is a gas giant. But most notoriously, Saturn is known for the beautiful rings of ice and rock particles that orbit around its equator. However, lesser known to most is its
The hexagon: Explaining Saturn’s north pole pattern Read More »
With 79 moons and a magnetic field 20 times stronger than that of Earth, Jupiter is a unique planet in the context of our solar system. The gas giant is the fastest spinning and most massive of our planets, not to mention home to a virulent storm called the Great Red Spot that has captivated
Peculiar properties of a polar planet Read More »
Humans produce a lot of trash. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, for example, has accumulated plastic and other kinds of waste from all over the world’s oceans. While the problem of polluting the seas is fairly well known, another territory is also feeling the effects of human interference: space. It is estimated that there are
How to fix debris from taking up too much space — in space Read More »
The past ten years have seen an explosion of small-lift rocket companies. Ranging from 30 to 100 feet tall, these liquid-propellant rockets aim to launch up to two tons of payload — equivalent to the weight of a large car — into orbit. Instead of focusing on humans and large space telescopes, they’re launching smaller
A new space race is underway, and it’s explosive Read More »
It began with two members and one big dream: create a club that allows students to apply their engineering knowledge from class by building drones, planes, and rockets from scratch. Meet Northeastern’s Aerospace Club, or AeroNU. With 200 members nearly a decade later, the Redshift team at AeroNU is quite literally reaching for the sky
A turbulent flight to success: A tale of Northeastern’s very own aerospace club Read More »