Author: Cassie Hatcher

With the successful launch and operation of the James Webb Space Telescope, you may have seen some of the amazing images it has captured so far. One of James Webb’s first images can be seen below.  Image Credit: NASA/ESA/STSci This image is of Stephans’ Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies. While the resolution of…

While to us the Sun may appear reliable and consistent, it actually is a very volatile object. The Sun is a giant ball of gas and plasma fueled by nuclear fission. On its surface there are electrically charged gases the generate strong magnetic fields. These gases are constantly moving, which causes the magnetic fields to…

More now than ever before we are seeing amazing images of our neighboring planets. We can see a kaleidoscope of colors spanning across our solar system. But why are planets different colors? It all comes down to what they are made of and how their atmospheres interact with light from the Sun. Image Credit: NASA/JPL…

Have you ever wondered why the Earth’ seasons change throughout the year? Or why when it is summer in the US it is winter in Australia? Today we will explore why the Earth has seasons! It is all about the tilt of the Earth’s axis.  What is an Axis? Before we dive too deep into…

Can you name the closest star to Earth? It may seem like a trick question, but the Sun is the closest star to Earth. Our Sun is a star with the name Sun. Just like Earth is a planet named Earth. While our Sun is extremely important to life on Earth and may seem extraordinary…

The brightest star in our night sky is known as Sirius, or the “Dog Star”. It gets its name from the Greek “Seirios” which means “glowing” or “scorching”. It’s nickname, “Dog Star” is in reference to Sirius being the leading star in the Canis Major constellation, Latin for “the greater dog”.  Sirius is one of…

On a bright and sunny day, our sky is usually a shade of blue. Why blue, and not green, yellow, or even black? It all depends on how the Sun’s light reaches Earth. Before we can understand why the sky is blue, we first must understand light and how it moves and interacts with its…

There is nothing more exciting than seeing a shooting star flash across the night sky. You make a wish and can’t wait until you see the next one. But what really are these magical wish granters?  There are many different objects that shoot through our skies on a regular basis, we just don’t always see…

There are two main types of eclipses, solar and lunar eclipses. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves between the Sun and the Earth and temporarily blocks the Sun, casting a shadow on the Earth. A Lunar eclipse is when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon and blocks out the Sun,…

As best stated by Einstein, “If you can’t explain it to a 6-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself”. In this article we will go over everything you will need to know to explain black holes to kids of all ages. Gravity Gravity is one of the fundamental forces in our Universe. It is what keeps…