stars
-
Breakthroughs of 2025: Astrobiology: Searching for Life on Mars
Did NASA’s Perseverance Rover Discover Signs of Ancient Life on Mars? In 2025, one of the most exciting moments in astrobiology came from NASA’s Perseverance rover as it continued exploring Mars. While studying Jezero Crater, a region that once contained… Continue reading
-
Breakthroughs of 2025: Astronomy: Strange Red Dots in Deep Space
JWST’s Little Red Dots and the Mystery of QSO1 One of the most exciting breakthroughs in astronomy in 2025 came from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and a mysterious population of objects known as Little Red Dots. At first… Continue reading
-
First Light with My Celestron Origin Mark II: The Andromeda Galaxy
I’m beyond excited to share the very first image taken with my brand-new Celestron Origin Mark II telescope! ✨ Behold — the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), our nearest spiral galaxy neighbor, located about 2.5 million light-years away. It’s incredible to think… Continue reading
-
What Came Before the Big Bang?
This post is based on a project that I completed and presented during the Columbia University Pre-College Program in the summer of 2025, under the guidance of Dr. Paul M. Sutter. The goal of the project was to explore one… Continue reading
-
Book Review: Paul M. Sutter’s Your Place in the Universe.
Paul M. Sutter’s Your Place in the Universe immediately reminded me of my experience this summer in his Columbia University Pre-College course, The Origin and Evolution of the Universe (ASTO0101-D01). In both the book and the class, Dr. Sutter made… Continue reading
-
Book Review: Carlo Rovelli’s White Holes
This summer at Harvard Summer School, while taking A Short Tour of the Universe Guided by Einstein and Others with Prof. Dr. Arvind Borde, I decided to read Carlo Rovelli’s book White Holes. From the very first pages, I was… Continue reading
-
Where is Everybody? The Drake Equation
The Drake Equation is a probabilistic formula developed by astronomer Frank Drake in 1961 to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy. Rather than providing a definitive answer, the equation serves as a framework… Continue reading
-
Computer Game Recommendation: Endless Space 2
Endless Space 2 is a turn-based sci-fi strategy game where players guide unique civilizations through exploration, diplomacy, technological advancement, and warfare across a richly detailed galaxy. Continue reading
-
Book Review: Life in the Universe by Jeffrey Bennett, Seth Shostak, and Bruce Jakosky
Life in the Universe is an insightful and engaging textbook that explores astrobiology, planetary science, and the search for extraterrestrial life. Written by Jeffrey Bennett, Bruce Jakosky, and Seth Shostak, the book takes an interdisciplinary approach, integrating astronomy, biology, and… Continue reading
-
K2-18b
Roughly 124 light-years away in the Leo constellation lies K2-18b, a distant world first identified in 2015 through data from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. This exoplanet orbits a cool red dwarf star, K2-18, within its habitable zone, where conditions might… Continue reading
