Carolyn Collins Petersen
ThoughtCo
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Past articles by Carolyn Collins:
Biography of John W. Young
The life and work of astronaut John W. Young includes six flights in three different types of spacecraft, and an early history as a test pilot for the U.S. Navy. → Read More
Explore Antarctica's Hidden Lake Vostok
Lake Vostok is a sub-glacial Antarctic lake. It's home to more than 3,500 different types of organisms, thriving in chilly water beneath miles of ice. → Read More
Nanosatellites Called CubeSats Increase Access to Space
CubeSats have been used for nearly a decade to provide easy, low-cost access to space for students in schools, universities, and small businesses. → Read More
How to Use Your New Telescopes to View Planets
Viewing solar system objects through backyard-type telescopes is rewarding and sometimes challenging. Here are hints and tips to help observers explore. → Read More
Biography of Ken Mattingly, Apollo and Shuttle Astronaut
A profile of Kenneth Mattingly II, Apollo and Space Shuttle Astronaut and part of the team that helped save the Apollo 13 astronauts during their flight. → Read More
The Secrets of Zealandia: The Lost Continent of the South
The continent of Zealandia is puzzling. It is a sunken region beneath the South Pacific Ocean and the country of New Zealand and island of New Caledonia. → Read More
Supersymmetry: A Possible Ghostly Connection Between Particles
Supersymmetry is a theory in particle physics that suggests a yet-undiscovered connection between subatomic particles and their so-called "superpartners". → Read More
Magnifying the Cosmos: An Introduction to Gravitational Lensing
Gravitational lensing uses gravity to magnify and distort the light from distant objects in the universe, which allows astronomers to study them. → Read More
Ocean Trenches: The Deepest Regions on Earth
Ocean trenches are vast depressions on the ocean floor where tectonic plates meet. That action creates some of the deepest canyons on our planet. → Read More
Large Hadron Collider: Using High-Speed Collisions to Understand Matter
The Large Hadron Collider is a scientific instrument that lets physicists create and measure the properties of the elementary particles of matter. → Read More
Explore the Whirlpool Galaxy and its Companion
The nearby Whirlpool Galaxy entices both professional and amateur astronomers to gaze at its perfect spiral arms which contain areas of star birth. → Read More
Understanding the Glow of Noctilucent Clouds
Noctilucent clouds are beautiful wispy collections of ice particles that form high in our planet's atmosphere. They are visible from high latitudes. → Read More
Flashes in the Sky: The Origins of Meteors
Meteors are created in our upper atmosphere as bits of solar system debris crashes through Earth's blanket of air and vaporize due to heating. → Read More
Seen a Flash Across the Night Sky? It Could Have Been an Iridium Flare
Iridium satellites orbit Earth and as they do, sunlight reflects off their antennae back to Earth. Those bright glints are called "Iridium Flares". → Read More
The Little Lander That Didn't: The Schiaparelli Mission
The Schiaparelli EDM lander was part of the ExoMars mission sent to the Red Planet by the European Space Agency. It crashed, but the orbiter survived. → Read More
How Planet Hunters Search for New Planets
Planet hunting is a team effort, relying on ground-based and space-based instruments to observe stars and search for planets in orbit around them. → Read More
Haumea: A Tumbling Dwarf Planet in the Outer Solar System
Haumea is a tiny world in the outer solar system beyond the orbit of Pluto and Neptune. It was discovered in 2004 and is named for a Hawaiian goddess. → Read More
Surprise from the Skies: The Story of the Chelyabinsk Meteor
A space rock the size of a bus exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013, sending shock waves and causing panic, damage, and injuries from flying glass. → Read More
How SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Others Are Expanding Rocketry History
Reusable rockets, such as those sent to space by SpaceX and other companies, are revising the way customers get their people to orbit and beyond. → Read More
Gemini Missions Trained Astronauts for Lunar Trips
NASA's Gemini Program (1961-1966) was a way for astronauts to learn about living and working in space and train for the upcoming Apollo missions to the Moon. → Read More