Welcome back to Blogs in Motion!

A few months ago, our multi-part series on differing forms of alternative energy came to a conclusion. Since then, we’ve been pondering on what kind of topic we could tackle next. We wanted something that could allow us to learn and talk about other matters relevant to humanity at large. In light of the recent string of astronomical discoveries and developments, the choice became increasingly clear.

Our new Blogs in Motion series, Space Matters, will cover any and all topics related to astronomy, ranging from our closest planetary neighbours to the far reaches of the cosmos. To say that space is large is one of the biggest understatements that could be made. The observable universe has an estimated diameter of 92 billion light-years and is estimated to be 14 billion years old. There are stars that dwarf our Sun in size, such as VY Canis Majoris (the largest known star) which is 1,400 times bigger and would extend beyond Jupiter’s orbit if placed in the Sun’s location. Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own, is 25 trillion miles away and would take an incredibly long time to reach with our current propulsion technology. The scale of our universe is indeed vast and can seem daunting. However, as Lao Tzu said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

One of our goals with this on-going series is to help put astronomical news and information into context and to show you how water on Mars or the discovery of gravitational waves is relevant to humanity. We also intend to feature articles on phenomena we find particularly interesting, such as Titan (the only moon in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere) and Kepler 452-b (the most Earth-like exoplanet discovered so far). We’ll also take a look at organizations ranging from the CSA and NASA to SpaceX and Mars One, who have been taking steps forward on humanity’s journey into outer space, from putting human feet on Mars to observing all manner of stellar phenomena.

Our first entry will be about Mars, specifically the liquid water that’s been found there and what impact this has on colonization projects. We’re very excited to share out takes on this vast subject matter with you and we’ll have more for you in the days in come. If you have any suggestions for future topics, reach out to us in the comments below and/or on our social media channels.