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I haven’t updated this study blog for a while purely because I’ve been so busy, so here’s what’s mainly happened over the last few months:

1. I got rejected from Oxford University

This was a bit rough but I’m not kicking myself over it; I had expected it post-PAT, as the exam just felt pretty bad, so it wasn’t a big shock to me. Though I’m still slightly sad about a rejection after such a gruelling application process, I’m glad I tried.

2. I was, in fact, offered a place to read Physics at St. Andrew’s.

This is incredibly exciting for me—it’s a wonderful university and it’s a serious contender to be my firm choice at the moment. I really didn’t think I’d get in. I have just about 4 months to decide but it’s going to take me a while I fear 😭

I do plan on getting back here once I have more free time, but it’s unclear when that will be. Good luck to anyone currently in year 13!

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openin’ the door to the microwave one second early because you don’t need all the hootin’ and hollerin’

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NGC 660: Polar Ring Galaxy, 2024-12-18

What kind of strange galaxy is this? This rare structure is known as a polar ring galaxy, and it seems to have two different rings of stars. In this galaxy, NGC 660, one ring of bright stars, gas, and dark dust appears nearly vertical, while another similar but shorter ring runs diagonally from the upper left. How polar ring galaxies obtain their striking appearance remains a topic of research, but a leading theory holds that it is usually the result of two galaxies with different central ring planes colliding. NGC 660 spans about 50,000 light years and is located about 40 million light years away toward the constellation of the Fish (Pisces). The featured image was captured recently from Observatorio El Sauce in Chile.

Credits: NASA's 'Astronomy Picture Of The Day.'

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Every day is a reason to celebrate 🥂🥳

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Image of the Milky Way over the Temple of Karnak in Egypt.

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Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars, 2024-11-10

The largest canyon in the Solar System cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars. Named Valles Marineris, the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack billions of years ago as the planet cooled. Several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon. The featured mosaic was created from over 100 images of Mars taken by Viking Orbiters in the 1970s.

Credits: NASA's 'Astronomy Picture Of The Day.'

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Neptune at Night, 2024-11-09

Ice giant Neptune is faint in Earth's night sky. Some 30 times farther from the Sun than our fair planet, telescopes are needed to catch a glimpse of the dim and distant world. This dramatic view of Neptune's night just isn't possible for telescopes in the vicinity of planet Earth though. Peering out from the inner Solar System they can only bring Neptune's day side into view. In fact this night side image with Neptune's slender crescent next to the crescent of its large moon Triton was captured by Voyager 2. Launched from planet Earth in 1977 the Voyager 2 spacecraft made a close fly by of the Solar System's outermost planet in 1989, looking back on Neptune at night as the robotic spacecraft continued its voyage to interstellar space.

Credits: NASA's 'Astronomy Picture Of The Day.'

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oh my god it’s laika day everyone drop what you’re doing… we honour a little dog who was sent up into space 65 years ago today. she was found as a three year old stray mongrel wandering the streets of moscow. her ability to endure hardy conditions got her chosen as the candidate for a journey she was never meant to survive. she passed away seven hours after liftoff. I hope she died dreaming of chasing rabbits up in the stars I love u laika forever and ever

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small update!

i took the PAT in Coventry on Monday. for any of you who aren’t familiar, it’s the Physics Admissions Test for university admissions. i was with a friend of mine that i made on a residential a few weeks ago. we had a wonderful day walking around town and studying.

the exam itself was tough for a multitude of reasons. i wasn’t expecting to come out of the exam feeling particularly great, but i definitely hoped i’d feel better than i did. however, i know i worked very hard to study for the test so i’ll be happy no matter the outcome. though it was stressful, i’m glad i tried!

we’ll see how this goes!!

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hello studyblr!! i disappeared for a few weeks because year 13 has gotten unthinkably busy. i can’t even describe it with words to be so honest. nevertheless, i’m back with a small update—i’ve received two offers so far!!!

bristol came first and they offered me A*AA, but they said it includes grades already achieved and with my A* in maths, i only need two more As. woohoo!!!

southampton came very soon after. their standard offer is A*AA but they reduced it THREE GRADES (my jaw dropped so flipping hard, i’ll be posting a reaction video when i get all 5 decisions so you can enjoy that then) to ABB because of my A* in maths. i’m incredibly happy about that—southampton was going to be my firm in the case i don’t get into oxford, so to also get such a generous offer felt like a massive blessing from the universe.

idk how regularly i’ll be posting for now because of my workload (yes it’s that bad, i have the PAT in 4 days, the British Physics Olympiad in a few weeks, a whole computing project, mock exams, and the Astro Olympiad to be worrying about) but i figured this little update was basically mandatory !!

i’m excited to see where year 13 takes me hehe

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Messier 39 in Cygnus is a large, sprawling open cluster

Images: Adam Block.

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The Mice

The Mice, also known as NGC 4676, is a pair of interacting galaxies located in the constellation Coma Berenices.

They are named "The Mice" due to the appearance of their tails, which resemble the tails of mice.

This interaction is a result of gravitational forces between the two galaxies, leading to significant distortions in their shapes and the formation of new stars.

Credits: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M. Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA

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The Mermaid Nebula Supernova Remnant, 2024-09-18

New stars are born from the remnants of dead stars. The gaseous remnant of the gravitational collapse and subsequent death of a very massive star in our Milky Way created the G296.5+10.0 supernova remnant, of which the featured Mermaid Nebula is part. Also known as the Betta Fish Nebula, the Mermaid Nebula makes up part of an unusual subclass of supernova remnants that are two-sided and nearly circular. Originally discovered in X-rays, the filamentary nebula is a frequently studied source also in radio and gamma-ray light. The blue color visible here originates from doubly ionized oxygen (OIII), while the deep red is emitted by hydrogen gas. The nebula's mermaid-like shape has proven to be useful for measurements of the interstellar magnetic field.

Credits: NASA's 'Astronomy Picture Of The Day.'

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the perseus constellation. ah one of my faves

NGC 1333 is a nearby star-forming region in the Perseus constellation. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope surveyed a large portion of NGC 1333, identifying planetary objects using the observatory’s Near-InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph.

Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Scholz, K. Muzic, A. Langeveld, R. Jayawardhana

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The Mooncake Festival

There are many versions of the story of the Moon Goddess, Chang’e, but one thing remains constant: the fact that she is remembered every year. The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival (for reasons that should be obvious, but will be revealed momentarily anyways), is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month every year. This year, the holiday lies on the 17th of September (today!). 

Dedicated to my friend, Lauren. Hope you enjoyed your mooncake :)

The story of Chang'e

In one version, ten suns had risen into the sky, which scorched the Earth’s land, meaning life became very difficult for the ordinary person. A man named Hou Yi had enough and shot down nine of the suns, effectively ending this problem. The goddess Xiwangmu, the “Queen Mother of the West,” gave Hou Yi an elixir of immortality as a reward.

Through this arose a dilemma. There was only enough elixir for one person, and he didn’t want to drink it and see a life without his wife, Chang’e. So, he merely stowed it away while he decided what to do.

Chang’e found the elixir one night and drank all of it. 

Hou Yi woke up to see that his wife was no longer in bed with him; worried, he dashed outside, only to see his beloved wife drifting up into the night sky, becoming one with the Moon. 

Though he was originally resentful, over time, Hou Yi began to miss his wife. Every day, he left out desserts and fruits that she liked, one of said desserts being mooncakes. He did this every day until he died. It’s for this reason that Chinese people tend to celebrate this festival by eating mooncakes together.

An alternate version

Other versions suggest Chang’e did not, in fact, steal the elixir. Instead, it is said that Hou Yi’s apprentice broke in one night, and, Chang’e, not wanting to give in to the apprentice, drank the elixir and drifted off to the Moon. 

Yet another alternate version

In what may be the most famous version of the story, Hou Yi did good things for the King and received an immortality pill in return. He kept this at home, not wanting to take it on his own, but thieves broke in one day in the hopes of stealing it. Chang’e, in a bout of shock, accidentally swallowed the pill and drifts up to the Moon, living with a jade rabbit up there: this is why, in some pieces of art depicting her, she is seen holding a rabbit. 

(Link to the original is in the photo.)

As is with the other versions, he put out her favourite foods every day until he died. 

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Ain’t that scary