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The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

Planets follow predictable patterns of movement across the sky, but can only be seen at certain times of the year depending on factors like the earth’s rotation and the planets’ relative location around the sun. Uranus and Saturn require a telescope, but Venus, Jupiter and Mars are fairly easy to spot with the naked eye, even in light-polluted areas.

Five steps to see the universe

by Claire Tian, Assistant STEM Editor March 4, 2025

In the hustle of everyday life, stargazing offers a source of tranquility. It’s not necessary to invest in telescopes or spend years studying astronomy either. Even for complete amateurs, searching the...

Astronomy club president Eric Dong (11) demonstrates the use of a equatorial mount for astrophotography. Equatorial mounts compensate for the Earth's rotational axis when taking long exposure photos of stars, preventing motion blur.

STEM Spotlight: Astronomy Club

by Charlie Wang, Multimedia Editor October 24, 2024

Astronomy Club members learned about astrophotography and visual astronomy in a meeting on Oct. 18. President Eric Dong (11) began by describing the most prominent objects in the night sky, including...

Students and staff witness the partial solar eclipse with special solar viewers. These glasses prevent eye damage by filtering out harmful radiation from the Sun.

Upper school community marvels at partial solar eclipse

by Victor Gong and Jessica Wang April 12, 2024

Students and staff across the upper school campus gathered outdoors during lunch on Monday, with eyes, through lenses and filters, affixed to the sun. The partial solar eclipse seized the spotlight on...

STEM Scene is Harker Aquila's STEM repeater focusing on current developments within the STEM world. This installation features five briefs.

STEM Scene: March 27

by Claire Zhao, Copy Editor March 27, 2023

OpenAI releases new language model GPT-4 Following its predecessor GPT-3.5, OpenAI released GPT-4, the latest language system for ChatGPT, on March 14. GPT-4 is available with a $20 monthly subscription...

Depiction of NASA's Insight lander, which was used to detect large seismic activity on Mars. In a paper published on Oct. 27, researchers, using data collected by the lander and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, proved that a Mars quake emanated from a massive impact that shook the planet.

Tremors on Mars traced back to a big boom

by Victor Gong, Assistant STEM Editor November 29, 2022

Last Christmas Eve, while scientists were on their holiday breaks, National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) InSight lander detected large seismic activity on Mars. In a paper published...

STEM Scene is Harker Aquila's STEM repeater focusing on current developments within the STEM world. This installation features five briefs.

STEM Scene: Oct. 29

by Claire Zhao and Young Min October 26, 2022

An illustration of an approaching asteroid. NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully redirected an asteroid on Sept. 26.

NASA mission successfully deflects asteroid

by Claire Zhao October 26, 2022

A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spacecraft succeeded in altering a harmless asteroid’s trajectory, the agency announced on Oct. 11. Researchers launched this Double Asteroid Redirection...

STEM Scene showcases briefs to update our community on the STEM world.

STEM Scene: Sept. 17

by Hima Thota and Victor Gong September 17, 2022

Apple reveals new iPhone 14 at annual event Apple launched their brand-new products at their headquarters in Cupertino, California earlier this month, which include the iPhone 14, the iPhone 14...

Flying too close to the sun

by Emma Gao, Co-News Editor August 28, 2022

The first images taken by the James Webb Telescope have recently returned to Earth on July 12 and quickly spread among an eager public. But before we let those swirling galaxies hypnotize us and those...

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