Daily Archives: January 28, 2013

Expansion of the Universe

Posted on January 28, 2013 by JT McJunkins

As Jackson mentioned here, the Universe is expanding fast enough that our observable universe is around 93 billion light years in diameter. This was initially pretty confusing to me, as I thought it impossible to see something 45 billion lightyears &#8… Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Light, Space Travel, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Expansion of the Universe

Milankovitch Cycles and Ice Ages

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Elizabeth Merriman

We have learned about how the tilt of the Earth’s axis affects the change of seasons.  However, over a 40,000 year cycle, the intensity of seasons and ice ages are affected by the Milankovitch Cycles.  This link provides a simple … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Milankovitch Cycles and Ice Ages

Star Lore

Posted on January 28, 2013 by theskyisbeautifultonight

Constellations of the northern sky Have you ever looked up into the night sky, gazed upon the stars, tried to imagine them within those famous constellations, and wondered, how the heck does that group of stars look like a man carrying a club and a shield/lion/pelt?  That would be Orion, (also, The Hunter) who I found […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Star Lore

How Technology Changed the Sky

Posted on January 28, 2013 by werdercj

Technology shapes modern astronomy. When thinking about the night sky, one thing that strikes me as particularly fascinating is that humans have been observing and analyzing this same sky for many thousands of years.  However, it has had such different meaning for each successive group to observe it.  Although we see the same movements and […] Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments, Science | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on How Technology Changed the Sky

Light-Years: The Key to the Past

Posted on January 28, 2013 by werdercj

Speed of light: 300,000 km/second One topic I’ve found particularly interesting to read and think about is the speed of light and its implications.  We’ve learned that light travels at about 300,000 km/second; first off, this number alone is unfathomably large to me.  When I thought about how fast light travels, and then learned that […] Continue reading →

Posted in Light, Observables, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Light-Years: The Key to the Past

Lunar Eclipses

Posted on January 28, 2013 by YanruChen

The lunar eclipse happens when the Earth lies directly between the Sun and the Moon. The Earth thus cast a shadow on the Moon, and we will not see the light reflected by the Moon therefore. The shadow of the Earth consists of two parts: a central umbra, and a surrounding penumbra. Umbra blocks sunlight […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Lunar Eclipses

The Million Star Falsehood

Posted on January 28, 2013 by marknshirleyvu

I was only a little bit surprised when I learned recently that there were not a million stars visible in our night sky.  One million is a huge number, and as small as stars are, I never believed there was nearly enough space in our sky for one million of them to be visible.  However, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Observables, Stars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Million Star Falsehood

The Size of the Universe

Posted on January 28, 2013 by theskyisbeautifultonight

How to conceptualize the size of the universe?  I think we find it so hard to do it because astronomical numbers dwarf anything we use in day to day life and on some level, our brains can’t process them.  It’s like trying to visualize the national debt.  What’s a couple more zeros here and there […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Universe | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Size of the Universe

Party Planning– for a solar eclipse!

Posted on January 28, 2013 by sharpew

On May 20, 2012 an Annular eclipse was visible in the continental US. This eclipse marked the first annular eclipse visible for the US in EIGHTEEN years! That’s almost my entire life span! For additional information on this eclipse, click here. The eclipse was visible in several locations in California, Utah and New Mexico. Being an East coast girl, I […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Observables, Sun, Universe | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Party Planning– for a solar eclipse!

Things to know about Zodiacs

Posted on January 28, 2013 by eloisechen

According to our birthday, we know our Sun Sign or zodiac. What does it actually mean? I personally love sun sign astrology, but didn’t know its true meaning before I begin this class. The star sign is the constellation in or near which the Sun appears at the night of a given day. If we […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Things to know about Zodiacs