Monthly Archives: January 2013

The Size of the Universe

Posted on January 27, 2013 by mirandaskunz

This video is similar to the Powers of Ten video, but it zooms in and out of the universe at a much faster pace, so it was easier for me to understand. The video starts with a view of a region on Earth and then slowly zooms out to the solar system, galaxy, and finally, […] Continue reading →

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Power of the Zodiac

Posted on January 27, 2013 by michaelglindsay

Many of the belief system of ancient civilizations are based on what these rather primitive people observed around them, i.e. the Aztecan Sun god, the Greek gods of the sun, ocean, thunder, etc. To those ancient people who first realized the pattern of procession that the sun exhibits in it astral travels, it must as […] Continue reading →

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The Moon Illusion and How to Resolve It

Posted on January 27, 2013 by fosterec

The moon is always the same size. It seems like an easy enough concept to grasp, but it doesn’t explain why the moon doesn’t always look like it’s the same size. I’m sure you’ve all seen it. You go out early on the night of a full moon, and the moon looks HUGE. In high school, […] Continue reading →

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Twin Paradox

Posted on January 27, 2013 by williamcpower

One of my favorite concepts in physics is relativity, so I thought it would be fun to discuss the twin “paradox”. The twin paradox occurs when one twin travels away from earth at a speed close to the speed of light and then returns. The result is that the traveling twin returns younger than the […] Continue reading →

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Moore’s Law & The Cosmic Calendar

Posted on January 27, 2013 by burnspress

Carl Sagan’s Cosmic Calendar is an insightful concept that provides essential perspective for the development of the universe. The universe itself is apparently organic, and as a natural entity it seemingly evolves over time. By packing roughly 14 billion years of existence into a relative calendar of one Earthly year, Sagan enables people to grasp […] Continue reading →

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Solar System Website

Posted on January 27, 2013 by kevinm387

This image comes from solarviews.com, a cool website that has lots of info on our Solar System. It has pages about each of the planets, their moons, asteroids and much more. It also has info about other things like exoplanets and the Oort Cloud, which is a spherical cloud that surrounds our Sun and extends […] Continue reading →

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Jump to Light Speed

Posted on January 27, 2013 by michaelglindsay

Many Sci-fi movies, shows, books, comics, etc. are based around the premise the being able to travel at the speed of light would finally allow a civilization as paltry as ours to traverse the stars and make the final frontier finally accessible. One slight hole in this logic that I have never seen addressed, however, is […] Continue reading →

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The Speed of Light and Time Dilation

Posted on January 27, 2013 by kevinm387

Relativity is probably the most interesting area of physics in my opinion, and this video does a great job of succinctly explaining the concept of time dilation. To summarize, objects moving at speeds close to the speed of light experience time more slowly from the perspective of a stationary observer because the speed of light […] Continue reading →

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Farthest Supernova Yet!

Posted on January 27, 2013 by jacob933

A few weeks ago, it was announced that a type 1a supernova had been discovered that was 10 billion light years away! Officially named SN SCP-0401 but nicknamed “Mingus” after a jazz composer, this supernova is remarkable not just for its distance but for the detail in its spectrum. Scientist will be able to use […] Continue reading →

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Know your constellations, impress your friends!

Posted on January 27, 2013 by charlesbcochran

When observing the night sky, most usually it is when going home from a late practice or study session around 10-midnight. One can always look up and be able to spot Orion and the belt, and look further up to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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