Daily Archives: February 20, 2013

The Power of the Telescope

Posted on February 20, 2013 by jhughes216

History The first known telescopes came into invention sometime in 1608 by Dutch glass makers who had become quite skilled in making lens. In 1609 an Italian physicist and astronomer named Galileo decided to use this invention to look into the heavens. While it was rudimentary compared to the telescopes of today, this new tool […] Continue reading →

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Why are polarized sunglasses helpful?

Posted on February 20, 2013 by zoodrey

What do polarized sunglasses do differently than regular sunglasses? Polarized sunglasses affect the direction of light reflection. We know that light travels in waves in a random assortment of direction. Polarization is all of the horizontal reflection of light off of reflective surfaces. When light hits an object, it will reflect parallel to the surface. … Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Happy Valentine’s Day! I bought you a Star!! <3

Posted on February 20, 2013 by zoodrey

Your very own Star! Websites exist that allow you to buy a loved one a star.. often for as low as $14.95, such as this one. You even get to choose from different gift packages to satisfy all your star naming cravings. That must really be a good way to win a girl over… buy … Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Pink Light

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Elizabeth Merriman

There are many interesting things about light, particularly those wavelengths we cannot see.  Looking at the light coming off of the Earth, we see what looks like a black body curve, but with chunks missing where greenhouse gasses absorb light.   … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Gravity around the Solar System

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Elizabeth Merriman

In class, we looked at why an astronaut experiences weightlessness in the space station, even though the force of gravity is not significantly less than on the surface of the Earth.  This is because the space station is falling at the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The Webb Space Telescope: the Future of Viewing the Past

Posted on February 20, 2013 by zvgio

Every time you look at the stars , you are looking back in time. The universe is a big place and light takes time to move through it, so if you’re currently admiring Polaris, the photons hitting your eyes have been traveling for about 434 years to reach you. That may seem like a long […] Continue reading →

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Copernicus vs. Tycho Brahe

Posted on February 20, 2013 by JT McJunkins

While both Copernicus and Tycho contributed to the evolution of astronomy and the Scientific Revolution in general, the nature of their accomplishments and challenges to the status quo were fundamentally different and defined their respective reception… Continue reading →

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Light

Posted on February 20, 2013 by michaelglindsay

Light Light, to me, will always carry a sort of mystical quality, regardless of how great our understanding of it grows to someday be. It travels across the cosmos carrying tantalizing hints at what lies beyond our short grasp. It is the information super highway of the Universe, bringing information and description of what else […] Continue reading →

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A more “earthbound” use of the Doppler effect

Posted on February 20, 2013 by astrdylan

When I was reading about the Doppler effect in the textbook, I found it easy to visualize the way we use the Doppler effect to understand the movements of astronomical objects, but I didn’t realize that we had other uses for Doppler a little closer to home. After doing a little bit of research, I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Near-Earth Objects: Experiences and Implications

Posted on February 20, 2013 by werdercj

Meteor trail over Eastern Russia. On February 15, 2013, two very significant astronomical events occurred unusually close to us; the highly publicized meteor explosion over a Russian city overshadowed the close approach of a much larger asteroid orbiting Earth.  The contrast between these two events is what struck me as most interesting and informative about […] Continue reading →

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