Monthly Archives: February 2014

Meteors, could they be a bigger problem than we think?

Posted on February 20, 2014 by reidrcreviston

Most people don’t think about the many Meteors and Astroids that pass through our solar system and have potential to hit earth.  When we think of potential global disasters we think of hurricanes, tsunamis, wars, and nuclear attacks, but not meteors.  The danger of meteors became a reality for many people on February 15, 2013. […] Continue reading →

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Seeing through my eyes

Posted on February 20, 2014 by reidrcreviston

Out of the four chapters that we read for Exam 2, I decided to write on the topic of eyes because it hits close to home and interests me. As we read, the “normal” eye works much like a telescope or camera. The eye consists of major parts such as the pupil, lens, retina, and […] Continue reading →

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Limitations of Telescopes

Posted on February 19, 2014 by efb28

  There are a few, relatively simple reasons why telescopes can only tell us so much about the universe. First of all, it takes large telescopes to see much detail. The additional light larger telescope lenses and mirrors collect provide more detail. However, the atmosphere distorts what can be seen by telescopes on Earth, as […] Continue reading →

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Gravity/Space-time

Posted on February 19, 2014 by efb28

  Gravity is the result of massive objects (any object that has mass) curving space-time and altering the paths of other objects. More massive objects alter space-time more and thus have more gravitational pull. As you can see above, Earth warps space-time and forces the satellite to travel around it. Without Earth, the satellite would […] Continue reading →

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A terrifying gravitational encounter!

Posted on February 18, 2014 by forestcsharp

image via Wired This is a video of astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson discussing our impending gravitational encounters with Apophis, an asteroid roughly the size of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. In this video, Neil DeGrasse Tyson explains that Apophis … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 17, 2014 by reidrcreviston

My chosen astronomer is Nicholas Copernicus. He was born in Torun, Poland (which actually was part of Germany until right before his birth) on February 19, 1473. He was born the youngest member of his family and had 3 siblings. Copernicus died on May 24, 1543 in Frauenburg, Poland at the age of 70 years old […] Continue reading →

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The Physics of Star Systems: Kerbal Space Program

Posted on February 17, 2014 by forestcsharp

This video, via Scott Manley, shows an interesting spaceflight simulator/game known as Kerbal Space Program, which is shown in the above photo from gameSkinny.com. I’ve found this game to be incredibly useful to understanding escape velocities, gravitational encounters, and Kepler’s three … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Solar Flares cause magnetic storm on Earth

Posted on February 17, 2014 by blakestar2k14

On February 16th 2014, solar flares from the sun are believed to have been strong enough to cause magnetic storms on out planet, Earth. This was due to the size of the solar flares, the flares were so long that they actually reached the Earths magnetic field around it. Namig Jalilov told APA that the […] Continue reading →

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Telescopes and Technology

Posted on February 17, 2014 by almetetj

Pictured above is an artists rendition of the James Webb telescope, a feat of modern technology that is to become the successor to the famous Hubble Telescope currently in orbit. While the Hubble was designed to observe relatively close astronomical phenomena, the JWST will be able to see much further. While at first this fact […] Continue reading →

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Making waves

Posted on February 17, 2014 by blakestar2k14

For many years, the understanding is that the shift in tectonic plates, creating an earthquake, was the first step to the earthquake, tidal wave, volcano pattern. As seen in this video: tidal waves. However, recent studies from Science Magazine, suggest that the tidal waves themselves may be more of the cause than they are the effects. […] Continue reading →

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