Monthly Archives: February 2015

Radio Telescopes: Like Car Radios, but Bigger

Posted on February 13, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

When we think “telescope”, we picture peering through a viewfinder or viewing images of the stars. However, visible light is only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum; we can learn much about our galaxy by viewing visible light’s less frequent older brother, the radio wave. Radio telescopes are the technological descendants of actual radios (like … Continue reading Radio Telescopes: Like Car Radios, but Bigger → Continue reading →

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Radio Telescopes: Like Car Radios, but Bigger

Posted on February 13, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

When we think “telescope”, we picture peering through a viewfinder or viewing images of the stars. However, visible light is only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum; we can learn much about our galaxy by viewing visible light’s less frequent older brother, the radio wave. Radio telescopes are the technological descendants of actual radios (like … Continue reading Radio Telescopes: Like Car Radios, but Bigger → Continue reading →

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Circadian Rhythms and the Length of the Day

Posted on February 13, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

We learned in class that the earth’s day is always getting longer: that is, the attraction of the moon’s gravity pulls angular momentum from the earth, slowing down its rotation. On the flip side, the earth’s day used to be much shorter. Evidence from ancient corals indicate that the year was once 385 days long, meaning that … Continue reading Circadian Rhythms and the Length of the Day → Continue reading →

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Circadian Rhythms and the Length of the Day

Posted on February 13, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

We learned in class that the earth’s day is always getting longer: that is, the attraction of the moon’s gravity pulls angular momentum from the earth, slowing down its rotation. On the flip side, the earth’s day used to be much shorter. Evidence from ancient corals indicate that the year was once 385 days long, meaning that … Continue reading Circadian Rhythms and the Length of the Day → Continue reading →

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USA reliant on Russian rockets

Posted on February 12, 2015 by lindenmuthadam

Recently top officials in NASA and the military have brought to the forefront the unpleasant reality that the USA is only capable of launching small-to-medium size rockets into space with our own rockets. We rely on Russian-built rockets to launch heavy satellites, as well as shuttle astronauts to the ISS. Given the recent geopolitical climate, […] Continue reading →

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Absorption Spectra

Posted on February 12, 2015 by jamej00

Photo Source: Absorption Spectrum The photo above is the full absorption spectrum of the sun.  The black lines come from the different chemical elements within its atmosphere, and this is true for all stars!  Different elements absorb and emit light at different wavelengths from one another.  Scientists have conducted (here on earth) experiments to determine… Continue reading →

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Blog Post #4: The Twilight Saga

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Elizabeth D.

If you’re like me, then the concept of “twilight” has recently become a little confusing. In class, twilight has been …

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Weight is just a number!

Posted on February 12, 2015 by karenagrebenc

picture from storejpg.com Weight IS just a number-it’s simply the product of the mass of an object and the force put on that object due to gravity!  Since the number is dependent on gravity, it’s totally logical that, since the force of gravity from the Sun is different in different locations in the Solar system […] Continue reading →

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What Comes After Hubble?

Posted on February 12, 2015 by robbyks

The Hubble Space Telescope, in use for about 25 years, will soon have to be retired in the next 5-10 years. Plans for a successor telescope eventually materialized into the James Webb Space Telescope, pictured below as a full scale model in Austin, TX. As big as a tennis court and as tall as a […] Continue reading →

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The first navigational tool

Posted on February 12, 2015 by karenagrebenc

Image from kaloujm.com People have been using the sky as their source of navigation for years, and one of the first tools made for the purpose of aiding in navigation (that wasn’t a body part!) was the kamal.  The exact date is unsure, but it’s estimated that this tool came into use around the fifth […] Continue reading →

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