Daily Archives: February 16, 2016

The Slowest Speed of Light

Posted on February 16, 2016 by nickwtheastronomer

Quickly imagine the speed of light. It’s fast right? I’m sure you’ve been taught that the average speed of light falls somewhere around 3 x 10^8 m/s (6.706 x 10^8 mph) and you are partially correct. But what if I told you that you would have been equally right with an answer of just 38 […] Continue reading →

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Photo from the Opportunity

Posted on February 16, 2016 by imanig625

  This incredible photo from the rover Opportunity pictures the Endeavor crater rim. It’s truly amazing how that even 12 years after being sent, Opportunity is still sending back photos this amazing. Opportunity is the longest-running Mars Rover, having been exploring and taking pictures of Mars since 2004. Opportunity has been documenting mineral samples, craters,… Continue reading →

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Telescope

Posted on February 16, 2016 by siyuan2016

image source Throughout human history, the invention and improvement of telescope occupied an indispensable place in the advancement of astronomy. And this blog is devoted to introducing  the history of telescope in last four hundred years. The earliest known workingtelescopewas created by Hans Lippersheyin 1608 to “see things far away as if they are nearby”. […] Continue reading →

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Diversity of Telescopes

Posted on February 16, 2016 by imanig625

There is such a diverse range of telescopes accessible to consumers around the world. Of course, these telescopes are not of high quality in terms of magnetization and clarity. However, comparing accessible telescopes to high-powered, extremely large telescopes that have entire buildings designed to contain them is not impossible, but seeing as these large telescopes… Continue reading →

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Celestial Navigation

Posted on February 16, 2016 by siyuan2016

Navigational Compass used in Ming Dynasty      image source Before the invention of artificial satellites and development of data transformation, celestial navigation played an indispensable role in human’s exploration and discovery of newfound lands. And in this blog, I would like to introduce some celestial navigating technologies implemented in Zheng He’s treasury voyage, one […] Continue reading →

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Negative Energy (Gravity)

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Ahmed A

When one considers that amount of energy that occurs from splitting a single atom, and then multiples that by the 10^80 particles that exist in our universe, one might conclude that the net total of energy in the universe is a astronomically large. Surely beyond anything a human mind could comprehend. The reality however is […] Continue reading →

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Out of this World Symbols

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Gabi Grys

Astronomers, like all scientists, love their symbols. Why spend ages written out full text when shorthand will do? Not only  are the symbols for the planets convenient, they also have interesting stories behind them that tie into the planet’s history. Sun: The symbol for the sun is a circular shield with a dot in the […] Continue reading →

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The Effect of Living in Space

Posted on February 16, 2016 by sarabkeller

While I think that studying space and astronomy is super awesome, I honestly am not sure I can imagine anything worse than living in space for an extended period of time. As we discussed in class, living in space (or at least in orbit) is essentially like being in constant free fall. You know that stomach […] Continue reading →

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The Effect of Living in Space

Posted on February 16, 2016 by sarabkeller

While I think that studying space and astronomy is super awesome, I honestly am not sure I can imagine anything worse than living in space for an extended period of time. As we discussed in class, living in space (or at least in orbit) is essentially like being in constant free fall. You know that stomach […] Continue reading →

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Project Orion: Riding Atomic Explosions into Space

Posted on February 16, 2016 by nickwtheastronomer

From the LSD-laden project MK Ultra to the ill-fated foray into psychic warfare that was Stargate Project, the U.S. government has sanctioned some truly strange studies over the past century. But one research endeavor stands out among all the others throught its sheer magnitude, ridiculousness, and surprising potential. I am talking, of course, about Project Orion. […] Continue reading →

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