Daily Archives: February 16, 2016

10 Seriously Cool Astronomy Facts

Posted on February 16, 2016 by lindseynestor

The prospect of picking my own blog topic this week out of any and all astronomical topics was just TOO daunting for an indecisive person like me. So, I decided to just talk about a bunch of really super incredible amazing things all in the same post. The following are some seriously AWESOME astronomical facts: […] Continue reading →

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Spectra Across Spectral Types

Posted on February 16, 2016 by briannagalgano

One of the beautiful aspects of the universe is that not every celestial object is exactly the same. The majority of stars spend their lives on the “main sequence” in which they have stable volume and continuously undergo hydrogen fusion. Astronomers use a classification system based solely upon the temperature of a star, assigning each […] Continue reading →

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I’ve got this giant telescope and I don’t know where to put it: a guide for all your telescope placement needs.

Posted on February 16, 2016 by d51blog

Hey, where should I put my giant telescope? Ideally, you would put your telescope into space! Space is most advantageous for observing the stars because most types of non-visible light are blocked by our atmosphere; this wider spectrum of detectable light allows for more detailed study of some of the universe’s greatest extremes. Some of […] Continue reading →

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In Other News: We Can Analyze Atmospheres of Super-Earths

Posted on February 16, 2016 by andyastronomer

(Feature Image courtesy of ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser) In the past week, the big news in astronomy was the first detection of gravitational waves, a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity. No doubt within a few years students will be reading in textbooks about how the LIGO experiment measured the gravitational […] Continue reading →

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Blog #4

Posted on February 16, 2016 by astronomer0110

A topic I’ve always found interesting is the idea of the likelihood of extraterrestrial life in the universe. Many scientists in recent history have noted that there is an extremely high probability of life elsewhere in the universe due to the immense amount of stars and planets that must exist with favorable circumstances for the […] Continue reading →

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Tides can be Fun(dy)

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Gabi Grys

Anyone who has spent the day at the beach has experienced the changes of the tides. Few of us, however, have ever seen anything like the Bay of Fundy, a body of water between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada with the largest tidal range in the world. Within twelve hours between low and […] Continue reading →

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Gravity is Working Against Me

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Sofia

  Gravity is arguably the most important aspect of our study of the universe and our solar system. Isaac Newton, famous for his three laws of motion, determined that the force of gravity could be expressed mathematically. This led him to create his universal law of gravitation. His law contains three key statements about the … Continue reading “Gravity is Working Against Me” Continue reading →

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Why do we have tides?

Posted on February 16, 2016 by nedastro2110

Today I want to talk about tides! Above is this video of Clovelly, England and the drastic tide that they experience day in and day out, especially when it is spring tide, meaning the moon and sun’s tidal forces line up to create even more drastic tidal forces. What is amazing about that video is […] Continue reading →

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The Martian — Could It Really Happen?

Posted on February 16, 2016 by clharrell

Matt Damon’s critically acclaimed film “The Martian” broke records and set a new standard for space exploration movies. The film was even praised for its scientific accuracy by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. While most of what occurs in the film is theoretically possible, a few things stand out to be implausible. The first question I had when […] Continue reading →

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Mayan Astronomy

Posted on February 16, 2016 by andyastronomer

  At the end of 2012, the whole world was abuzz with the news that on December 21st, the Mayan calendar would end. Some claimed this ominous event signaled the end of the world, while others simply suggested the Mayans would have likely extended their calendar if they were still around. Who Did It Better: […] Continue reading →

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