Daily Archives: February 14, 2017

Solar Probe Plus

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Nick Belsten

In 1976, NASA’s Helios 2 spacecraft set the current distance record by orbiting the Sun with a closest approach of 43.4 million kilometers. Even though this is barely inside the orbit of Mercury, the intense heat close to the Sun has previously prevented any closer observation. The Goddard Space flight Center “Living with a Star … Continue reading Solar Probe Plus → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Sun | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Solar Probe Plus

Solar Probe Plus

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Nick Belsten

In 1976, NASA’s Helios 2 spacecraft set the current distance record by orbiting the Sun with a closest approach of 43.4 million kilometers. Even though this is barely inside the orbit of Mercury, the intense heat close to the Sun has previously prevented any closer observation. The Goddard Space flight Center “Living with a Star … Continue reading Solar Probe Plus → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Sun | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Solar Probe Plus

Blog #1

Posted on February 14, 2017 by niharikadar

Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Something about the night sky has fascinated people for centuries. Even in early civilizations, people have demonstrated keen interest in both watching the sky and making observations about the phenomena they observed. Despite its long history, astronomy has evolved over time to reflect new technologies available for observation … Continue reading Blog #1 Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Instruments, Science | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Blog #1

Blog #1

Posted on February 14, 2017 by niharikadar

Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Something about the night sky has fascinated people for centuries. Even in early civilizations, people have demonstrated keen interest in both watching the sky and making observations about the phenomena they observed. Despite its long history, astronomy has evolved over time to reflect new technologies available for observation … Continue reading Blog #1 Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Instruments, Science | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Blog #1

Blog #2: HAT-P-2’s Heart

Posted on February 14, 2017 by lillyastro2110

A very appropriate post for Valentine’s Day. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered a unique quality of a star and its orbiting planet that are some 370 light years away. The gravitational interaction between the two cause some vibrations in HAT-P-2 when its orbiting planet HAT-P-2b gets close. HAT-P-2b is a planet with a mass … Continue reading Blog #2: HAT-P-2’s Heart Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Exoplanets, Stars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Blog #2: HAT-P-2’s Heart

A new class of black holes is found

Posted on February 14, 2017 by xiangyunastr2110

The movie Interstellar makes more and more people curious about what black hole is. The special effects team working on Interstellar no doubt make the movie undoubtedly wonderful and also it end up advancing people’s knowledge of black holes at the same time. According to Wikipedia,A black hole is a region of spacetime exhibiting such […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on A new class of black holes is found

Blog #3: Asteroid Mining

Posted on February 14, 2017 by andrewsolarsystem

We commonly think of asteroids simply as left over debris from when the planets were formed, but researchers believe that we will be able to harness resources from them within the next 10 years. The most common type of asteroid, C-type, contains up to 20% water as well as various metals. The presence of water […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Blog #3: Asteroid Mining

Eclipses

Posted on February 14, 2017 by kendylldellinger

Eclipses have been used to increased drama in books and movies for over a century. One specific example that comes to mind is the novel Delores Claiborne by Stephen King. A main focus of the story is around a solar eclipse during which the main character’s father dies in a suspicious way, depicted on the cover art […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Eclipses

Blog #1: Understanding Moon Phases

Posted on February 14, 2017 by lillyastro2110

The moon has always captivated man. The pattern of moon phases is easy enough to understand on its own, but once you add in time of rise and fall and the position of the moon relative to Earth, things get a little more complicated. This website from McGraw Hill offers an interactive way to understand … Continue reading Blog #1: Understanding Moon Phases Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Blog #1: Understanding Moon Phases

The Era of Long Refractors

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Nick Belsten

Telescopes focus light down to a point to increase the light gathering capacity of the astronomer’s eye. The optimal shape for such focus is a parabola, either a parabolic mirror, or a refracting lens of parabolic shape. Unfortunately, parabolic lenses do not have the same curvature everywhere the way spherical lenses do, making their construction … Continue reading The Era of Long Refractors → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Era of Long Refractors