Monthly Archives: February 2018

Red, White, and Blue: The Star Life Cycle

Posted on February 13, 2018 by mattbarnhartastro2110

We’ve talked a bit about black body radiation and how some stars appear more reddish or bluish, or maybe even just white. But how  and why do stars appear as more reddish or bluish, and why are some stars larger than others? What makes Red Giants and White Dwarfs special? Well, it all has to … Continue reading Red, White, and Blue: The Star Life Cycle → Continue reading →

Posted in Stars | Tagged , | Comments Off on Red, White, and Blue: The Star Life Cycle

Crop Circles: A Brief History

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Jeanie Zeng

Crop circles have long captivated the attention of conspiracists. Their theories suggest that they appear within hours and during daytime without forewarning or even observation of their creators. Modern-day conspiracists have often pointed to them as evidence of the supernatural or more recently, extraterrestrial communication. The idea is that aliens have used beams from their spaceships … Continue reading Crop Circles: A Brief History → Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Crop Circles: A Brief History

European-Extremely Large Telescope

Posted on February 13, 2018 by terranojm

The European Southern Observatory began construction of the European-Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) back in 2014. This telescope is on track to be the world’s largest optical and infrared telescope by the time it is completed in 2024, thus living up to its name. The E-ELT will include a main mirror that is 128 feet in … Continue reading “European-Extremely Large Telescope” Continue reading →

Posted in Galaxies, Observables | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on European-Extremely Large Telescope

Radio Telescopes

Posted on February 12, 2018 by mattbarnhartastro2110

When someone says “telescope,” you probably think of a long magnifying tube ranging from pocket sized to massive that you can look in an eyepiece of to see things at great distances, such as stars and galaxies in regards to astronomy. Another type of telescope you may not think of is the radio telescope. The … Continue reading Radio Telescopes → Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Radio Telescopes

Tides and the Parting of the Sea

Posted on February 12, 2018 by lexisastronomyblog

The biblical tale of Moses parting the Red Sea to free the Israelites from the Egyptians is a story still shared throughout the world today. However, a lesser known rendition of the tale involving tigers and an old woman exists just off the coast of the Korean peninsula. Two South Korean islands, Modo and Jindo, … Continue reading Tides and the Parting of the Sea → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Science | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Tides and the Parting of the Sea

Tides and the Parting of the Sea

Posted on February 12, 2018 by lexisastronomyblog

The biblical tale of Moses parting the Red Sea to free the Israelites from the Egyptians is a story still shared throughout the world today. However, a lesser known rendition of the tale involving tigers and an old woman exists just off the coast of the Korean peninsula. Two South Korean islands, Modo and Jindo, … Continue reading Tides and the Parting of the Sea → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Science | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Tides and the Parting of the Sea

Tides: The Next Big Thing

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Jeanie Zeng

When we speak of renewable energy sources, solar power often dominates the conversation. Our sun is the brightest point in our observable sky. It’s the largest object in the solar system. It’s the source of life on Earth. It’s easy to forget about the second brightest, 400 times smaller (diameter-wise) source of tides. Although it … Continue reading Tides: The Next Big Thing → Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Tides: The Next Big Thing

A-Not-So-Healthy Universal Relationship

Posted on February 12, 2018 by milkymeteorite

In the midst of the Valentine’s Day season, it would seem of nothing more fitting than to mention the binary star systems that our very universe holds.… Read more “A-Not-So-Healthy Universal Relationship” Continue reading →

Posted in Stars | Tagged , | Comments Off on A-Not-So-Healthy Universal Relationship

A New Age of Rocketry (Thanks Vandy!)

Posted on February 12, 2018 by danielsolarsystem

Last week, entrepreneurial genius/potential supervillain Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy. Immediately upon its successful launch, the Falcon Heavy became the world’s most powerful active rocket, capable of carrying heavy payloads such as government satellites to geosynchronous orbit and lighter payloads as far as Mars. (Cross-promotional superstar “Starman” is likely to make it almost … Continue reading A New Age of Rocketry (Thanks Vandy!) → Continue reading →

Posted in Space Travel | Tagged , | Comments Off on A New Age of Rocketry (Thanks Vandy!)

Retrograde Motion: Illusions and Jinxes

Posted on February 12, 2018 by aquarianastronomy

Understanding the heavens has proven confusing for countless generations of humans in part because of the illusions caused by our perspective from earth. For millennia, the majority opinion was a geocentric universe, where the sun, moon, planets, and stars revolved around the earth, since they all seemed to do so from the earth’s perspective. All […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical, Physics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Retrograde Motion: Illusions and Jinxes