Daily Archives: February 20, 2022

Historical Vanderbilt Astronomer

If you have spent much time in E. Bronson Ingram residential college on Vanderbilt’s campus, you may have noticed that part of the dorm is named after one Edward Emerson Barnard. As it turns out, Barnard was an astronomer who attended the university from 1883-1887. His research focused on observation and photography of stars and […] Continue reading

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Reversing Falls

In Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 100 billion tons of water flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy each day by way of the Saint John River. Yes, in and out of the same river. The water level of the Bay of Fundy changes a dramatic 28 feet between low and high tide. […] Continue reading

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Light: Wavelength, Frequency, and Energy

A prism splits white light into a spectrum of colors ranging from red to violet. These colors correspond to different wavelengths, frequencies, and energy levels. Light with a longer wavelength has a lower frequency and lower energy level, and light with a shorter wavelength has a higher frequency and higher energy level. Violet light has […] Continue reading

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Hypatia of Alexandria

Hypatia of Alexandria (335 CE – 415 CE) was an important mathematician and astronomer often credited as the first female astronomer and the last head librarian of the Library of Alexandria. Her father, Theos, was also an astronomer and mathematician and was the last official member of the Library of Alexandria. He also played a […] Continue reading

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Blog Post 2 Bending of Light

Light is a weird thing. It is both a particle and a wave, yet it has no mass to it. This means it should be immune to certain laws of physics, such as gravity, since gravity requires two masses to generate a force. However, light does bend due to gravity. This is not the normal […] Continue reading

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Eratosthenes the Excellent??

Newton, Kepler, Galileo, Copernicus… Eratosthenes?? The name Eratosthenes is not as universally renowned, or even as known, as the likes of Newton or Galileo.; however, his contributions are just as exceptional. More than 2200 years ago, around 240 B.C.E, Eratosthenes correctly measured the circumference of the Earth to within 5% of its correct value. Considering […] Continue reading

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Hypatia of Alexandria

Hypatia is considered the first female astronomer and mathematician (of whom we have records) of the world. She lived in Alexandria in the 4th century AD, where she studied and taught philosophy and astronomy at the Neoplatonic school of Alexandria. Her father, Theon of Alexandria, was a prominent mathematician and some consider him the last […] Continue reading

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Solar Architecture and History

In the television show Avatar: The Last Airbender, the main character is able to commune with one of his past lives on the Winter Solstice. This happens when the sun shines through the wall and directly hits a statue of the past life that he is trying to talk to. The catch in the show […] Continue reading

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Blog 2:Spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is the information that comes from a spectrum. The spectra of an object tell us the electrical electromagnetic radiation, the chemical composition, and the wavelength of an object. Each type of molecule and atom will react to the electromagnetic radiation in a different way. One type of spectroscopy, absorption spectroscopy , the light is […] Continue reading

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Light

The topic of light in regards to astronomy or any study of space is incredibly fascinating. In a vacuum, the speed of light travels around 300,000 km/sec and is known to be the fastest phenomenon in the entire universe. There’s so many interesting aspects that come out of studying light. One such example would be […] Continue reading

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