Author Archives: astrdylan

The Drake Equation, revisited

Posted on April 29, 2013 by astrdylan

The Drake Equation, as we’ve discussed in class in the most recent unit, is a formula intended to project an estimate of how many intelligent societies could exist in the universe. The formula multiplies a series of interdependent variables–the rate of formation of Sun-like stars, the number of planets in a habitable zone per solar … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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A more “earthbound” use of the Doppler effect

Posted on February 20, 2013 by astrdylan

When I was reading about the Doppler effect in the textbook, I found it easy to visualize the way we use the Doppler effect to understand the movements of astronomical objects, but I didn’t realize that we had other uses for Doppler a little closer to home. After doing a little bit of research, I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 6, 2013 by astrdylan

Galileo Galilei: 15 February 1564–8 January 1642 Occurrences during Galileo’s life: The Thirty Years’ War began in 1618 and was fought throughout Europe largely because of religious turmoil between Catholics and Protestants. The war was noteworthy because it was so destructive and long-lasting, and therefore had a large impact on European culture as a whole. Rene … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The night sky…

Posted on January 26, 2013 by astrdylan

(click the photo to link to the source!) Notice anything strange about the night sky in this photo? For one, you won’t find Polaris (the North Star)…have you caught it yet? This is the night sky as seen from Mt. Cook in New Zealand. As you’d expect, because the vantage point of someone in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Powers of Ten and orders of magnitude

Posted on January 26, 2013 by astrdylan

For my first “real” blog post, I chose to check out the Powers of Ten video. I was interested in this prompt in particular because in my geomorphology class, we’ve been discussing orders of magnitude as a means of talking about geological concepts like subsidence, uplift, and the residence time of sediments, so I thought … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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img_0483.jpg

Posted on January 17, 2013 by astrdylan

Hey there, I’m Dylan–I’m a junior at Vanderbilt majoring in philosophy and earth & environmental science. The outdoors are my big passion, and I’m really into rock climbing, paddling, and anything that will turn into an adventure. Here’s me at the beginning of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track in New Zealand, scoping the low tide … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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