Author Archives: Avery Bradley

Let’s Talk about Aliens

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Avery Bradley

I don’t know about you, but thinking of aliens brings up images of UFOs and bright green skin, bulbous heads and an echo of “Take me to your leader.” However, this representation of extraterrestrial life is simply something made up by… Continue reading →

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What do we know about exomoons?

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Avery Bradley

Unfortunately, this question has an easy answer: not much. So far, no exoplanet has been confirmed to have a moon, even though scientists are detecting planets the size of the Jovians. Even though nothing has been confirmed, however, there have been some interesting potential discoveries. We say potential because again, the systems are so farContinue reading “What do we know about exomoons?” Continue reading →

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How do we name our Solar System?

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Avery Bradley

We all remember learning the mnemonic device in elementary school: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles (or whatever variation you prefer). Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, the eight planets of our solar system. But what do these names actually mean? How do planets and moons and other stuff inContinue reading “How do we name our Solar System?” Continue reading →

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What’s up with the tropics?

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Avery Bradley

Latitude and longitude coordinates are seen everywhere; they’re immensely useful for marking geographic location and helping with navigation. The system is simple enough: latitude is distance north or south from the equator and longitude is distance east or west from the Prime Meridian. But what are the Tropics of Cancer and of Capricorn that areContinue reading “What’s up with the tropics?” Continue reading →

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The Astronomy behind Astrology

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Avery Bradley

While astrology is widely disproven as a form of science in our modern age, it has its origins in the beginnings of computational astronomy. As explained by David Lindberg in his book The Beginnings of Western Science, “By the end of the fifth century B.C., Babylonian celestial divination had expanded to embrace horoscopic astrology, whichContinue reading “The Astronomy behind Astrology” Continue reading →

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Introducing Me!

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Avery Bradley

Hi everyone! My name is Avery, and I am a first year student here at Vanderbilt. I am interested in studying astronomy because the stars have fascinated me ever since I was a little girl. Fun fact: I used to look through topographical maps of different planets and write down all of the names IContinue reading “Introducing Me!” Continue reading →

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