Author Archives: eschellhase

Bon Courage

Posted on April 29, 2014 by eschellhase

The stars are a source of courage to me, have been for a long time. My dad would point out the constellations to us and Mars. On Fall evenings they were there to greet me after soccer practice. I would get out of the car to open the gate into our driveway, my legs sore […] Continue reading →

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Voyager: Message in a Bottle

Posted on April 29, 2014 by eschellhase

Voyager I and Voyager II were launched from Earth towards the outskirts of the Solar System in 1977. Each was sent for exploration. They have taken many beautiful pictures of planets we had never seen up close. Also, on each satellite was a golden record. This record contained a representation of all of mankind, all of […] Continue reading →

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Astronomy Jargon

Posted on April 8, 2014 by eschellhase

Some words I like. Here are some words I’ve encountered in astronomy I had not known elsewhere. Barycenter–The point of the center of mass between two or more bodies. Lagrangian points–Zones around the sun where an object placed there will orbit the sun relative the the Earth’s orbital progression. “Dwarf Planet”–The International Astronomical Union always […] Continue reading →

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Interiors of Jovian Planets

Posted on April 8, 2014 by eschellhase

Jovian planets also go by the name of giant planets. In our solar system we have Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Their interiors look much different than the interiors of the terrestrial planets (Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus, the Moon). Earth contains a metallic, solid core. As a kid I grew up hearing that the gas […] Continue reading →

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Aurora

Posted on March 16, 2014 by eschellhase

The Earth has a magnetosphere that protects us from charged solar particles coming from the sun. However, some charged particles manage to penetrate the magnetosphere. These then follow the magnetic lines of our magnetosphere. If these gain enough energy they can travel down into Earth’s atmosphere. Here they hit atoms and molecules, causing them to […] Continue reading →

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Why is there water on the Earth?

Posted on March 16, 2014 by eschellhase

By the current model of solar system formation, the solar system formed according to what materials condense at which distances. Near the center of the solar system nothing could condense because it was so hot. It was also very dense there, and this was where the sun formed. Farther out from the center, rocky and […] Continue reading →

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X-ray Telescopes

Posted on February 17, 2014 by eschellhase

Light comes at many different wavelengths and energies. The light we see represents light with wavelength from about 400 to 700 nanometers. Infrared light and radiowaves have longer wavelengths (and thus carry less energy) than visible light, while UV rays and x-rays and gamma rays have shorter wavelengths (and carry higher energy). Even though we […] Continue reading →

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Thinking about History: Tycho Brahe

Posted on February 10, 2014 by eschellhase

Life: Tycho Brahe was born 19 February (10 days from now!) 1473 and died 24 May 1543. Contributions to Astronomy: He greatly improved  astronomical measurements. As well as making very precise observations himself, he introduced methods and instruments which universally made  measurements more accurate. Also, he observed objects in the sky at various points in […] Continue reading →

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Observing the Sky: Star Parties

Posted on January 27, 2014 by eschellhase

“The tires crunched on the gravelly road. ‘How do I know where it is?’ said Mrs. Kelly. ‘It’s so dark.’ ‘Look for the red lights,’ said Mi-Su. . . . Up ahead–spots of red. ‘Lights out,’ said Mi-Su. The headlights went out. Only the red spots were visible now. Some moving, some still. ‘Back at […] Continue reading →

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The Vast Universe

Posted on January 27, 2014 by eschellhase

The Universe is immense. When we look up into the sky at night we can see about 2000 stars. These stars are all native to the Milky Way Galaxy. Our galaxy in and of itself contains 300 billion stars. If we use a telescope we  see more stars in our own galaxy and  beyond the […] Continue reading →

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