Author Archives: gerretyc

Fermi Paradox

Posted on April 22, 2013 by gerretyc

The Fermi Paradox is something I had thought about before even discovering that it had a name.  If there is so much alien life out there, then why haven’t we […] Continue reading →

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Happy Earth Day, Things I Can Now Point Out

Posted on April 22, 2013 by gerretyc

Happy Earth Day! Hello all, Since learning more about astronomy, I’ve noticed plenty of references to common misconceptions about our solar system, galaxy, and the universe in general.  This post […] Continue reading →

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Orbital Resonance and the Asteroid Belt

Posted on April 10, 2013 by gerretyc

Why is it that all of the matter in the inner solar system accreted to form planets, while in between Mars and Jupiter there is still a bunch of stuff […] Continue reading →

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Cratering, Water, and the Chesapeake Bay

Posted on April 10, 2013 by gerretyc

The Chesapeake Bay crater is the largest impact crater in the US.  The meteorite that struck Earth an estimate 35 million years ago cause water and rock to splash all […] Continue reading →

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The Runaway Greenhouse Effect and Ice Ages

Posted on March 19, 2013 by gerretyc

Some planets behave like they have some sort of geological bipolar disorder.  If you look at long-term climate changes and the potential of a runaway greenhouse effect, you may see […] Continue reading →

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Sources of Climate Change

Posted on March 19, 2013 by gerretyc

Since many sources claiming to distribute accurate information regarding climate change tend to have some sort of their own political agenda, I will concentrate mostly on the discussion of climate […] Continue reading →

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Doppler Shifts

Posted on February 18, 2013 by gerretyc

When I first learned about the Doppler effect, I found that the easiest way to think about it was to imagine an ambulance driving past me at a very high […] Continue reading →

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About Tides

Posted on February 18, 2013 by gerretyc

Upon beginning this course, I knew that the tides had something to do with the Moon and gravity, but I really didn’t understand exactly what was occurring.  I was under […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context – Kepler

Posted on February 5, 2013 by gerretyc

This post will focus on the historical context of the life of Johannes Kepler.  The following astronomers lived during the time periods below: – Nicholas Copernicus:  19 February 1473 – […] Continue reading →

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The Moon’s Appearance

Posted on January 27, 2013 by gerretyc

Following class on Wednesday, in which we discussed the lunar cycle and the moon’s appearance to us here on Earth, I looked up at the Moon while walking to my […] Continue reading →

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