Author Archives: Landon Peaden

The Universe’s Greatest Mystery That Threatens the Fabric of Physics

Wikipedia The foundational aspect of science is that a scientific theory that explains something about the natural world must be repeatedly tested and confirmed. If it cannot apply to every situation that meets the requisite parameters, then it is not a theory. Some information or calibration is missing, and the theory will be refined. Dark […] Continue reading

Posted in Light, Observables, Physics, Science, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Universe’s Greatest Mystery That Threatens the Fabric of Physics

Intelligent Life Isn’t About Blind Luck. It’s About Probability.

ARS Technia The thought of other sentient life existing in the universe is one that comes up often. Among the religious crowd, many will argue that Earth’s existence is a perfect result of divine influence, that if just a few things were a bit different, we wouldn’t have evolved as we have done. Yes, we […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Historical, Physics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Intelligent Life Isn’t About Blind Luck. It’s About Probability.

The Laws of Conservation and How They Connect Us to the Universe

New Scientist The poetically minded will sometimes refer to humanity as being made of “star stuff” to give some higher, grander description to our existence. No, we aren’t just a bunch of intelligent animals bickering with each other as we try to see who can destroy the world first as we’re flying through the vast […] Continue reading

Posted in Physics, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Laws of Conservation and How They Connect Us to the Universe

Nicolaus Copernicus under Historical Context

BBC Sky at Night Magazine Nicolaus Copernicus’ (Feb. 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) contributions to the field of astronomy are best summarized as the “Copernican Revolution”, where he rejected the long-held theory of a geocentric model of the solar system, meaning that Earth was stationary at the center while celestial objects orbited around it. […] Continue reading

Posted in Historical | Tagged , | Comments Off on Nicolaus Copernicus under Historical Context

The Zodiac and Ascribing Meaning to a Random Existence

Britannica The twelve Zodiac signs are the most famous (and infamous, if you talk to scientists) way of imposing order and grouping onto our lives. Personality tests, Harry Potter houses (which have to be the laziest version out there), “What sandwich am I?” quizzes, these all apply a person’s traits and responses to fundamental questions […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, General, Observables, Stars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Zodiac and Ascribing Meaning to a Random Existence

Overview

BBC Sky at Night Magazine The incomprehensible scale of the universe is intimidating to most people. Forget feeling insignificant or small on Earth as one person out of 8 billion. That’s nowhere near how it feels to realize that when the scope of the universe is concerned, Earth and humanity are much, much less than […] Continue reading

Posted in Class | Tagged , | Comments Off on Overview