Author Archives: Leigh

Reflection

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Leigh

Above is one of my favorite images of a feature of the Universe. The part of this class that has left the greatest impact on me is the material and discussion devoted to what exists (or potentially exists) outside of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Warp Drive

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Leigh

Before we can achieve interstellar travel like it appears in science fiction, scientists must make huge leaps and develop a way to exceed the speed of light, as well as a way to work around the issue of spacetime and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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NASA’s Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities Initiative

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Leigh

NASA has had a lot of success with their commercial space flight initiatives, and so is looking to branch out and extend offers to work with US private enterprises to offer more, new commercial space experiences. NASA is looking for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The Tunguska Asteroid

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Leigh

On June 30, 1908 an asteroid about 120 feet across entered Earth’s atmosphere and exploded above the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia. At an elevation of about 28,000 feet, the combination of pressure and heat made the space rock explode … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The Moon Rock Thief

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Leigh

Thad Roberts was accepted into NASA’s “Co-op” program for aspiring astronauts in 2001, where he became known as a risk-taker and rule-breaker. There are 842 pounds of moon rocks held by NASA, some of which were in Dr. Everett Gibson’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Aurora

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Leigh

The Aurora, both Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis, is an incredibly beautiful phenomenon that is the result of important characteristics of our planet and its atmosphere. It is actually a result of electrically charged particles from the sun entering our … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Astronomical Satellites

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Leigh

Astronomical Satellites are observatories of some sort that are in orbit around Earth. These observatories vary greatly in specifically what and how they observe, but they all share the same rational for being in space, instead of on Earth. On … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Archaeoastronomy

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Leigh

Archaeoastronomy is a relatively new field that combines the disciplines of archaeology and astronomy; in it, scientists piece together the astronomical discoveries of ancient people by analyzing the remains from their civilizations. It is a very interesting and informative field … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Leigh

Galileo Galilei – 1564 – 1642 Galileo was important to astronomy because he solidified the Copernican revolution through his observations. First, he demonstrated that a moving object stays in motion unless a force acts to stop it, which disproved Aristotle’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Stellarium

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Leigh

I found the program Stellarium to be incredibly interesting and also very informative. The benefit of Stellarium is that it creates a visual and interactive representative of what can only be demonstrated through words and images in the textbook. Because … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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