Author Archives: lindseynestor

A Semester Reflection

Posted on April 26, 2016 by lindseynestor

Taking astronomy this semester has been awesome. I’ve always loved space but had never previously had the chance to learn about it in a formal setting. It’s unfeasible for us humans to have a real understanding of the size of the universe – numbers like “billions of light-years” are impossible fully grasp when the only […] Continue reading →

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Mars One Timeline

Posted on April 9, 2016 by lindseynestor

Next year, the astronauts of Mars One are expected to begin their decade-long training before the first set of four astronauts departs for Mars in 2026. I decided to investigate a bit further into the details of the plan outlined for Mars One as a whole between now and then…. 2017: Training begins! Hopefully the […] Continue reading →

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Volcanic Io

Posted on April 9, 2016 by lindseynestor

Volcanoes are one of the coolest geographical features of Earth (in my opinion), but volcanoes outside of our world are even cooler. Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active world in our solar system – in other words, it is FULL of volcanic awesome-ness. Io’s volcanic activity produces HUGE volcanic plumes. To give some […] Continue reading →

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A Natural Lightshow

Posted on March 14, 2016 by lindseynestor

When I think about light shows, I think about Disney World. Every night in the Magic Kingdom that have a “lightshow spectacular” full of elaborate parade floats decked out in incredible light schemes set to music. The show is pretty cool, but there’s one even cooler that our Earth puts on every night all on […] Continue reading →

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New Destinations for New Horizons

Posted on March 14, 2016 by lindseynestor

The New Horizons space probe was launched in 2006 and just last year gave us the coolest Pluto pictures ever taken on a super cool mission. This probe is still kickin’ it out in the solar system today, and has taken up a new mission: a flyby of 2014 MU69, scheduled for January 1, 2019. 2014 MU69 is an […] Continue reading →

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10 Seriously Cool Astronomy Facts

Posted on February 16, 2016 by lindseynestor

The prospect of picking my own blog topic this week out of any and all astronomical topics was just TOO daunting for an indecisive person like me. So, I decided to just talk about a bunch of really super incredible amazing things all in the same post. The following are some seriously AWESOME astronomical facts: […] Continue reading →

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Tidal Forces

Posted on February 15, 2016 by lindseynestor

As a person that has always been happiest by the ocean, I really enjoyed learning about tides and decided to do some further research into other effects and instances of tidal forces in our solar system. Just as the Moon causes tides on the Earth, Earth creates tidal forces acting on the Moon. This is […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context: Copernicus

Posted on February 9, 2016 by lindseynestor

  Nicolaus Copernicus (February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) Historical events in the time of Copernicus: In 1492, when Copernicus was 19 years old, Columbus “sailed the ocean blue” from Spain and discovered America – specifically, the Caribbean islands. In 1506, when Copernicus was 33, construction began on St. Peter’s Church in Rome (and […] Continue reading →

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Solstices & Spirituality

Posted on January 26, 2016 by lindseynestor

  As we’ve learned through our assignments and reading, the spring and fall equinoxes are the times when the Sun appears to cross the equator, causing daytime to be the same length at almost all latitudes. These two days, in addition to the winter and summer solstices, held high significance in ancient spirituality. The adoration […] Continue reading →

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Solstices & Spirituality

Posted on January 26, 2016 by lindseynestor

  As we’ve learned through our assignments and reading, the spring and fall equinoxes are the times when the Sun appears to cross the equator, causing daytime to be the same length at almost all latitudes. These two days, in addition to the winter and summer solstices, held high significance in ancient spirituality. The adoration […] Continue reading →

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