Author Archives: Matthew Marcus

Spectroscopy

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Matthew Marcus

Blog #2 While the role of light in our everyday lives is to make color and form visible, by studying light with spectroscopy, we can learn a surprising amount about the object that produces a certain spectrum of wavelengths. In order to understand spectroscopy, first, we must understand what light physically is. Light is composed […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Matthew Marcus

Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) Johannes Kepler’s most recognized contribution to astronomy are his three laws of planetary motion, published in 1609. First, planets’ orbital paths are elliptical, with the sun positioned at one focus. Second, during a planet’s orbit, equally sized sectors are swept out from the planet to the […] Continue reading →

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The Cosmic Calendar

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Matthew Marcus

For me, one of the biggest challenges in studying astronomy is truly understanding the scale of space and time. When humans have walked the earth for hundreds of thousands of years, it is hard to recognize that our collective existence is a mere flash in the grand scheme of the universe’s 14-billion year life. Every […] Continue reading →

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Hello!

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Matthew Marcus

photo by Josh Rehders My name is Matthew, and I’m a student at Vanderbilt University. I love singing, and you can find a video of a Barbershop Harmony Performance I was in at the hyperlink below at 19:42. Continue reading →

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