Author Archives: mwdobson3

NASA’s Picture of the Day

Posted on May 4, 2021 by mwdobson3

For the class Astronomical Experiences assignment, I was going to write about NASA’s May 3rd, 2021 Astronomy Picture of the Day. As I went to search for the daily image, I also found a PBS Nova video on the Mars mission involving Perseverance and I was hooked. Now that I can blog about anything forContinue reading “NASA’s Picture of the Day” Continue reading →

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The Fermi Paradox

Posted on May 4, 2021 by mwdobson3

The age-old question of whether life exists on other planets in the Solar System is one that may not be solved for centuries. Frank Drake and Sara Seager spent years developing their respective equations (shown below) that can be used to predict the probability of aliens existence, but the concept of life outside of EarthContinue reading “The Fermi Paradox” Continue reading →

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TESS: The Modern Exoplanet Finder

Posted on April 15, 2021 by mwdobson3

The Kepler mission marked a significant jump in exoplanet discovery when the space telescope was launched over 10 years ago. Since then, astronomers worked hard to research, develop, and design a more modern approach to discovering these distant and unknown planets. The solution was the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). TESS’s mission was to lookContinue reading “TESS: The Modern Exoplanet Finder” Continue reading →

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Florida Asteroid Burning Up

Posted on April 15, 2021 by mwdobson3

On Monday April 13th, a small asteroid was spotted in the night sky off the east coast of Florida. One of my family members was all the way across the state on the western side of Florida and saw the asteroid’s fireball-like appearance as it passed by Earth over 26,000 km away. According to theContinue reading “Florida Asteroid Burning Up” Continue reading →

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A History of Observing the Sun

Posted on March 22, 2021 by mwdobson3

Kevin Durant, a two-time NBA champion, once tweeted: “I’m wondering how do these people kno what’s goin on on the the sun.. ain’t nobody ever been.” Like his tweet from 2010, I too wondered how humans have been able to study the Sun’s surface and what discoveries have been made to determine the surface’s characteristics.Continue reading “A History of Observing the Sun” Continue reading →

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Radiometric Dating

Posted on March 22, 2021 by mwdobson3

Radiometric dating, or radioactive dating, is a method astronomers use to study a rock’s age. This method is critical in learning about the Solar System’s formation, as rocks from the Solar System can be studied to find how long ago the rock was formed and how old the Solar System is. When billions of atomsContinue reading “Radiometric Dating” Continue reading →

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The Thirty Meter Telescope

Posted on February 26, 2021 by mwdobson3

Currently, the largest single-aperture telescope in the world, the Gran Telescopio Canarias, spans 10.4 meters (about 32 feet). This telescope can see 500 million light-years deep into space, which was thought to be impossible out of a single, segmented reflecting telescope until it was built in 2006. While 10.4 meters is large, astronomers worldwide feltContinue reading “The Thirty Meter Telescope” Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 17, 2021 by mwdobson3

Galileo Galilei (February 15th, 1564 – January 8th, 1642) Galileo Galilei’s contribution to the field of astronomy is well known around the world. The Italian-born polymath initially focused on mathematics and physics, but his studies moved him to the telescope. Galileo learned about and improved upon the telescope, significantly increasing its power, which allowed himContinue reading “Historical Astronomers in Context” Continue reading →

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Ephemerides: An Astronomer’s Excel

Posted on February 5, 2021 by mwdobson3

From the first time I observed lunar eclipses to now understanding how they occur, I have always wondered how astronomers are able to predict every piece of information about them years in advance. Also, in the bigger picture, I did not know how astronomers knew where the planets and stars were in our Solar SystemContinue reading “Ephemerides: An Astronomer’s Excel” Continue reading →

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Introductory Post

Posted on January 31, 2021 by mwdobson3

Hello everyone! My name is Michael Dobson and I am a junior Computer Engineer from Ridgefield, Connecticut. This is the first astronomy class I have taken at Vandy and am looking forward to learning more about the Solar System with Dr. G. Since I’m sure this is many of my classmate’s first time taking astronomy,Continue reading “Introductory Post” Continue reading →

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