Author Archives: Katie

Blog 7: Culmination of a Semester in Astronomy

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Katie

Because of this class my view of the solar system has changed. From a young age I knew the order of the planets and even some basic facts about each of them. What I did not know, however, was how much more there was to know not only about our solar system, but about the … Continue reading Blog 7: Culmination of a Semester in Astronomy → Continue reading →

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Blog 6: The Fermi Paradox

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Katie

The Fermi Paradox is the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extra-solar civilizations and the fact that there is a high probability that many Earth-like planets exist that are older than ours and that it would conceivably be possible to explore the galaxy in a couple million years. Simply stated, where are the … Continue reading Blog 6: The Fermi Paradox → Continue reading →

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Blog 5: TESS

Posted on April 6, 2019 by Katie

NASA’s new exoplanet telescope, the TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), was launched April 18, 2018 and is expected to find 20,000 exoplanets during its 2 year primary mission. This is huge increase compared to the 3,933 that are currently confirmed. Among these planets will hopefully be multiple rocky planets in the habitable zone, or zone … Continue reading Blog 5: TESS → Continue reading →

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Blog 4: Humans back on the Moon and on to Mars

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Katie

NASA’s plans for sending people to Mars are intertwined with their plans to send humans to the Moon more consistently, and hopefully to be able to establish a human presence their within the decade. They plan to launch the Gateway, a spaceship that will orbit the moon to support future trips there. They plan to launch … Continue reading Blog 4: Humans back on the Moon and on to Mars → Continue reading →

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Blog 3: Auroras in the Southern United States

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Katie

On November 20, 2003 Auroras were seen in the southern United States. This is not a normal occurrence as is likely obvious to most of you. Auroras, or the Northern Lights, are caused by charged particles from the sun spiraling around the earth’s magnetic field and hitting the atmosphere. The magnetic field lines of the … Continue reading Blog 3: Auroras in the Southern United States → Continue reading →

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Blog #2: Special Relativity

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Katie

Albert Einstein was one of the most influential thinkers regarding the fabric of the universe. Einstein’s major contribution to modern physics was his theory of relativity. The first part of this revolutionary idea was his special theory of relativity. Published in 1905, it established two major points: the laws of physics are the same in … Continue reading Blog #2: Special Relativity → Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Katie

Galileo Galilei:  15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642 Galileo Galilei was extremely important to astronomy. He made some adaptations to telescopes and then used them for studying the stars. Thus, he was able to much more closely and precisely objects in the sky. He observed sun spots on the sun, proving it wasn’t perfect … Continue reading Historical Astronomers in Context → Continue reading →

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Blog #1: Solar Eclipse Calendar

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Katie

A solar eclipse is when the moon comes between the sun and the Earth and completely or partially blocks the light from the sun. This can only occur when the moon is at the nodes of its orbit and when its precession allows it to be in this position while being between the sun and … Continue reading Blog #1: Solar Eclipse Calendar → Continue reading →

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Blog 0: An Introduction to Katie

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Katie

Hello! My name is Katie. I am from Atlanta, GA and am excited for astronomy class this semester. Continue reading →

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Infinity into infinity OR an edge never to be discovered?

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Katie

It’s been known for a while now that the universe is expanding, but the real question is, what is it expanding into? Well, the answer is no body really knows. Einstein’s theory of relativity makes it possible for the universe to be expanding into anything, including into itself. Because of the vast size of the … Continue reading Infinity into infinity OR an edge never to be discovered? Continue reading →

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