Author Archives: samihahplanet

Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 9, 2016 by samihahplanet

Nicolaus Copernicus formed the heliocentric model of the universe, which clashed with Aristotle’s model of celestial objects orbiting Earth in a circular path. Copernicus also hypothesized that that planetary orbit depended on distance from the sun. With this model, Copernicus was able to more accurately calculate the planets’ positions throughout the year. (Source) Events during […] Continue reading →

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Stargazing: There’s an App for That!

Posted on January 26, 2016 by samihahplanet

Source: Google Play Ever look up at the sky and wonder what that one bright star is called? Well there’s an app for that! Google Sky Map allows the user to hold their phone up to the sky, day or night, and scan the area for constellations, planets, and more. It has features similar to those […] Continue reading →

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The Speed Limit of the Universe

Posted on January 25, 2016 by samihahplanet

58,536 km/h. That’s the speed of the fastest ever man-made vehicle: the New Horizons space probe. Though this may seem like an unfathomable feat to the layperson, there’s something that can travel even faster than that by five orders of magnitude. Light is the current “speed limit of the universe.” It travels at 3 x 108  m/s or 1 […] Continue reading →

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About Me

Posted on January 21, 2016 by samihahplanet

Hi, I’m Samihah Islam, a student in Dr. Grundstrom’s Astronomy class at Vanderbilt. I’m a sophomore-recently-switched-computer science major, formerly premed (weren’t we all). My hobbies include graphic design, baking, and disappointing my parents.         Photo: taken by a friend. Continue reading →

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