Author Archives: williamcpower

Astronomy Past and Future

Posted on April 28, 2013 by williamcpower

After completing this course in Astronomy I think the two most lasting impressions I have are the sheer magnitude of the Universe, and a better understanding of the importance of Astronomy. So much has been discovered and there is so much more left to be discovered and understood. It is through this process of discovery […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Astronomy Past and Future

SpaceX’s Merlin 1D engine

Posted on March 20, 2013 by williamcpower

SpaceX is a space transportation company founded in California by the same guy who founded Tesla Motors and Paypal etc.  They have designed a new boost engine that has the potential revolutionize space travel. It has the capability to loose two engines and still ensure safe travel and the reason it is so amazing is […] Continue reading →

Posted in Space Travel | Tagged , , | Comments Off on SpaceX’s Merlin 1D engine

The Hubble Telescope

Posted on February 18, 2013 by williamcpower

After reading about the power of different telescopes, I became interested in learning more about the famous Hubble Telescope. I found a video that explains some of the telescope’s mechanics and I think it’s worth the watch. What is really fascinating is the sensitivity the Hubble Telescope has. It can detect a candle from Tokyo from […] Continue reading →

Posted in Light | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Hubble Telescope

Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 6, 2013 by williamcpower

Nicholas Copernicus Birthday: February 19, 1473 in Torun, Poland Death: May 24, 1543 in Frauenburg, Poland Johannes Kepler Birthday: December 27, 1571 in Weil der Stadt, Württemberg Death: 1630 in Regensburg Tycho Brahe Birthday: December 14, 1546 in Scania, Denmark Death: October 24, 1601 in Prague Galeleo Galelei Birthday: February 15, 1564 Death: January 8, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context

Precession

Posted on January 27, 2013 by williamcpower

For my second blog I would like to discuss the precession of the Earth’s axis and how it could relate to possible climate change. We learned in class that seasons are caused because of the tilt of the earth. The till causes light to be more direct on a hemisphere during particular parts of the […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Precession

Twin Paradox

Posted on January 27, 2013 by williamcpower

One of my favorite concepts in physics is relativity, so I thought it would be fun to discuss the twin “paradox”. The twin paradox occurs when one twin travels away from earth at a speed close to the speed of light and then returns. The result is that the traveling twin returns younger than the […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Light | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Twin Paradox

Row!

Posted on January 16, 2013 by williamcpower

Vandy Rowing
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1241&bih=584&tbm=isch&tbnid=U3gnBedfhecXxM:&imgrefurl=http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/crew/&docid=9QKmd5_FKOXlVM&imgurl=http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.e… Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Row!