Author Archives: williamrmccormick

My Universe

Posted on April 29, 2013 by williamrmccormick

My Universe has changed throughout this course. I used to think that we were fully alone on Earth, and that there was simply no way that another civilization could exist besides our own. Now I realize that life outside of our own world is much more likely than I would have believed. It is interesting […] Continue reading →

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A Message From Earth

Posted on April 29, 2013 by williamrmccormick

A Message From Earth. A foolhardy attempt from humans to try and reach alien life forms, it was sent on October 9, 2008. This message was sent towards the planet Gliese 581 c, a large terrestrial planet orbiting around the star Gliese 581 that is believed to have the possibility of life. The message was […] Continue reading →

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Habitable Planets

Posted on March 20, 2013 by williamrmccormick

To be classified as a habitable planet, the planet in question must be found in what is known as the habitable zone. The largest requirement for this is that it must be the correct distance from the planet’s star to be able to have liquid water. The distance for the habitable zone varies based on […] Continue reading →

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Radioactive

Posted on March 20, 2013 by williamrmccormick

Many people hear the word radioactive and immediately think of either radiation from nuclear power plants or bombs, or they think of turning into a superhero. So they generally associate the idea of radiation and humans as an always negative thing. However, what they may not realize is that the human body itself emits radiation. […] Continue reading →

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The Doppler Effect

Posted on February 19, 2013 by williamrmccormick

The Doppler effect is pretty amazing, in part because it both contradicts what one would naturally think and yet still makes perfect sense when you take the time to think about how we visualize the world. I say this because if you had never heard of the Doppler effect before, you would probably call me […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 6, 2013 by williamrmccormick

Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642-20 March 1727) was important to astronomy for a few reasons. He helped invent calculus, which helped define calculations for the movements of planets and different formulas, as well as being the first to discover the law of gravity. This was pretty important to astronomy, as it explains why planets […] Continue reading →

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The Cosmic Calendar

Posted on January 28, 2013 by williamrmccormick

The idea behind the cosmic calendar is to put the timeline of the entire universe into the perspective of one calendar year. Below is a picture of the calendar. This calendar really puts into reality how short humans have really been around. It takes until 11:54 on December 31 for modern humans to appear on […] Continue reading →

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Pittsburgh Skyline

Posted on January 17, 2013 by williamrmccormick

This is a Pittsburgh skyline from the City of Pittsburgh  where I grew up.
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