Category Archives: Class

Aurora borealis and australis | blog IV

Posted on March 16, 2022 by clviggiano

Aurora borealis and australis (the northern and southern lights, respectively) are an atmospheric phenomenon that results from strong solar winds hitting our atmosphere. The magnetic field captures some of the electrically-charged particles bombarding the Earth, and effectively guides them towards the two poles. Atoms and molecule collide with particles from the Sun in a process […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Astr 2110 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Aurora borealis and australis | blog IV

blog post 02

Posted on February 21, 2022 by graceward02

NASA’s James Webb Telescope was launched on December 25, 2021. It is a collaborative effort between NASA (United States), The European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. This telescope has four main areas where its data will be used: considering the first light in the universe, early assembly of galaxies in the universe, birth […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, General, Historical, Observables, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on blog post 02

How Tides Actually Work

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Sheila Chau

When I was younger, I thought that mermaids were the reason why the tides moved. I thought that mermaids were pulling the ocean back and forth. I later learned the actual origins of the tides in school, but I would still like to think that mermaids were the reason. Instead of mermaids, tides are actually…Continue reading » Continue reading →

Posted in Class | Tagged , , | Comments Off on How Tides Actually Work

Gyroscopes in Space – Angular momentum

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Jack Walton

In this 2016 demonstration aboard the ISS, the ESA astronaut Tim Peake demonstrates how a gyroscope spinning in space maintains its orientation even when a rotational force is applied. While, this video was published in 2016, the physics of rotation have not changed since then! In the video, Peake demonstrates how once a gyroscope gets […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Physics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Gyroscopes in Space – Angular momentum

Historical Vanderbilt Astronomer

Posted on February 20, 2022 by AndreaS

If you have spent much time in E. Bronson Ingram residential college on Vanderbilt’s campus, you may have noticed that part of the dorm is named after one Edward Emerson Barnard. As it turns out, Barnard was an astronomer who attended the university from 1883-1887. His research focused on observation and photography of stars and […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Historical Vanderbilt Astronomer

Light: Wavelength, Frequency, and Energy

Posted on February 20, 2022 by solarelizabeth

A prism splits white light into a spectrum of colors ranging from red to violet. These colors correspond to different wavelengths, frequencies, and energy levels. Light with a longer wavelength has a lower frequency and lower energy level, and light with a shorter wavelength has a higher frequency and higher energy level. Violet light has […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Light | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Light: Wavelength, Frequency, and Energy

Blog Post 2 Bending of Light

Posted on February 20, 2022 by isaachuggins

Light is a weird thing. It is both a particle and a wave, yet it has no mass to it. This means it should be immune to certain laws of physics, such as gravity, since gravity requires two masses to generate a force. However, light does bend due to gravity. This is not the normal […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Light, Physics | Tagged , | Comments Off on Blog Post 2 Bending of Light

Hypatia of Alexandria

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Hypatia is considered the first female astronomer and mathematician (of whom we have records) of the world. She lived in Alexandria in the 4th century AD, where she studied and taught philosophy and astronomy at the Neoplatonic school of Alexandria. Her father, Theon of Alexandria, was a prominent mathematician and some consider him the last […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Hypatia of Alexandria

Solar Architecture and History

Posted on February 20, 2022 by timmyshaheen

In the television show Avatar: The Last Airbender, the main character is able to commune with one of his past lives on the Winter Solstice. This happens when the sun shines through the wall and directly hits a statue of the past life that he is trying to talk to. The catch in the show […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Solar Architecture and History

Blog 2:Spectroscopy

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Charles Littleton

Spectroscopy is the information that comes from a spectrum. The spectra of an object tell us the electrical electromagnetic radiation, the chemical composition, and the wavelength of an object. Each type of molecule and atom will react to the electromagnetic radiation in a different way. One type of spectroscopy, absorption spectroscopy , the light is […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, General | Tagged | Comments Off on Blog 2:Spectroscopy