Category Archives: Historical

The Northern Lights

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Sharonda Adams

Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights, is a natural phenomena that is observable at the North and South poles. Named by Galileo and meaning “Dawn of the North”, Aurora Borealis is  a visualization of the reaction between electrons from the Sun and our atmosphere. Due to our magnetosphere, most of the electrons are rejected, but … Continue reading The Northern Lights → Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Northern Lights

The Northern Lights

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Sharonda Adams

Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights, is a natural phenomena that is observable at the North and South poles. Named by Galileo and meaning “Dawn of the North”, Aurora Borealis is  a visualization of the reaction between electrons from the Sun and our atmosphere. Due to our magnetosphere, most of the electrons are rejected, but … Continue reading The Northern Lights → Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Northern Lights

A Brief, Incomplete History of “Earth”

Posted on March 12, 2019 by IanO12

When looking at our solar system, it is pretty easy to notice one thing that separates Earth from the other planets with which we share a star. Namely, Earth is the only planet not named after a Roman deity. You have Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and even Pluto! So where does “Earth” […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on A Brief, Incomplete History of “Earth”

Saving the Appearances

Posted on March 12, 2019 by reallyroyalqueen

Strict Aristotelian cosmology follows that all bodies are made of the four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. These four exist in the terrestrial realm and the stars exist in the celestial realm. A fifth element, aether, exists there and that is what heavenly bodies are composed of. Aristotle provided the basics of the physics … Continue reading Saving the Appearances → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, General, Historical, Observables, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Saving the Appearances

History of Constellations

Posted on March 12, 2019 by richardtli

Long before history has been recorded, humans have studied the stars in the night sky. Although we have looked at stars for thousands of years, it wasn’t until 1930 that the 88 constellations were officially named by the International Astronomical Union. 48 of these constellations were named by Ptolemy in his book The Almagest in … Continue reading History of Constellations → Continue reading →

Posted in Historical, Observables, Stars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on History of Constellations

Retrieving Voyager 1 – A Rescue Mission

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Jonathan Roberts

In 1977, NASA launched Voyager 1 to study the far reaches of our solar system. The program was a tremendous success: not only did the probe gather useful information about Jupiter and Saturn, it also captured the first detailed images of their moons (including a flyby of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon). Even now, after Voyager … Continue reading Retrieving Voyager 1 – A Rescue Mission → Continue reading →

Posted in Historical, Instruments, Public Policy, Science, Space Travel | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Retrieving Voyager 1 – A Rescue Mission

Is There Life on Mars?

Posted on March 8, 2019 by epiphany9

Mars, our red-tinted planetary neighbor, has long attracted human curiosity. Due to its unusual color, it was named after the Roman god of war. Although it is so much smaller than our planet (only about half Earth’s diameter and one-tenth its mass), it shares certain Earth-like features, particularly volcanoes and a great canyon. These structures, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Historical, Terrestrials | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Is There Life on Mars?

Venera, or the Soviets’ many attempts to reach Venus

Posted on March 5, 2019 by chiefkeith7

Despite being the sister planet of Earth, Venus is far from hospitable. Very far. Its atmospheric pressure at the surface is 92 times that of Earth’s, has an average surface temperature of 863 degrees Fahrenheit, and at higher latitudes sulphuric acid rains onto the surface. So what better force could there be to attempt to … Continue reading Venera, or the Soviets’ many attempts to reach Venus → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Venera, or the Soviets’ many attempts to reach Venus

Archeoastronomy and the Newgrange monument

Posted on February 17, 2019 by justinrstevens

Newgrange is a monument located in County Meath, Ireland.  This mysterious structure is estimated to be over 5,000 years old and was built by ancient inhabitants of Ireland during the Neolithic period.  Since its construction, word of the structure was passed down through generations as part of Irish folklore.  In the meantime, the mound-like shape…

Continue reading →

Posted in Historical, Science | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Archeoastronomy and the Newgrange monument

Archeoastronomy

Posted on February 11, 2019 by alexdickey18

Located in Southeast Mexico, Chichen Itza served as the home to one of the largest Mayan cities and possesses pristine examples of complex archeoastronomy. Perhaps the most interesting structure is the pyamid El Castillo which translates to “the castle.” This pyramid serves as a prime example due to its complex engineering and design that highlights … Continue reading Archeoastronomy → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Archeoastronomy