Category Archives: Historical

The Moon’s Tug

Posted on February 9, 2020 by gatorsguidetothegalaxy

Three weeks ago, for my Earth System Dynamics course, I listened to a Radiolab podcast about the distance between the Earth and the Moon. In “The Times They Are a Changin’” paleontologists talk about how coral shells taught us that the Earth used to have shorter days. Their shells have tiny bands, an alternating patternContinue reading “The Moon’s Tug” Continue reading →

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The Astronomy behind Astrology

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Avery Bradley

While astrology is widely disproven as a form of science in our modern age, it has its origins in the beginnings of computational astronomy. As explained by David Lindberg in his book The Beginnings of Western Science, “By the end of the fifth century B.C., Babylonian celestial divination had expanded to embrace horoscopic astrology, whichContinue reading “The Astronomy behind Astrology” Continue reading →

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The Equinoxes Throughout History

Posted on January 20, 2020 by avighitterman

The winter and summer solstices occur as a result of the Earth’s tilt. The summer solstice occurs for a hemisphere when it is facing most directly towards the sun, and this marks the longest time of sunlight for that hemisphere. The winter solstice, is the exact opposite occurrence, resulting in the least amount of timeContinue reading “The Equinoxes Throughout History” Continue reading →

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How a Solar Eclipse Revolutionized Our Understanding of the Universe

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Dan Pitagora

Up until the early 20th century, the laws that our universe abided by were best described by Isaac Newton in his Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica. Newton’s principles still hold true for the most part, as they are the basis of many introductory classical mechanics classes today. Despite being able to model the laws of ourContinue reading “How a Solar Eclipse Revolutionized Our Understanding of the Universe” Continue reading →

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The Cosmic Calendar

Posted on January 19, 2020 by emily

What is the Cosmic Calendar? Carl Sagan, a famous astronomer, promoted this idea of the cosmic calendar, that essentially is a tool used to help people visualize and understand how far apart events in the Universe are. Sagan has chronologically arranged the hallmark events of the Universe’s 13.8 billion year life span into just aContinue reading “The Cosmic Calendar” Continue reading →

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And We’re Off, To the Past

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Jonah

Growing up, I fantasized time travel and if it would ever be possible. I watched cartoons and movies that made time travel seem so real. Of course, I got a little older and realized physical time travel would be a thing of the distant future, if it ever comes to fruition. I let the fantasyContinue reading “And We’re Off, To the Past” Continue reading →

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The Arecibo Message: Humanity’s Greeting to the Cosmos

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Sam Bianco

To this day, one of humanity’s most loaded questions remains unanswered: are we alone in this universe? Though we have yet to detect the presence of any extraterrestrial civilizations, that has not stopped humanity from attempting to make contact with whatever else might be out there. The most famous attempt to communicate humanity’s existence to … Continue reading The Arecibo Message: Humanity’s Greeting to the Cosmos → Continue reading →

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Ancient Egyptian Astronomy

Posted on April 27, 2019 by chiefkeith7

The Ancient Egyptians cared a great deal about astronomy. Probably too much, in fact. According to their beliefs, the movements of the planets and stars played a role in the annual flooding of the Nile river, and if you are an Ancient Egyptian, you will do just about anything to appease the Nile, and that … Continue reading Ancient Egyptian Astronomy → Continue reading →

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Fission Rocket Engines: Soon?

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Rivers Cornelson

NASA has revived the dreams of many optimists hopeful of smashing the dire predictions of the ideal rocket equation. Insane designs have long been dreamed of by lunatics attempting to create breakthroughs with the power of the atom, but a NASA research program in the 70’s laid encouraging groundwork for a possible fission rocket. NERVA … Continue reading Fission Rocket Engines: Soon? Continue reading →

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Project Orion: Humanity’s Best Hope?

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Rivers Cornelson

In the 1950’s and 60’s, optimism about the new discoveries related to fission of atoms and available energy ran rampant. Ambitious designs of all kinds were created based around the new marvel of nuclear energy. Eager to harness the massive potential of fission and fusion reactions, scientists and engineers at NASA began to ponder the … Continue reading Project Orion: Humanity’s Best Hope? Continue reading →

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