Category Archives: Historical

Blog 2 – Occam’s Razor

Posted on February 15, 2017 by johnjohnb4

For my second blog, I thought I’d discuss the idea of simplicity in astronomy; specifically, the idea of Occam’s Razor.  One of the hallmarks of science is the progression of creation and testing of models of nature that explain scientific observations as simply as possible.  This idea, that scientists should prefer the simpler of two […] Continue reading →

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Blog 1 – Cosmic Calendar

Posted on February 15, 2017 by johnjohnb4

For my first blog, I wanted to discuss the cosmic calendar.  From the picture below, you can see, from a human bias, the five most important events in universal history, symbolized in the julian calendar: the big bang in january, the formation of the milky way in march, the development of the solar system in […] Continue reading →

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Blog #2

Posted on February 14, 2017 by niharikadar

For most contemporary scholars, the modern telescope owes its existence to Enlightenment thinkers who crafted the device to enhance their own stargazing endeavors. However, observing the night sky is hardly a practice that has been limited to the past few hundred years.  Thus, it seems likely that there may have been telescopic structures created much … Continue reading Blog #2 Continue reading →

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The Era of Long Refractors

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Nick Belsten

Telescopes focus light down to a point to increase the light gathering capacity of the astronomer’s eye. The optimal shape for such focus is a parabola, either a parabolic mirror, or a refracting lens of parabolic shape. Unfortunately, parabolic lenses do not have the same curvature everywhere the way spherical lenses do, making their construction … Continue reading The Era of Long Refractors → Continue reading →

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Looking Through a Historical Lens

Posted on February 14, 2017 by ritam216

Much of science is the act of investigating phenomena and elaborating on such investigations done by others. This is an incredibly difficult task to accomplish with modern technology. Incredibly though, there is a great source of proof to show that many peoples of the past were able to make some form of astronomical discoveries and […] Continue reading →

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New Horizons

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Natalie

Way out on the edge of our Solar System, in the Kuiper Belt, lies an object that has held our fascination since 1930. Pluto! … More Continue reading →

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Finding the Way with the Stars

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Haley's Comet

    It is amazing for me to think about the human race finding their way before the invention of the modern GPS. While Google Maps and Waze are modern conveniences accessible to all with a smartphone, the sky has a long standing tradition of helping people find their way. In ancient times, sailors would… Continue reading Finding the Way with the Stars Continue reading →

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Blog 2-Archaeoastronomy

Posted on February 8, 2017 by sullivrs

Archaeoastronomy is defined as the branch of archaeology that deals with the “apparent use by prehistoric civilizations of astronomical techniques to establish the seasons or the cycle of the year, especially as evidenced in the construction of megaliths and other ritual structures” (Source).  As such, studying how ancient cultures studied and interacted with space and celestial objects can help us understand more… Continue reading →

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Archaeoastronomy

Posted on February 3, 2017 by josiezd

The study of the astronomical knowledge and achievements of these prehistoric cultures is called archaeoastronomy. Continue reading →

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The Zodiacal Constellations

Posted on January 30, 2017 by josiezd

What are the origins of the zodiac and why are the signs different now? Continue reading →

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