Category Archives: Historical

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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The Fermi Paradox

Posted on April 30, 2016 by alecsolarsystem

As Arthur C. Clarke once famously said, “Two possibilities exist. Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” This quote is relates in a very basic way to the Fermi Paradox. The paradox is that through the Drake Equation and the sheer size of the universe, there should […] Continue reading →

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What’s Next?

Posted on April 27, 2016 by OscarBen

Wow. In these last few months, we have gone over the entire cosmic calendar. The last topic of the class, life elsewhere in the universe, covered stuff that hasn’t even happened on this calendar yet. In this class, I really believe I’ve learned a lot of material, rather than memorizing a lot. Studying for this upcoming… More What’s Next? Continue reading →

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A ~Record~ of Life on Earth

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Gabi Grys

Before sending the Voyager spacecraft off into space in 1977, Carl Sagan and his team insisted on including a “bottle” to send off into the “cosmic ocean.” This message to potential intelligent life in the universe is contained in the Voyager record, a 12 inch golden record meant to encapsulate life on Earth. The record […] Continue reading →

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Speaking of Big Craters…

Posted on April 11, 2016 by jasperluastronomy

The Chicxulub crater is a crater buried underneath the Yucatan Peninsula which is suspected to be the location of the impact of the meteor which wiped out the dinosaurs. The crater is more than 180km in diameter and 20km in depth. Estimates place the size of the impacting meteor to be at least 10km in […] Continue reading →

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