Category Archives: Historical

Life on Mars?

Posted on March 20, 2013 by werdercj

Recently, we’ve been emphasizing comparative planetology in our work.  This has prompted studies of each planet in our solar system, which made it clear that many of our questions remain unanswered.  We know that Mars had a warmer, wetter period billions of years ago, and have much evidence indicative of abundant liquid water flows in […] Continue reading →

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Kepler’s Supernova

Posted on March 19, 2013 by juliettealper

In 1604 Johannes Kepler discovered a supernova explosion. Today, scientists are working to discover what caused the explosion and they are using a Digitized Sky Survey to determine it. The picture above shows colors from an X-Ray Observatory that concludes the supernova has low, intermediate and high energy. Scientists believe this explosion was caused by […] Continue reading →

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Copernicus vs. Tycho Brahe

Posted on February 20, 2013 by JT McJunkins

While both Copernicus and Tycho contributed to the evolution of astronomy and the Scientific Revolution in general, the nature of their accomplishments and challenges to the status quo were fundamentally different and defined their respective reception… Continue reading →

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Astronomy’s Evolving Role in Society

Posted on February 20, 2013 by werdercj

Above: Stonehenge is an ancient structure in England that was used to mark the seasons. Archaeoastronomy is the study of ancient structures in search of astronomical connections.  It shows how people in the past understood and utilized phenomena they observed in the sky.  To me, the most interesting part of this is the progression of […] Continue reading →

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Plato’s Cosmology

Posted on February 20, 2013 by JT McJunkins

While Plato’s cosmology may seem odd to a modern observer, it was a carefully reasoned, innovative theory in its time. Plato departed from his predecessor’s ideas beginning with his belief in a deity. While pre-Socratic philosophers attributed orde… Continue reading →

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Aether And The Celestial Region

Posted on February 20, 2013 by jacksonlangham

  Picture Source Aristotle accepted the ideas of fire, air, earth, and water. He claimed them to be terrestrial elements due to their variable nature. These elements could be broken […] Continue reading →

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Archeoastronomy

Posted on February 19, 2013 by AlanL

Over the summer I was in Mexico and visited some Mayan ruins in Tulum and Chichen Itza. It was incredible to hear all about how the cities were built with regard to the sun’s movement in the sky. In Chichen Itza, there is an observatory where they had 20 sight lines each marking a different […] Continue reading →

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Happy 540th Birthday Copernicus!

Posted on February 19, 2013 by juliettealper

Today, February 19, happens to be Nicolaus Copernicus’s 540th birthday. Google honored him by making their icon a heliocentric model. I thought it was fitting to talk a little about his accomplishments. One of the most interesting facts about Copernicus was that he completed all of his observations with his naked eye. Copernicus was one […] Continue reading →

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Galileo: A Man with No Last Name

Posted on February 19, 2013 by mirandaskunz

I have always wondered why we always refer to Galileo by his first name. We don’t have Johannes’ laws of planetary motion or Albert’s theory of relativity, but Galileo Galilei is just Galileo. I remember learning in elementary school that people are referred to by their last names as a sign of respect. Certainly, the […] Continue reading →

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The Art of Spectroscopy

Posted on February 13, 2013 by staunesm

To talk about spectroscopy, we first need to talk about its origins.  Spectroscopy was first discovered in the late 17th century by the late and great Sir Isaac Newton.  Although only the bare bones, Newton founded the idea that refracting … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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