Category Archives: Instruments

includes telescopes and space probes

The Telescope of the “Future”

Posted on March 15, 2020 by 2xchampions

Living up to its futuristic shape, James Webb Space Telescope is indeed a telescope of “future”: NASA has delayed its launch so many times that this telescope seems to only exist in the future. Jokes aside, the JWST carries with itself enormous scientific potential: it is supposed to be 100 times stronger than the HubbleContinue reading “The Telescope of the “Future”” Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Telescope of the “Future”

Spectroscopy and Space

Posted on February 9, 2020 by gabezharovtothemoon

Although Isaac Newton’s most famous contributions to astronomy are his laws of motion and gravitation, which he published in Principia, Newton also founded modern spectroscopy by publishing his second work, Opticks. Spectroscopy is an essential tool for astronomers because it allows them to not only analyze the presence of certain chemical elements, but also physicalContinue reading “Spectroscopy and Space” Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments, Science | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Spectroscopy and Space

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope!

Posted on February 9, 2020 by oliviabastasch

From Earth, the Sun appears to be just a glowing yellow orb. However, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii has captured new images of the Sun that reveal its violent and explosive nature. This massive four-meter telescope has the technological capabilities that are necessary to better understand the Sun’s magnetic field and outer […] Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope!

WFIRST: The Newest Vanguard of the Mission to Understand Dark Energy

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Dan Pitagora

At some point this decade, a new space observatory will be launched into orbit; one unlike any that we have seen before with extraordinary equipment and capabilities. WFIRST, the Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope, could potentially revolutionize what astronomers know about our universe and how it behaves by focusing on three major categories: dark energy, exoplanetContinue reading “WFIRST: The Newest Vanguard of the Mission to Understand Dark Energy” Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments, Universe | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on WFIRST: The Newest Vanguard of the Mission to Understand Dark Energy

Ultima Thule

Posted on April 7, 2019 by victoriayaden

The New Horizons space probe was launched in 2006—primarily to study Pluto, but also to study Kuiper belt objects in its following years. Following the space probe’s flyby of Pluto in 2015, it reached 2014 MU69, also known as Ultima Thule, on January 1, 2019. Ultima Thule is a Kuiper belt object that orbits 1.6 […] Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments, Space Travel | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Ultima Thule

Spirit and Opportunity

Posted on March 12, 2019 by victoriayaden

In 2003, NASA launched the Mars Exploration Rover mission, dropping the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars in January 2004. Although their planned mission lifetime was 90 days, both rovers far exceeded this. Spirit lasted 20 times longer than this, traveling almost 5 miles before sending its final message to Earth on March 22, 2010. […] Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Spirit and Opportunity

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

Songs of Space

Posted on March 9, 2019 by epiphany9

Recently I’ve been collecting space-themed songs (for a McTyeire Hall event called the Galaxy Gala!), and then I thought of something I’ve heard of before: sounds coming from space! Because space is a vacuum, sound waves cannot travel through it. However, many objects within the Solar System do emit radio waves, and NASA scientists have […] Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments, Jovians, Universe | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Songs of Space

Light is Everything

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Harrison Chen

I watched a Crash Course video on light that proved to be really helpful and informative. After watching this video, I realized the importance of spectroscopy and understood what light actually is. The scientific term for light is actually electromagnetic radiation, and even humans emit them. Once again, the video touched upon the wavelength spectrum. … Continue reading Light is Everything → Continue reading →

Posted in Class, General, Instruments, Light | Tagged , | Comments Off on Light is Everything

Telescopes and Space

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Aaron Molotsky

I don’t know about you, but without my glasses, I literally cannot see anything, even if it’s right in front me. Whether I’m sitting in the classroom trying to take notes from the professor’s lecture or trying to watch my favorite Netflix show, my ability to actually see anything with my naked eye is severely … Continue reading Telescopes and Space → Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments, Light | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Telescopes and Space