Category Archives: Instruments

includes telescopes and space probes

Blog 8: In Space Manufacturing

Posted on April 21, 2018 by battismm

Over the past two semesters I have been working on an engineering senior design project. My team and I have been working for the Marshall Space Flight Center on one of NASA’s ongoing missions to develop in space manufacturing capabilities. The International Space Station currently houses approximately 29,000 pounds of spares in storage. Historically, 95% … Continue reading Blog 8: In Space Manufacturing Continue reading →

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Primordial Stars and Dark Matter

Posted on April 10, 2018 by stellarastronomy1995

A little over a month ago, astronomers in Western Australia detected the signals of stars that formed within the earliest epoch of the Universe. This discovery marks the detection of the oldest signals ever to be received, and with it, evidence for the presence of dark matter at a time when the lights of the … Continue reading Primordial Stars and Dark Matter → Continue reading →

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James Webb Space Telescope

Posted on April 8, 2018 by yadavdhruv

In 1995, one of the most famous photos in astronomy was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr. Robert Williams instructed his team to point the lens at nothing in particular in the sky – only 0.9 arc seconds of the night sky. Over 10 consecutive days, Hubble took over 342 exposures and combined them … Continue reading James Webb Space Telescope → Continue reading →

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Voyager 2

Posted on March 17, 2018 by stellarastronomy1995

August 20, 1977. The flyby-type probe Voyager 2 was launched from Earth, destined to explore our Solar System and beyond. Passing by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, Voyager 2 carried with it instruments to relay close-up images of these Jovian planets, and a message from Earth to be read and listened to by those who … Continue reading Voyager 2 → Continue reading →

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Blog 4: The Sirens of Titan

Posted on March 14, 2018 by battismm

One of my favorite novels is The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. As the title suggests a portion of the novel takes place on Saturn’s moon Titan, though this fiction is more concerned with the philosophical and not the realistic astronomical. I highly recommend it to fans of science fiction. Discovered in 1655, Titan is Saturn’s … Continue reading Blog 4: The Sirens of Titan Continue reading →

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1 Shift, 2 Shift, Redshift, Blueshift

Posted on February 14, 2018 by jonahastroblog

Space is vast. In fact, vast enough to contains many million, billions, and trillions of galaxies and other celestial objects. So the ultimate question is, how do scientists keep track of all of the celestial bodies? How do we know that the Andromeda galaxy is coming toward us if we can’t tell if it is… Continue Reading → Continue reading →

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Radio Telescopes

Posted on February 12, 2018 by mattbarnhartastro2110

When someone says “telescope,” you probably think of a long magnifying tube ranging from pocket sized to massive that you can look in an eyepiece of to see things at great distances, such as stars and galaxies in regards to astronomy. Another type of telescope you may not think of is the radio telescope. The … Continue reading Radio Telescopes → Continue reading →

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The Map in the Stars

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Nathan Xiao

Getting around is always a difficult task. Even with supercomputers that fit in the palm of our hand and tell us how to get literally anywhere, we still get lost. That being said, it was much more difficult to navigate when all we had were the stars in the sky. Celestial navigation is a craft … Continue reading The Map in the Stars → Continue reading →

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Telescopes of All Kinds

Posted on February 11, 2018 by yadavdhruv

Telescopes allow us to view the stars, planets, galaxies, and even quasars in great detail. Before the telescope, astronomers relied on naked eye astronomy, something Tycho Brahe was very good at. It’s really fascinating to learn how these telescopes work. Essentially, there are two types of telescopes – refracting and reflecting. Refracting telescopes use two … Continue reading Telescopes of All Kinds → Continue reading →

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James Webb Space Telescope

Posted on February 11, 2018 by alcottastr2110

Because of the nature of light, it is evident that the key to learning the secrets of the past is through the use of telescopes. As of right now I believe the most powerful telescope in the world is the Hubble telescope. However, that is set to change in 2019 with the launch of the … Continue reading James Webb Space Telescope → Continue reading →

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