Category Archives: Light

The Northern Lights

Posted on April 21, 2019 by richardtli

One of the world’s most fascinating and natural wonders are the Northern Lights. These magical lights come in a variety of dancing colors. This seemingly random light show occurs as a result of interactions of Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere with solar winds. Solar winds released by the Sun’s sunspot regions travel through space until … Continue reading The Northern Lights → Continue reading →

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Gravitational Lensing

Posted on March 13, 2019 by jacksonhubble2904

In Blog 2 I said I’d leave this subject for my next blog, so here it is on its own: what is gravitational lensing? As simply as I can explain it: Gravitational Lensing occurs when the mass of a large stellar group distorts light traveling from behind it towards the viewer. Because light is affected … Continue reading Gravitational Lensing → Continue reading →

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The Sun – the heart of our solar system

Posted on March 12, 2019 by alfredprah

Planetary System The star at the center of the solar system plays a special role for us here on earth. It was formed about 4.5 billion years ago, in the Orion spur (in the milky way galaxy). It was born from the collapse of a cloud and dust called the “solar nebula”. It then condensed … Continue reading The Sun – the heart of our solar system → Continue reading →

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Reducing Sky Glow

Posted on March 12, 2019 by JSpin

Stargazing is awesome! But sometimes, the night sky is not visible due to light pollution. In cities like Nashville, a common type of light pollution is “sky glow”. Sky glow is the brightening of the entire night sky, especially in populated areas. The light pollution around Nashville inhibits our view of zodiacal light, airglow, and … Continue reading Reducing Sky Glow → Continue reading →

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Cars and the Greenhouse Effect

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Campbell Flower

Earth experiences a warming through the greenhouse effect: the absorption and re-emission of light from the planet’s surface by compounds in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide and water. Greenhouse gases are necessary for keeping life on Earth warm enough to survive, but an increase in their concentration has led to a undesirable heating of … Continue reading Cars and the Greenhouse Effect → Continue reading →

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Why is the Sky Blue?

Posted on February 11, 2019 by JSpin

Some Background In the image above, a beam of light passes through a medium. The medium slows down the light and causes it to refract. And the degree of refraction is dependent on the wavelength of light: shorter wavelength light will slow down more and therefore have a greater angle of refraction. See Cauchy’s equation … Continue reading Why is the Sky Blue? → Continue reading →

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Tidal Forces and Black Holes

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Campbell Flower

Tidal forces on Earth are caused by the uneven gravitational pull from the moon (and less from the sun) on opposite sides of the planet. But what are tidal forces like for objects near a black hole, a celestial object we are unable to see or explore? The information scientists have collected on black holes … Continue reading Tidal Forces and Black Holes → Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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Telescopes

Posted on February 10, 2019 by richardtli

Telescopes have been an essential instrument in the history of astronomy. So much has been learned and will be learned through the use of them. Although, they all have the same general function, telescopes can come in many shapes, sizes, and types. The two main types of telescopes are the refractor and reflecting telescopes. In a … Continue reading Telescopes → Continue reading →

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