Category Archives: Light

How Much Does Light Weigh?

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Josh

Photons are massless particles. They move at the speed of light and do not have an intrinsic mass. And since light is made of photons, we can say that light has no mass. Story over, right? Did you know that light can exerts a force on objects? This force can cause them to weigh more. … Continue reading How Much Does Light Weigh? → Continue reading →

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Traveling at the Speed of Light

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Aaron Molotsky

Have you ever imagined what it would be like moving at the speed of light? To have the ability to travel that quickly (think ~300,000,000 m/s) would be incomprehensible — you’d experience a host of different effects, including time dilation (how more rapidly moving objects experience time more slowly), relativistic aberration (how your field of … Continue reading Traveling at the Speed of Light → Continue reading →

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Eclipses and Wildlife

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Jonathan Roberts

It’s an incredible experience to observe a solar eclipse, but not only for the eclipse itself. A large portion of the animal kingdom reacts to solar eclipses, some of them in surprisingly unique ways. A 2001 study of African wildlife showed that hippos feel like their daily routine has been disrupted, and act nervously after … Continue reading Eclipses and Wildlife → Continue reading →

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On This Day in Astronomy History…

Posted on April 29, 2018 by maxflorsheim

  On April 27th, 1961, fifty-seven years ago, NASA launched Explorer 11 into space. This satellite held the first gamma-ray telescope to go into space. Gamma rays are the wavelength of light with the highest energy levels. These wavelengths can originate from sources such as supernova explosions, supermassive blackholes, and solar flares. While scientists had […] 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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Light – Beyond the Shadow

Posted on February 13, 2018 by stellarastronomy1995

  Plato believed that our senses could not be trusted to reveal the truth of the Universe. He argued that the world around us was an imperfect representation of the ideal world, our perception put before us by our faculties – simply shadows cast from imperceptible forms. Cognizance of truth was achievable only by means … Continue reading Light – Beyond the Shadow → Continue reading →

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Absolute Hot

Posted on February 12, 2018 by yadavdhruv

We all have heard about absolute zero – the coldest temperature possible. At this point, atoms cease to move completely. All heat is really is just the movement of atoms and the energy with which they’re moving. Hotter things tend to have more energy, and their atoms move more. Thermodynamically, it is impossible to reach … Continue reading Absolute Hot → Continue reading →

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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Posted on February 12, 2018 by interplanetira

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star How I Wonder What You Are Up Above the World So High Like A Diamond in the Sky Twinkle Twinkle Little Star How I Wonder What You Are” We all know the song, but do we know the science behind it? What actually causes stars to twinkle? Despite what that question […] Continue reading →

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Don’t Take Light Lightly

Posted on February 12, 2018 by interplanetira

  When you hear the word “light”, a few things might pop into your mind – the Sun, lightbulbs (or artificial lights in general), or maybe even the colors of the rainbow. What you probably don’t think about are the other forms of light on the Electromagnetic Spectrum. The fact of the matter is that […] 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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