Category Archives: Light

What is a Quasar?

Posted on March 15, 2014 by gradytlynch

This brief video explains our current understanding of quasars, and how the generate so much energy and are able to be seen from so far away. As the video discusses, when quasars were first observed in the 1960’s, there was a great deal of interest generated about these distant yet incredibly bright objects. As we […] Continue reading →

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Antimatter Spacecraft

Posted on March 15, 2014 by gradytlynch

Despite the incredible distance to neighboring stars, there are scientists working on spacecraft that can theoretically take us to these distant worlds. One of the most interesting spacecraft concepts for the future is an Antimatter Spacecraft. The fundamentals of this design are outlined in HowStuffWorks’ article, “How Antimatter Spacecraft Will Work”. The article first gives […] Continue reading →

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Limitations of Telescopes

Posted on February 19, 2014 by efb28

  There are a few, relatively simple reasons why telescopes can only tell us so much about the universe. First of all, it takes large telescopes to see much detail. The additional light larger telescope lenses and mirrors collect provide more detail. However, the atmosphere distorts what can be seen by telescopes on Earth, as […] Continue reading →

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Spectroscopy

Posted on February 17, 2014 by karapetros

I always wondered how we were able to determine what chemicals are present in other stars in outer space. This video excellently and concisely teaches the basics behind studying this in terms of spectroscopy. Naturally, light is important in our viewing of the stars, but I never considered that the way different elements bend light … Continue reading Spectroscopy → Continue reading →

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The Doppler Effect

Posted on February 17, 2014 by thomasridgway

Have you ever heard an ambulance fly by you and noticed that the pitch changes as it approaches you, and …

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X-ray Telescopes

Posted on February 17, 2014 by eschellhase

Light comes at many different wavelengths and energies. The light we see represents light with wavelength from about 400 to 700 nanometers. Infrared light and radiowaves have longer wavelengths (and thus carry less energy) than visible light, while UV rays and x-rays and gamma rays have shorter wavelengths (and carry higher energy). Even though we […] Continue reading →

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Hipster Lens Flare–From Whence Do They Come?

Posted on February 17, 2014 by claremcdaniel

This photo shows a pretty typical example of a lens flare. In chapter 5, we cover light, the visible spectrum, the three basic type of light, how it moves and bends and what can bend it. Lens flares are a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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X-Ray vision is pretty useless

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Asad Pabani

X-Ray vision. Sounds pretty cool right? In a discussion of which superpower one could have, it would rank right up there as a people’s favourite. The reality however is a bit of a letdown. Most things in everyday life like people, clothes and houses do not emit X-Ray vision which means you would have very […] Continue reading →

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E=mc² is Incomplete

Posted on February 17, 2014 by gradytlynch

This brief and to the point video breaks down the nature of Einstein’s famous equation E = mc^2. Using the simple analogy of a right triangle, it shows how an object with mass can never achieve light speed. In everyday life, the “pc” component of Einstein’s equation doesn’t matter, as objects can rarely travel significantly […] Continue reading →

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The Largest Telescope in the World

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Chad F

Larger telescopes allow for better angular resolution, which allows for us to discern between two light producing objects that are close together.  Therefore, telescopes are ever increasing in size to get better and better images.  Beating out telescopes called “Very Large Telescope” and “South African Large Telescope”, the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico is […] Continue reading →

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