Category Archives: Observables

things we can see from Earth using our eyeballs or telescopes

Wait, where is that constellation? said me, about a million times while holding a telescope

Posted on January 24, 2015 by jamej00

Night Sky 2 The hyperlink above is to a webpage with the information and a review for a REALLY cool observing app!  I got Night Sky 2 before I even took an astronomy class at Vandy, and it’s easily my favorite.  You can get real-time views of all constellations, planets, stars, satellites, and even comets!  Not… Continue reading →

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Tennessee will be treated to a total eclipse in 2017

Posted on January 23, 2015 by lindenmuthadam

Due to the constant nature of the laws of physics, scientists can predict future eclipses with remarkable accuracy. These events are caused by the moon partially or (more rarely) totally obscuring the Sun’s path to the Earth. During solar eclipses we are able to see the Sun’s outermost halo, called the corona, which is usually […] Continue reading →

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Precession and its Effects (And Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid)

Posted on January 22, 2015 by robbyks

Axial precession is the gradual wobble that alters the orientation of Earth’s axis in space. Historically, discovery of this phenomenon was attributed to Greek astronomer Hipparchus. The axis traces out the path of a cone over a 26,000 year cycle. When I first read about this concept, I imagined Earth becoming like Westeros and experiencing […] Continue reading →

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Total Solar Eclipse

Posted on January 19, 2015 by pgolemanska

People have been fascinated with total solar eclipses. Part of that fascination comes from how rare they are. Solar eclipses occur every 18 months on average, but what makes them so rare is that they are visible from limited number of locations on Earth. It ends up being that a particular location would observe a […] Continue reading →

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Light Travel Time and Observing Extraterrestrial Life

Posted on January 15, 2015 by robbyks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#mediaviewer/File:NASA-HS201427a-HubbleUltraDeepField2014-20140603.jpg A topic that has really intrigued me is the speed of light and the time it takes for light to travel. The above image was taken by the Hubble Space telescope of galaxies billions of light years away. Some of these galaxies even extend back in time to only a few hundred million years of […] Continue reading →

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Observing and Reddit

Posted on April 29, 2014 by thegarrettnondorf

Interested in learning more about Astronomy or finding a community of people who love astronomy? Try the Astronomy subreddit on the website Reddit.com. They have monthly observing challenges and ask/answer all kinds of questions about astronomy. Some examples – “I want to spend my dying years observing the unknown universe from my roof. What’s the … Continue reading Observing and Reddit → Continue reading →

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Halley’s Comet

Posted on April 29, 2014 by thegarrettnondorf

Edmond Halley was the first to predict this comet’s 76 year orbit. It was named in his honor and is known today as Halley’s Comet. Would you like to see it? Stick around until 2061 and you can! Fun fact – Mark Twain was born and died in the same years that Halley’s Comet made … Continue reading Halley’s Comet → Continue reading →

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The Solar System: An Overview

Posted on April 20, 2014 by hollyreichert

This year I learned details about the Solar System that I did not even know existed.  Before astronomy this year, I did not know about the Kuiper Belt.  I thought we only had the Asteroid Belt.  I knew that comets and asteroids were different– but I was not sure what the difference was.  Now I […] Continue reading →

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Rosetta’s Trajectory

Posted on April 9, 2014 by karapetros

This photo found on NASA’s Solar Exploration page diagrams the trajectory for the European Space Agency’s mission Rosetta’s exploration of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Launched in 2004, Rosetta has since flown-by Earth three times, Mars, and two asteroids, and is scheduled to arrive at the comet later this year.  It’s so how cool scientist are ale … Continue reading Rosetta’s Trajectory → Continue reading →

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The Origin of Comets

Posted on April 9, 2014 by paanvaannd

<Image from this post from here> Every 76 years, viewers from our little planet of Earth are treated to a spectacular show of Halley’s comet streaking across the sky. The comet was observed for centuries but ancient astronomers failed to identify this comet’s appearance as a recurring event, thinking that each comet was unique and … Continue reading The Origin of Comets → Continue reading →

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