Category Archives: Physics

What the Heck is a Pulsar?!

Posted on March 15, 2016 by 2016spaceodyssey

Have you ever heard of something called a pulsar?  If not then you are missing out because they are one of the strangest and most fascinating objects in the universe.  A pulsar is a special kind of neutron star, that means that the star is pretty much entirely made up of only neutrons held together […] Continue reading →

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Problems of Nuclear Fusion for Energy

Posted on March 14, 2016 by jasperluastronomy

Scientists have known how to use the process of nuclear fusion as a weapon for over 50 years at this point. However, we have yet to find a way to repurpose it as a safe, nearly unlimited energy source. One of the main issues that researchers are facing with trying to tackle this issue is […] Continue reading →

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A Year in Space

Posted on March 11, 2016 by alecsolarsystem

Just last month Scott Kelly finished what many of us would deem unbearable: spending a year in space. For almost an entire year, Scott Kelly lived with fellow Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko on the International Space Station in order to see the effects that long durations in zero-gravity conditions have on the human body. Prior to […] Continue reading →

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The Slowest Speed of Light

Posted on February 16, 2016 by nickwtheastronomer

Quickly imagine the speed of light. It’s fast right? I’m sure you’ve been taught that the average speed of light falls somewhere around 3 x 10^8 m/s (6.706 x 10^8 mph) and you are partially correct. But what if I told you that you would have been equally right with an answer of just 38 […] Continue reading →

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How Gravity Affects Space-Time

Posted on February 16, 2016 by sarabkeller

One of the more interesting (and more confusing) concepts we’ve learned thus far in the Solar System is the bending of spacetime. As can be seen in the figure below, massive objects with gravity (such as planets or stars) have the unique property in that they can bend the spacetime “grid” around them. Before you […] Continue reading →

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How Gravity Affects Space-Time

Posted on February 16, 2016 by sarabkeller

One of the more interesting (and more confusing) concepts we’ve learned thus far in the Solar System is the bending of spacetime. As can be seen in the figure below, massive objects with gravity (such as planets or stars) have the unique property in that they can bend the spacetime “grid” around them. Before you […] Continue reading →

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One Shift, Two Shift, Redshift, Blueshift

Posted on February 16, 2016 by samihahplanet

Images: Redshifted, blueshifted spectra,   The Doppler shift You’re probably already familiar with the doppler effect of sound. Every time you hear a car zoom past, it pitch changes from higher as it approaches to lower as it leaves. This is because sound is dependent on the relative position of the observer, and if the sound […] Continue reading →

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One Shift, Two Shift, Redshift, Blueshift

Posted on February 16, 2016 by samihahplanet

Images: Redshifted, blueshifted spectra,   The Doppler shift You’re probably already familiar with the doppler effect of sound. Every time you hear a car zoom past, it pitch changes from higher as it approaches to lower as it leaves. This is because sound is dependent on the relative position of the observer, and if the sound […] Continue reading →

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We’re all attractive (by gravity!)

Posted on February 16, 2016 by samihahplanet

We like to think science has everything figured out—and it has in fact come very far to that end. But there are still many things in the world and the universe that has researchers scratching their heads. One of these phenomena is gravity, the force that attracts all objects. Sure, we know how to calculate […] Continue reading →

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We’re all attractive (by gravity!)

Posted on February 16, 2016 by samihahplanet

Images: Gravitational Field,  Conic Sections We like to think science has everything figured out—and it has in fact come very far to that end. But there are still many things in the world and the universe that has researchers scratching their heads. One of these phenomena is gravity, the force that attracts all objects. Sure, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical, Physics, Science, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on We’re all attractive (by gravity!)