Category Archives: Physics

The definition of “planet”

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Drew Hamilton

Ever since the IAU gathered in Prague in 2006 and published a new scientific definition of “planet”, there has been debate on how well they did, and whether they were right to “demote” Pluto from planet to the new “dwarf planet” classification. I aim here to critique the IAU’s definition of a planet. First, here… Continue reading →

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80% of the Universe That We Can’t See

Posted on April 8, 2014 by joshkphilips

Image Source Over the past couple of centuries, we have learned a great deal about our Universe. However, the more we seem to learn about the cosmos, the more we realize that we do not understand. When Jan Oort and Fritz Zwicky first hypothesized the existence of dark matter in our Universe, a breakthrough in […] Continue reading →

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Jupiter: Magnetosphere Explained

Posted on April 7, 2014 by joshkip

One feature of Jupiter that may come as a surprise is that it contains a magnetic field more than 20,000 times as strong as that of Earth’s. But, how is this possible if the Gas Giant is comprised of only … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Lagrange Points

Posted on April 6, 2014 by gradytlynch

This video by Sixty Symbols gives an in depth look at lagrange points, delving into the physics of orbiting bodies. The video outlines the five lagrange points of the Earth-Sun system. L1 is between the Earth and Sun, L2 is slightly farther from the Sun than Earth, and L3 is on the opposite side of […] Continue reading →

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Edmond Halley: Proving Newton

Posted on March 29, 2014 by jblubin

Newton was the first to provide a mathematical construct to describe the effects of planetary motion around the Sun. But then the question arose, how could we find evidence for the theory? Stepping up to the plate was the prominent astronomer Edmond Halley. Born in the English countryside on November 8, 1656, Halley was a … Continue reading Edmond Halley: Proving Newton → Continue reading →

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The way of the future

Posted on March 18, 2014 by blakestar2k14

Nuclear Fusion has always been the process known to heat the sun and produce the light that we so desperately depend on. Only until recently, has the possibility of being able to harness the incredible power of nuclear fusion becoming a possibility. The ultimate goal behind this groundbreaking research is to be able to create […] Continue reading →

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Dinnertime for our Supermassive Black Hole

Posted on March 17, 2014 by hughavanheesewijk

For the first time we will be able to see our supermassive black consume a gas cloud. We have not been able to see our black hole in action yet so this provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about this mysterious thing at the middle of our galaxy. However, scientists are not really sure […] Continue reading →

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The Sun: Our Source of Light

Posted on March 17, 2014 by kaswat

Our Sun is massive! It is 333,000 times the Earth’s mass. It provides all the light and other energy we need to survive – which is pretty impressive within itself.  The sun is made mostly of helium and hydrogen and exists as plasma instead of a solid. But, what makes the sun shine? Some people… Continue reading →

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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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