Category Archives: SolarSystem

Blog 2 – Forecasting Tides

Posted on February 13, 2024 by James Bamshad

Image Source Have you ever wondered how we predict the rise and fall of tides? Tides are driven by the gravitational forces of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, and has been a relevant subject to astronomers for hundreds of years. In a general sense, we are able to predict the timing of high vs. low […] Continue reading →

Posted in Moons | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Blog 2 – Forecasting Tides

A tidal bore worth traveling for

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Angela Harris

Mont Saint-Michel at high tide Chapter 4 of the textbook explained how the Moon and the Sun affect ocean tides. We learned that the timing and height of tides at a given location depends on its latitude, the orientation of the coastline, and the depth and shape of any channel the tide has to flow […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Moons, Science | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on A tidal bore worth traveling for

The farmers’almanac

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Angela Harris

In elementary school, my library teacher always had the Farmers’ Almanac for the year on her desk. The Farmers’ Almanac has a forecaster who works under the pseudonym Caleb Weatherbee. Weatherbee’s predictions are based on a formula that takes many things into account including the Moon phases. Every fall, my classmates and I looked forward […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Moons | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The farmers’almanac

Blog 1: Eclipse Chasers

Posted on January 23, 2024 by liamoneill95

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will happen in North America. For those in Nashville, a mere 2-3 hour drive will allow viewers to witness it. For some, it is worth the journey to witness this rare occurrence, and for others perhaps not. For a select few, however, it is always worth the […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Moons, Observables, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Blog 1: Eclipse Chasers

Blog 1: Asymmetry of the Moon

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Mackenna Guadagnoli

By looking at the image above, it’s clear to see that the dark splotches we’ve come to associate with our closest cosmic neighbor, the Moon, are only seen on one side! The farside of the moon is much more uniform with a lot more craters than the side we see. This stark difference has puzzled […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Moons, Observables | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Blog 1: Asymmetry of the Moon

It’s not a phase, Mom! ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Posted on January 22, 2024 by abbieychen

One thing I love about the nighttime is getting to see the different phases of the Moon in different times of its cycle. The Moon cycle consists of 8 phases as you can see in the picture below, and lasts 29.5 days, which is around one month! In this period, we see the Moon go from […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, SolarSystem | Tagged , , | Comments Off on It’s not a phase, Mom! ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Blog 1 – Solstices, Equinoxes, and Seasons

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Julian Delamaza

Traditionally, the Solstices mark the beginning of the most treacherous seasons. Being from Miami, when the summer solstice came around everyone always knew that the days would only get hotter. Once the winter solstice hit, we always prayed that there would be some form of respite (news flash, rarely was). Arguably, this is the worst […] Continue reading →

Posted in Sun | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Blog 1 – Solstices, Equinoxes, and Seasons

Speed of light in Space

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Andres Becerra

Picture by: FlashMovie/Shutterstock Light moves pretty fast. It actually moves the FASTEST out of anything that we know of (for now). Light moves at about 300,000 kilometers per second. When I’m in a rush on the freeway, I drive up to 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour) which is only 0.04 kilometers a […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Light, Sun | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Speed of light in Space

The Speed of Light/Light Travel Time – Cameron Klein

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Cameron Klein

Before beginning this course, I was familiar with the term light-year, but not in the way that it is truly meant to be used. When talking to members of my family, it is a common expression for us to say, “It’s going to take me lightyears to clean my room!” or “Doing my laundry is […] Continue reading →

Posted in Light, Sun | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Speed of Light/Light Travel Time – Cameron Klein

Asteroid Mining

Posted on April 30, 2023 by sahilreddy2

Hayabusa: A robotic spacecraft by JAXA to acquire a sample from the asteroid Itokawa Asteroid mining can be crucial in helping us to acquire rare materials in our solar system. The asteroid belt has 8% metal-rich asteroids and 75% volatile-rich carbonaceous asteroids.  Currently the technique is mainly just theoretical as we don’t have the infrastructure […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Small SS Objects, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Asteroid Mining