Category Archives: Stars

Everyday is SUNday

Posted on March 17, 2013 by ndtidol

The Sun is the single most important object in our solar system. It makes up over 99% of the mass of the solar system, exerts gravitational force over the whole […] Continue reading →

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Why do we associate stars with being white?

Posted on March 14, 2013 by zoodrey

If you asked your neighbor what colors the stars in the sky are, 9/10 (with the 10th probably being an astronomer) would answer white. Why do we associate stars with being white? They actually emit all colors of the rainbow; the color emitted is based on the temperature of the star. So, you may think … Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Happy Valentine’s Day! I bought you a Star!! <3

Posted on February 20, 2013 by zoodrey

Your very own Star! Websites exist that allow you to buy a loved one a star.. often for as low as $14.95, such as this one. You even get to choose from different gift packages to satisfy all your star naming cravings. That must really be a good way to win a girl over… buy … Continue reading » Continue reading →

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Frickin’ Laser Beams

Posted on February 18, 2013 by burnspress

On July 5, 2012, the world’s largest laser fired a record shattering shot that generated more power than the entire United States does at any given moment. The laser, located in Livermore, California, is housed in a building the size of three football fields dubbed the National Ignition Facility (photo above). The NIF laser is an […] Continue reading →

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The Million Star Falsehood

Posted on January 28, 2013 by marknshirleyvu

I was only a little bit surprised when I learned recently that there were not a million stars visible in our night sky.  One million is a huge number, and as small as stars are, I never believed there was nearly enough space in our sky for one million of them to be visible.  However, […] Continue reading →

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Ophiucus: The Thirteenth Zodiac?

Posted on January 27, 2013 by jacob933

Two years ago, an astronomer from Minnesota named Parke Kunkle informed the American public that not only  had the date ranges for each of the zodiac signs changed, but that a 13th Zodiac sign had been added called Ophiuchus. This became big news very quickly and elicited very heated responses from many astrologers. One astrologer […] Continue reading →

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Precession and the Poles

Posted on January 27, 2013 by mirandaskunz

Pretty much everyone in the North Hemisphere knows about the North Star and how it can be used in navigation. The North Star is such a familiar subject to me that I was surprised when I learned that the North pole does not always point toward the North Star. As we have learned in astro […] Continue reading →

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Google Sky Map

Posted on January 27, 2013 by AlanL

Once I first learned about the Google Sky Map app I was amazed at how it worked and its capabilities. It uses the date and time and the phone’s GPS and compass to determine where you are and where you’re looking to create a star chart that you can interact with. If there is something […] Continue reading →

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Farthest Supernova Yet!

Posted on January 27, 2013 by jacob933

A few weeks ago, it was announced that a type 1a supernova had been discovered that was 10 billion light years away! Officially named SN SCP-0401 but nicknamed “Mingus” after a jazz composer, this supernova is remarkable not just for its distance but for the detail in its spectrum. Scientist will be able to use […] Continue reading →

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The Speed of Light

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Will K

Even looking through a telescope, outer space can be very daunting. There is a seemingly endless distance between us and even the closest stars. At 39,900,000,000,000 kilometers away, the nearest star to our own Sun is Proxima Centauri of the Alpha Centauri star system. This distance is so enormous that it takes 4.22 years for […] Continue reading →

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