Category Archives: Stars

Legacy Survey of Space and Time: The future of astronomical observation is here…. almost!

Posted on March 22, 2022 by alexlitt

Just two years from now, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will commence operations, beginning its mission to image nearly 40 billion celestial objects over 10 years! These observations will be made with the world’s largest digital camera and an enormous 8.4 meter (in diameter) telescope, ensuring that its images will be of the highest quality. […] Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments, Observables, Science, Stars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Legacy Survey of Space and Time: The future of astronomical observation is here…. almost!

Nuclear Fusion

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Nuclear fusion is a reaction between molecules where nuclei are combined to form different atomic nuclei and particles, releasing energy. This process powers main sequence stars through stellar nucleosynthesis. Stellar nucleosynthesis can only occur at extremely high temperatures in the cores of stars. Depending on the mass of the stars, i.e. the pressure and temperature […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Stars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Nuclear Fusion

Proxima: Our Cosmic Neighbor

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Quint Gfroerer

The closest star to our solar system is one named Proxima Centauri. Proxima Centauri is a relatively small star, as it is a red dwarf star with about 12.5% the mass of the Sun and only about 0.17% as bright as the Sun. Proxima Centauri resides about 4.25 light years away from Earth, and is […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Stars, Universe | Tagged , | Comments Off on Proxima: Our Cosmic Neighbor

The Orion Nebula

Posted on March 21, 2022 by AndreaS

If you have participated in observing for class, then you have seen through a telescope the Orion Nebula. Nebulae are star-forming regions that when studied can tell us lots about how stars and solar systems come to be, and the Orion Nebula is no different. When we look at the Orion Nebula through a telescope, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Stars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Orion Nebula

Blog 1 – Initial Review of SkyView Lite

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Jack Walton

SkyView Lite is an iPhone application that allows the user to point their phone at different parts of the sky and see an overlay of constellations in the direction that they point. I downloaded the app and tried it out. This post is going to be about my experience using the app. The app works […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Stars, Sun | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Blog 1 – Initial Review of SkyView Lite

Helix Nebula

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

This is an image of the Helix Nebula, located in the constellation Aquarius. Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Stars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Helix Nebula

May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine

Posted on May 4, 2021 by brandonlipper

One of my recent blogs crushed the dreams of many Star Wars fans by debunking the close proximity of asteroids within an asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back. That is why, in the spirit of Star Wars Day, I will be sharing an aspect of the films that Star Wars ended up getting correct:Continue reading “May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine” Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Class, Exoplanets, Stars, Sun, Universe | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine

Our Milky Way Galaxy

Posted on May 4, 2021 by captivatingcomet

The Milky Way is a large barred spiral galaxy with four arms: the Sagittarius arm, Perseus arm, Outer arm, and Scutum-Centaurus arm. Majority of the stars in the Milky Way are single or binary stars; however, there are three distinct types of star clusters, collections of tens to thousands of stars, within the galaxy. TheseContinue reading “Our Milky Way Galaxy” Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Galaxies, Observables, Stars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Our Milky Way Galaxy

Drake Equation

Posted on May 3, 2021 by justinboreskyvanderbiltedu

The Drake equation is an equation used to estimate the amount of civilizations humans can communicate with. The Drake Equation was made by Frank Drake an American astronomer and astrophysicist from Chicago Illinois. The equation takes into factor only planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Drake Equation helps try to answer a question we’veContinue reading “Drake Equation” Continue reading →

Posted in Stars, Universe | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Drake Equation

Keeping Up With The Kardashev Scale

Posted on May 2, 2021 by olivesobservatory

Feel free to take a few seconds out of your day to fully appreciate the genius title I came up with for this post. I’ll even give you some scrolling to do while you appreciate it! The Kardashev scale was designed in 1964 by Nikolai Kardashev to measure a civilization’s level of technological capability based… Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Class, Stars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Keeping Up With The Kardashev Scale