Category Archives: Stars

Pulsars are cool

Posted on March 13, 2019 by justinrstevens

                  Pulsars are pretty dang cool. Pulsars are a kind of neutron star that rotates really rapidly.  As they spin about their axis, they shoot off “pulses” or beams of energy.  These beams are emitted from their magnetic poles.  Pulsars (like all neutron stars) are formed from…

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Nuclear Fusion

Posted on March 12, 2019 by bobbyc

  Nuclear fusion is where two nuclei combine resulting in a displacement of energy. The fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium specifically is what powers the energy output of the sun. This can only occur under the most extreme conditions – typically, the positively charged nuclei of two atoms repel each other quite strongly, and … Continue reading Nuclear Fusion Continue reading →

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Stars: How to Make Just About Everything

Posted on March 12, 2019 by jpeilbert

You may be familiar with the Periodic Table, which lists every type of atom (referred to as ‘elements’) in the universe. Each of the elements is formed by combining subatomic building blocks in different ways. One of the most important element-creating events in the Universe was Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the period about 10 seconds to … Continue reading Stars: How to Make Just About Everything → Continue reading →

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History of Constellations

Posted on March 12, 2019 by richardtli

Long before history has been recorded, humans have studied the stars in the night sky. Although we have looked at stars for thousands of years, it wasn’t until 1930 that the 88 constellations were officially named by the International Astronomical Union. 48 of these constellations were named by Ptolemy in his book The Almagest in … Continue reading History of Constellations → Continue reading →

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Nuclear Fusion in the Sun

Posted on March 11, 2019 by richardtli

Nuclear fusion is the process in which the Sun and all other stars generate energy through the combination of light atoms into heavier ones. The nuclear fusion in most stars is carried out in proton-proton fusion. In the first step, two protons fused together to create a proton-neutron core and emitting a neutrino and positron. … Continue reading Nuclear Fusion in the Sun → Continue reading →

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How to Find Orion in the Night Sky

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Jiayu Kang

One of the most famous and recognizable constellations, Orion is most visible in the evening sky, winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It was named after a hunter in Greek Mythology, Orion. Rigel, a blue-white supergiant, and Betelgeuse, a red supergiant, are the brightest stars in Orion. Thousands of newly formed stars can be found in … Continue reading How to Find Orion in the Night Sky → Continue reading →

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Celestial Navigation

Posted on February 11, 2019 by bobbyc

Celestial navigation is the practice of navigating from one place to another using celestial bodies as a guide. Prior to the invention of GPS, people would use the position of the stars in relation to themselves as a method of orienting oneself to their destination. The process is simple in concept – the navigator uses … Continue reading Celestial Navigation Continue reading →

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Our Earth, the Spinning Top?

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Sam Bianco

What if I told you that in a couple thousand years from now, your Zodiac sign would no longer be your Zodiac sign? It may be devastating to devout followers of astrology, but the relative positions of the Zodiac constellations are changing very, very slowly, at least from our viewpoint. This is due to a … Continue reading Our Earth, the Spinning Top? → Continue reading →

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Earth’s Precession: Why Your Zodiac Sign is Wrong

Posted on January 20, 2019 by victoriayaden

When it comes to taking meaningless BuzzFeed quizzes or looking at Tumblr text posts about my zodiac sign, I am guilty as charged. There’s something satisfying about taking a quiz that tells you which limited edition Oreo flavor you are by your zodiac sign! (I’m apparently Gingerbread. Who knew?) I even know some people who … Continue reading Earth’s Precession: Why Your Zodiac Sign is Wrong → Continue reading →

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Where the Zodiac Signs Come From

Posted on January 20, 2019 by richardtli

What’s your sign? This is a common question you may have encountered in your life. While most people aren’t too deep into astrology, chances are that most of us have looked into our daily horoscope at least once for fun. However, a lot of people don’t really know where these signs come from, or why … Continue reading Where the Zodiac Signs Come From → Continue reading →

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