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Phases of the Earth
If you live on Earth, you can probably picture the Moon cycling through its different phases in the sky. But have you ever thought about what it would look like if you lived on the Moon and saw Earth in the sky? Turns out Earth has phases too. Similar to the Moon, half of Earth […]
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Blog 1: Chinese Zodiac
Zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. In astronomy, the zodiac is divided into 12 signs, each occupying 30° of celestial longitude and corresponding to one constellation.
In Chinese culture, it is similar that the zodiac belt is classified into 12 classes. Each division is named after an animal (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, pig) to represent a month based on the Lunar calendar. Zodiac animals are associated with certain characteristics. For example, if a person is born in June, his/her zodiac animal sign will be Wu (house), and he/she is expected to be energetic and cheerful. Apart from Chinese zodiac signs for the month, there is a zodiac year, which is also represented by the 12 zodiac animals.
Zodiac animals are always associated with “Fengshui”(study of looking at the movement of heavenly bodies in relation to people’s birthdate). Along with other elements, zodiac animals reveal personality archetypes and compatibility. Fortune tellers can also figure out people’s potential destiny and fate by knowing their zodiac animals.
Cosmic Calendar Explained
Birthday’s are one of the most significant days for humans, it signifies the day that we’re born, and became really apart of the universe. But do we know the universe’s birthday? when was the universe created? to answer that question astrophysicists have been able to figure out that the age of the universe since the Big Bang is around 13.7 billion years. In order to get some perspective of all of the events that occurred within the Big Bang and now they created the Cosmic Calendar. Compressing every event within a year, starting with the Big Bang as December 31st
Cloudy with a Chance of Space Weather?
Damaged satellites and electrical blackouts, what do they have in common? they both are victims of space weather. Space weather is originated from activity on the Sun’s surface and has impacts from anywhere between the surface of the Sun to the surface of the Earth. But how does a weather storm travel from the Sun to the Earth (93 million miles) one might ask, solar winds is the answer. The storm travels through the corona and into the solar wind, traveling all the way to Earth.
To learn more:
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The Andromeda Galaxy
Learn more about the future of our galaxy
Most people know that we live in the Milky Way galaxy, however many people do not know that we also live close to another galaxy called the Andromeda Galaxy. While we learned about this galaxy in class, I thought that it was interesting to learn that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies will eventually collide. No need to panic because it is estimated to happen in about 4-5 billion years so you will be pretty old by then. That seems like a very long time for us on Earth but comparing it to the timeline of astronomy, it is not too far away.
You may be wondering, what will happen when the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies eventually collide? Well, according to wikipedia, when the two galaxies collide, they will merge into one giant galaxy that some have nicknamed Milkomeda or Milkdromeda. Our solar system may be launched into space or remain in the new giant galaxy. Watch the video below to see what it might look like when these two galaxies collide.
The Blood Moon: Cultural Significance
The phenomena that is called a “blood moon” occurs during a lunar eclipse, when the Earth blocks the path of sunlight heading towards the moon. This causes the Earth to cast its shadow over the moon. However, the reddish tint that appears during a blood moon occurs because of refracted sunlight by Earth’s atmosphere.
Throughout history, the blood moon has held significance in a number of cultures and religions around the world. For example, in ancient Mesopotamia, a blood moon was interpreted as an omen of an attack on the king (The Conversation). Because the ancient Mesopotamians were able to predict lunar eclipses with decent accuracy, they would hide their king in an effort to protect him during the duration of the eclipse and put in place an interim ruler. Additionally, early Christians commonly associated blood moons and lunar eclipses with the wrath of God and the crucifixion of Jesus (The Conversation).
However, not all ancient cultures had inherently evil interpretations of the blood moon. The Batammaliba people in Togo and Benin, Africa viewed a blood moon as a symbol of conflict between the Sun and the Moon, a conflict they must help resolve. To do so, they seek to make peace with enemies and end old feuds (The Conversation).
Overall, the blood moon has held importance in a variety of cultures and religions around the world. The existence of this astronomical phenomena and its interpretations have undoubtedly impacted the lives of many people throughout history, and perhaps it will continue to do so.
About Me
Hello! My name is Christian and I am from Florida and am currently a senior at Vanderbilt majoring in economics. I am really excited to be enrolled in Dr. Grundstrom’s Solar System class and can’t wait to more about space. I am somewhat familiar with blogging as I had to blog for a pop science course and I am excited to write about our Solar System, space, and physics. Some of my interests include chess, coding, board games, puzzles, and skiing.
Post 1 | Motions of the Universe
While some people may think of space as an unmoving void, the reality of the matter is that motion plays integral roles in the interactions between celestial bodies. In fact, space is moving constantly, and in a myriad of different ways. Earth moves on its axis; the planets in our solar system orbit around the Sun; comets and meteor weave across space. Note that motion does not only characteristic of relatively small bodies, but also functions on a larger scale, and in two main ways. First, our own solar system moves within the local solar neighborhood. This movement is relatively fast and quite random. However, the Milky Way Galaxy moves as well: it has an orbit of its own, although it takes a much longer time (230 million years) to make a full rotation. While the movement of the solar system seems random, it is actually part of a larger, coordinated motion in space. The Cosmic Perspective uses the analogy of leaves floating aimlessly in a stream, while simultaneously moving together with the current. Another useful visualization is that of materials swept up by a tornado: the particles move independent of one another and without pattern, but still follow the larger motion of the wind’s rotation. The shape (“fabric”) of the universe is deeply tied to the motion of its galaxies, solar systems, superclusters, and various celestial bodies.
Image credits: R. Hurt/Caltech – Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Posted in Class | Astr 2110
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My first blog post for Astronomy 2110
This is my first blog post. With all of the new imaging technology becoming available through engineering, I thought that this was one of the coolest things modern astronomy has produced. From Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole, this image shows the black hole and the accretion disk, both of which were science fiction when my dad was growing up. Now, this is a real photo taken, and who knows what is next to be discovered in the cosmos.
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About Me – Jordan Ekstein
