Tag Archives: astr201

Nicholas Copernicus

Posted on February 10, 2014 by haydenwalling

The Life and Times of the Infamous Nicky C 2) Nicholas Copernicus is famous in the world of astronomy for his thesis on the heliocentric model of the universe. Though naïve in his assumption of purely circular orbits, Copernicus’s paper on heliocentricism, de revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was published posthumously so he never experienced whiplash for […] Continue reading →

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Welcome

Posted on January 14, 2014 by eschellhase

“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 6, 2013 by brendanfeeley

Isaac Newton (1642-1726) was the first to accurately describe gravity and motion.  More specifically, he developed three laws of motion that identified a). objects stay in motion until acted upon; b). the relationship between Force, Mass, and Acceleration; and c). every actionary force has an equal and opposite reactionary force. The British Enlightenment took place […] Continue reading →

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Once in a Blue Moon?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by brendanfeeley

While studying lunar phases for tomorrow’s test, I wondered what the common phrase “Blue Moon” meant.  According to Wikipedia, Blue Moon is a term used to describe the second full moon in one month.  A two-full-moon month occurs approximately once every 3 years, and the it can only occur is because most months (with the […] Continue reading →

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Switching to Light Speed

Posted on January 27, 2013 by brendanfeeley

What is the fastest thing that Humans have ever built?  According to Aerospace Web, the fastest man-made object were the Helios probes built and launched into space to study the Sun.  These orbited the Sun in elliptical fashion, allowing them to zoom around the Sun at very high speeds.  These are said to have reached […] Continue reading →

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Intro for ASTR201

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Elizabeth Merriman

Hey, I am a senior math major and earth and environmental science minor.  I spend most of my free time on horseback, but am also working as a grader and other math-y things on campus. by my friend Liz   Continue reading →

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