Tag Archives: astro201

Shadow Bands!

Posted on January 24, 2015 by christophermfitzgerald

If you’re like me, you have probably never heard of Shadow Bands. Shadow bands are a phenomenon that accompany total solar eclipses and occur just before and after totality, appearing as lines of alternating lines of dark and light moving … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Solstices and Equinoxes: Extremes and Means

Posted on January 24, 2015 by ctogrye

Hey Listeners! Today I will be discussing solstices and equinoxes. Firstly, we will discuss solstices. This event happens twice a year (one during winter and one during summer), and is the time of the year when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point relative to the celestial equator (ie when viewing the sun at […] Continue reading →

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Human History Measured in Minutes

Posted on January 24, 2015 by ctogrye

Hey Listeners! Today I will be discussing the Cosmic Calendar. What is the Cosmic Calendar? This a demonstrative tool by which the age of the universe is elucidated. The universe is believed to be approximately 13.8 billion years old, however in this representation it is proportionally condensed to the length of a year. This means that […] Continue reading →

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The Scale of the Universe

Posted on January 24, 2015 by alephnulluniverse

This website allows you to scroll and compare the sizes of from the smallest, a Quantum Foam, to the Observable Universe. Starting at the scale of the Eiffel Tower, humans disappear from view. The sizes of objects increase each time you scroll out. The Eiffel Tower disappears when you start looking at Rhode Island. Then the […] Continue reading →

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Stonehenge and the Summer Solstice

Posted on January 24, 2015 by jclyncmp

Everyone is familiar with the famous landmark Stonehenge located in Wiltshire, England. The first construction on Stonehenge was start about 5,000 years ago. We are still not sure what the original purpose of Stonehenge is but people have speculated that…

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The (Interactive) Size of the (Known) Universe

Posted on January 24, 2015 by dillonkoval

I have often caught myself wondering just how big are the largest of galaxies, and how small are the smallest building blocks of matter. There is an awesome tool developed in part by NASA that allows for an exploration from the smallest lengths we believe are possible to the entirety of the Universe (that we […] Continue reading →

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Intergalactic Travel and Popular Culture

Posted on January 24, 2015 by farhannshabab

The universe is unimaginably vast; it is so enormous that the speed of the fastest wave-particle in existence -light – puts a cap on how much of the universe we can even observe. At 14 billion ly from our point of observation lies the edge of the observable universe. So if and when humanity becomes a space faring […] Continue reading →

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The Observable Universe

Posted on January 24, 2015 by abbeyrstephens

It is extremely difficult for humans to wrap our minds around how big the universe is. Even when we think we can maybe understand it, the more we discover and learn, the more mysterious and seemingly larger it becomes. One of the things about the size of the universe that our book mentions that really […] Continue reading →

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Scottish Scientists Slow Down Light :O

Posted on January 24, 2015 by leedd1

Although the speed of light has been taught to be a constant value in a vacuum setting like the universe, however a team of Scottish scientists have valid proof that this might not always be the case. The Scottish researchers from the University of Glasgow and Heriot-Watt University made this amazing discovery by firing two […] Continue reading →

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#2 – When should I plan my vacation for Mars?

Posted on January 24, 2015 by bryancm1

Looking to explore the northern plains of Mars? Or perhaps the craters in the south? Maybe scale Olympus Mons, or visit the Curiosity Rover? If you’re intending to travel without preparing properly, chances are you’re going to freeze to death. Luckily for you, Mars experiences seasons. With just a little bit of research, we can […] Continue reading →

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