Tag Archives: astro201

The Moon’s Effects on the Ocean

Generally, if you’ve ever been on the ocean, you understand the concept of tides. You put your umbrella and chair up at noon near the edge of the ocean and you fall asleep and you wake up a few hours later in the middle of the waves. You didn’t move, so the ocean had to… Continue reading

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“Imperfections” in the Sky

As we study the history of astronomy, and delve into the lives of figures such as Newton, Kepler and Capernicus, I found it particularly interesting how vital the Christian Church was in proving/disproving whether the so-called “scientific facts” of the … Continue reading Continue reading

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The Mystery of Chaco Canyon

Chaco Canyon in New Mexico is one of the largest archeoastronmical sites in the world. The site is an artifact of the Pueblo peoples of north america and is now a protected national heritage site. Archeologists estimate that the main architectual landmark, the great Kiva of Chetro Keti, was constructed between 900 and 1150 AD. […] Continue reading

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Astronomical Satellites

Astronomical Satellites are observatories of some sort that are in orbit around Earth. These observatories vary greatly in specifically what and how they observe, but they all share the same rational for being in space, instead of on Earth. On … Continue reading Continue reading

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The Space Race

The Space Race was a competition of sorts between the United States and the Soviet Union that started in 1955 and led to the first artificial satellites being sent into orbit, the first humans being sent into space, and the first humans landing on the Moon. The USA was the first to announce intentions to… Continue reading

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X-ray Telescopes

Light comes at many different wavelengths and energies. The light we see represents light with wavelength from about 400 to 700 nanometers. Infrared light and radiowaves have longer wavelengths (and thus carry less energy) than visible light, while UV rays and x-rays and gamma rays have shorter wavelengths (and carry higher energy). Even though we […] Continue reading

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Tides

This video is a cool, informative, easy understand animation of how the gravitational pull between the Earth and the Moon affect tides. It clearly and concisely describes how tidal forces cause high tides twice per day even though the moon is only overhead once per day and why the gravity is weaker at a greater … Continue reading Tides Continue reading

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Hipster Lens Flare–From Whence Do They Come?

This photo shows a pretty typical example of a lens flare. In chapter 5, we cover light, the visible spectrum, the three basic type of light, how it moves and bends and what can bend it. Lens flares are a … Continue reading Continue reading

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Planetarium

Growing up, one of my favorite things was going to the planetarium.  I was very eager to go learn about each of the planets and the universe.  I would spend lots of time trying to find the constellations, and my brother even got a star named for me! The star is located near Pegasus and […] Continue reading

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Tides

Having grown up near the ocean, I always found tides fascinating.  Until now though, I never quite understood what was happening. Moon tides are caused by the Moon’s gravity which creates two “bulges.”  Additionally, there are Sun tides, but these are not as strong due to how far away the Sun is. Recently, in the […] Continue reading

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