Tag Archives: astronomy

Atmospheres of Planets in Solar System

In many different scientific, astronomical movies, different planets than Earth are often portrayed as hardly habitable environments with almost impenetrable, dusty atmosphere. The atmospheres of these planets seem to vary a lot in many aspects such as density, and components. Among all 8 planets, including Earth in the solar system, the atmospheric conditions of each … Continue reading Atmospheres of Planets in Solar System Continue reading

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Archeoastronomy

Last year, I decided to go out on a limb and enroll in ASTR 3000, which is better known as Principles of Astrophysics. I figured as an engineering major, the physics aspect wouldn’t be too unfamiliar- but little did I anticipate that the class would make me fall deeply in love with the subject of […] Continue reading

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On This Day in Astronomy History…

  Thirty-four years ago today, on February 7th 1984, NASA Astronaut Bruce McCandless II became the first person to fly untethered from their spacecraft. McCandless, who just recently passed December 21st at the age of 80, was able to travel 320 feet from the space shuttle Challenger without any connection to the shuttle. He accomplished […] Continue reading

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A Short Reflection on Nicolaus Copernicus and some Events during his Life

Few individuals hold such prominence in historical Astronomy as Nicolaus Copernicus, the father of the so-called Copernican Revolution. He lived from 1473 to 1543 and started the shift which led to the jettisoning of the geocentric model of the solar system in favor of the (correct) heliocentric model. Copernicus thus followed in the footsteps of the […] Continue reading

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Kepler in Context

Kepler, during his lifetime from December 27th, 1571- November 15th, 1630,  made incredible contributions to the field of astronomy. His most famous and impactful contributions are certainly his observations regarding the motion of planets, which have been immortalized as Kepler’s Laws. His discoveries about planetary motion stated that planets move in elliptical orbits, they sweep out […] Continue reading

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Oumuamua – space rock or spaceship?

Some scientists called it an asteroid.  Others theorized that it was an alien spacecraft.  Still others cast it off as a mere “space cucumber.” This mysterious space rock known as Oumuamua (Hawaiian for “first messenger”) has captivated scientists since its discovery in mid-October of 2017.  Oumuamua was discovered in Hawaii, hence its awesome name. This…

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A Speck on a Speck in a Speck in a Speck…

Humans are very arrogant creatures, and we often forget just how small we are in relation to the rest of the Universe. So much so that our units of measurement are very impractical to use on a larger scale, so we will mostly be using light seconds, minutes, hours, day, months and years to talk about […] Continue reading

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Axial Precession and its Affects on Astrology

As the modern individual is likely well aware, the earth rotates in two very fundamental ways which affect our daily lives: it rotates every day and orbits the sun every year, forming these important means by which we keep track of time. However, one of the most interesting and confusing ways that the earth rotates […] Continue reading

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Uranus: The Distant Ruler of Aquarius

This is Uranus, my favorite planet and the “ruler” of my astrological sign, Aquarius! Uranus is the 6th planet from the sun and one of the largest of our solar system, a cold, icy planet with peculiar rings that ushers the observer away from the inner planets into the farther regions of the solar system. […] Continue reading

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The Pervasive Nature of Astrology in Popular Culture

Astrologists: Airheads. Idiots. Superstitious children. Continue reading

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