Tag Archives: blog7

A Great Semester

Posted on April 27, 2019 by dayvon

This was a great class, and I’m grateful for all the information I learned. Some concepts were reemphasized since I knew them before taking the course, but I’ve received and retained some new, useful knowledge that I can share with others. I’ve been interested in all things concerning astronomy since I was young, and I … Continue reading A Great Semester → Continue reading →

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Blog 7: Culmination of a Semester in Astronomy

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Katie

Because of this class my view of the solar system has changed. From a young age I knew the order of the planets and even some basic facts about each of them. What I did not know, however, was how much more there was to know not only about our solar system, but about the … Continue reading Blog 7: Culmination of a Semester in Astronomy → Continue reading →

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Ethics of Space Travel

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Jonathan Roberts

As eager as we are to explore the solar system and beyond, space is not a very hospital place. Muscular atrophy, increased exposure to harmful radiation, and insomnia are just a few of the effects of spaceflight on the human body. Even acknowledging these known risks and the possibility of others, many people are eager … Continue reading Ethics of Space Travel → Continue reading →

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St. Elmo’s fire is a real thing

Posted on April 27, 2019 by justinrstevens

One really cool thing I learned about this semester is a thing called “St. Elmo’s Fire.”  (I’m pretty sure the textbook mentions it somewhere, and after stumbling across it I was instantly curious.)  So… what is it? For starters, it definitely does not involve Emilio Estevez or a fuzzy red puppet (or is it muppet?)…

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Interstellar Travel

Posted on April 27, 2019 by anna_h

In many science fiction movies, spaceships race through the galaxy at extremely high speeds, seemingly ignoring many of nature’s laws that govern our universe. With what we know about the universe right now, it is impossible for any object to travel faster than the speed of light. Any man made object has not reached speeds … Continue reading Interstellar Travel Continue reading →

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First Image of a Black Hole

Posted on April 27, 2019 by dillonplageman3

Roughly 50 million light-years away, in the center of the Messier 87 galaxy, resides a supermassive black hole that has about the cumulative mass of 6.5 billion suns. While this black hole is undoubtedly a monster, the true astonishment should come from the fact that image is the first time that scientists were able to … Continue reading First Image of a Black Hole → Continue reading →

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Ancient Egyptian Astronomy

Posted on April 27, 2019 by chiefkeith7

The Ancient Egyptians cared a great deal about astronomy. Probably too much, in fact. According to their beliefs, the movements of the planets and stars played a role in the annual flooding of the Nile river, and if you are an Ancient Egyptian, you will do just about anything to appease the Nile, and that … Continue reading Ancient Egyptian Astronomy → Continue reading →

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Finale – Culminate Post

Posted on April 27, 2019 by luanaisaac1125

I learned much more than I thought I would in this course. Before taking this class, all I really knew about our solar system was that there are 8 planets (and Earth is the third one), the asteroid belt is a thing, Jupiter is big, and Saturn is the planet with pretty rings. I didn’t … Continue reading Finale – Culminate Post → Continue reading →

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What’s in a Black Hole?

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Aaron Molotsky

There are few things in the entire Universe that are as terrifyingly awesome as a black hole. To have a region of space exist that contains gravitational forces so strong that literally nothing can escape it (whether it’s a particle, light, or any electromagnetic radiation for that matter) seems like a concept straight out of … Continue reading What’s in a Black Hole? → Continue reading →

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The Rare Earth Hypothesis

Posted on April 25, 2019 by epiphany9

I was inspired by Victoria’s post to think more about the Fermi Paradox, and specifically, explanations of the uniqueness of intelligent life on Earth. The Rare Earth Hypothesis is one such explanation; it postulates that conditions favorable to life (and particularly intelligent life) are incredibly rare in the universe. It is in opposition to hypotheses […] Continue reading →

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