Tag Archives: Milky Way

The Banner of Heaven

This term, originally coined in the late nineteenth century, at least with its current connotation, began to speak to me in a unique way in high school. I took a backpacking trip in Northern California, and experienced a dry, warm, cloudless night with no shelter but a mosquito net. The sky was brilliant, and it felt like […] Continue reading

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Creation and Structure of the Milky Way

Our Solar System, the Milky Way, was created from a dense could of interstellar dust and gas that collapsed and turned into a swirling, spinning nebula.  This nebular is made up of hydrogen and helium, and a little amount of other elements, which combined together and reacted in order to create other materials which in […] Continue reading

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Blog One – Night Sky Observing

In my first post, I briefly mentioned the international dark sky association. This association advocates for the protection of the night sky by leading the fight against light pollution through their efforts at the grassroots up to the international level.  Although cultures around the world have looked up at the night sky for millennia, in […] Continue reading

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Blog 5: Comets

Comets are relatively small bodies in our solar system comprised of dust, rock, gases, and ice. They are remnants from the formation of the solar system, and their solid bodies, or nuclei, can range from a few miles to dozens of miles wide. When its orbit gets close to the sun, this nucleus heats up […] Continue reading

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Culmination Post

Milky Way Galaxy over Chile In the culminating post for this class, I just wanted to write about how my understanding of astronomy has changed. I have obviously gained a greater appreciation for our Solar System as a whole, and learning a little about the magnitudes and sizes of objects in space puts some thingsContinue reading “Culmination Post” Continue reading

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Galaxies

Galaxies are cosmic Islands of stars, gas, dust and dark matter. They span across very long distances and they are held together by gravity. There are multiple types of Galaxies as shown in the the photo above. The word galaxy is derived from the greek word “galaxias”. It means milky, which is a direct referenceContinue reading “Galaxies” Continue reading

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How special is the Milky Way?

The Milky Way is the first galaxy that we call home since the beginning of the human race and it is very likely also the last. We know earth has many rare qualities that made life possible, looking on a larger scale, is our galaxy also a unique snowflake like our planet? Using data collected from the Sloan … Continue reading How special is the Milky Way? Continue reading

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How special is the Milky Way?

The Milky Way is the first galaxy that we call home since the beginning of the human race and it is very likely also the last. We know earth has many rare qualities that made life possible, looking on a larger scale, is our galaxy also a unique snowflake like our planet? Using data collected from the Sloan … Continue reading How special is the Milky Way? Continue reading

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