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Tag Archives: precession
Blog 1 – Changes in Zodiac Signs
Astrology is a practice that has been around since the 3rd millennium BCE. Most people are familiar with their sun sign, which corresponds to one of the 12 constellations along the ecliptic, or path of the sun throughout the year from our point of view. Your sun sign is the constellation that the sun appeared […] Continue reading
Precession Visualized
After reading the initial chapters of our textbook, I was captivated by the fact that the way Earth’s tilt changes can be dumbed down to the movement of a spinning top. It’s always fascinating seeing physics work on any scale, so I was eager to look into the subject. After a bit of searching, I […] Continue reading
Posted in Class, Physics
Tagged angularmomentum, astro2110, blog1, precession
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The Zodiac & Precession
Do you know your sun sign? Well, even if you do, it’s probably wrong! Let me provide some background. The zodiac is a term for the 12 constellations found along the Sun’s ecliptic (a circle that represents the Sun’s apparent path through the constellations throughout the year), while your sun sign indicates what constellation the… Continue reading
Posted in Class, Historical, Stars
Tagged astro2110, blog1, precession, Zodiac
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What’s up with the tropics?
Latitude and longitude coordinates are seen everywhere; they’re immensely useful for marking geographic location and helping with navigation. The system is simple enough: latitude is distance north or south from the equator and longitude is distance east or west from the Prime Meridian. But what are the Tropics of Cancer and of Capricorn that areContinue reading “What’s up with the tropics?” Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged astro2110, blog2, precession, Solar System: Sun
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The Astronomy behind Astrology
While astrology is widely disproven as a form of science in our modern age, it has its origins in the beginnings of computational astronomy. As explained by David Lindberg in his book The Beginnings of Western Science, “By the end of the fifth century B.C., Babylonian celestial divination had expanded to embrace horoscopic astrology, whichContinue reading “The Astronomy behind Astrology” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Historical, Stars
Tagged astro2110, Astrology, blog1, history, precession, Solar System: Sun, zodiacs
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Our Earth, the Spinning Top?
What if I told you that in a couple thousand years from now, your Zodiac sign would no longer be your Zodiac sign? It may be devastating to devout followers of astrology, but the relative positions of the Zodiac constellations are changing very, very slowly, at least from our viewpoint. This is due to a … Continue reading Our Earth, the Spinning Top? → Continue reading
Posted in Class, Stars, Terrestrials
Tagged astro2110, blog1, earth, precession, Solar System
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A Brief History of Precession
The priests of ancient Babylonia and Egypt were pioneer astronomers – they studied the sky, mapped constellations, and noted movements in both the Sun and the Moon – but, it was a Greek astronomer, Hipparchus, who made the first major new discovery in astronomy: precession. Comparing observations more than a century apart (particularly those done by … Continue reading A Brief History of Precession → Continue reading
Milankovitch Cycle
As we all know, the Earth experiences seasons each year. These are due to the tilt of Earth’s rotational axis, which causes certain areas of the earth to receive more direct sunlight during parts of the year, which has obvious effects on yearly climate. Interestingly, the Earth’s seasons also shift around on the calendar year. … Continue reading Milankovitch Cycle → Continue reading
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
What’s Your Sign?
Ok… I’ll admit when I was younger I was really into astrology. It was a fascination fed partly by my mom, who kept around a copy of “The Secret Language of Birthdays” and would consult it regularly, nodding in solemn agreement with the book’s judgement of character. I had a horoscope app on my first […] Continue reading