Tag Archives: Time

Archaeoastronomy

The study of the astronomical knowledge and achievements of these prehistoric cultures is called archaeoastronomy. Continue reading

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Our Miniature History, the Cosmic Calendar, and Understanding One’s Place

When considering the greater span of history, starting with my first Astronomy class taught by Professor Weintraub “How Old Is the Universe?” the concept of the nature of time in space has fascinated me. I think part of this relates to the fact that I am a history major and a history buff, and therefore … More Our Miniature History, the Cosmic Calendar, and Understanding One’s Place Continue reading

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Light from the Past

Although light travels through space at the fastest speed physically possible (no object with mass can reach the speed of … More Continue reading

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The Fermi Paradox

As Arthur C. Clarke once famously said, “Two possibilities exist. Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” This quote is relates in a very basic way to the Fermi Paradox. The paradox is that through the Drake Equation and the sheer size of the universe, there should […] Continue reading

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Time and Interstellar Travel

Time can be lost. Time can be wasted. Time can be saved. Time can be valuable. Time is of the essence. Perhaps a less known is the fact that time can be dilated! What exactly does this mean? It means that differences of elapsed time for someone traveling at high velocity or in the vicinity […] Continue reading

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Dating the Solar System?

No,  I’m not referring to taking our Solar System out to a romantic dinner and movie. What astronomers and physicists are interested in is the age of our Solar System. And given the vastness and inaccessibility of most of the Solar System, revealing the true age of it has proven to be quite the challenge. Astronomers have, however, been able to […] Continue reading

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Getting really really lucky, or discovering the secret to warp travel

captain’s blog, Stardate 69668.2 This blog post is of the unrestricted variety, so naturally I will take this opportunity to talk about science fiction. One of my favorite things about sci-fi movies is how frequently (and casually) characters from Earth encounter other intelligent species. Or maybe even other species live with us humans here on Earth. […] Continue reading

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Why We Should All Love Earthquakes

Earthquakes are one of the most obvious consequences of Earth’s plate tectonics.  The crust slowly moves along the with the “current” of the mantle as the Earth surface constantly rearranges itself.  Without plate tectonics, it is very possible that life could not have taken a foothold on Earth.  On Mars, which does not have plate […] Continue reading

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A Year in Space

Just last month Scott Kelly finished what many of us would deem unbearable: spending a year in space. For almost an entire year, Scott Kelly lived with fellow Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko on the International Space Station in order to see the effects that long durations in zero-gravity conditions have on the human body. Prior to […] Continue reading

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It’s kind of in the name

captain’s blog, Stardate 69536.8 you, potentially: “wait Phil, isn’t the Stardate of blog post 2 is pretty close to the Stardate of blog post 1?” me: “Shhhhhhhhh.” This last week we looked deeply into the movement of the sun throughout the year. Without discussing it, we were inherently learning about solstices and equinoxes, a topic […] Continue reading

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