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Increasingly, Vanderbilt instructors are incorporating blogs into their course design. Course Blogs at Vanderbilt is a mash-up of live feeds representing a wide variety of Vanderbilt courses that use blogging to help students reflect on, comment about, and introduce new ideas to course material. Click on the blog title to view the originating course blog. You can also click on the Participating Blogs tab for links to each blog.ADD YOUR COURSE BLOG TO THIS SITE!
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Category Archives: Earth
The Universe is Incomprehensibly Large
Many people have talked about the feeling of walking outside, looking up at the night sky, and feeling small. You look out into the cosmos, see seemingly countless stars, and think that everything you do on earth is just immeasurably small. Despite many people feeling that way, few truly understand the real scope of theContinue reading “The Universe is Incomprehensibly Large” Continue reading → Continue reading
Feeling Dizzy Yet? 💫
This isn’t your everyday Milky Way time lapse video. This video, captured by Eric Brummel, is sky-stabilized with the Earth in view to show our planet’s daily rotations. It’s amazing, isn’t it? We don’t think about it often during our daily lives, but every single second, we’re moving vast distances across space. Your glass on … Continue reading Feeling Dizzy Yet? 💫 Continue reading → Continue reading
Accept God, But Don’t Be Deceived
Thomas Paine employed his literature that empowers a spark inside the English circles that his work has been either ridiculed or praised by readers for centuries. Contrary to popular belief, Paine was driven to express his admiration and faith in God, and just like a Newtonians, he avows the Deistic for the pursuit of happiness […] Continue reading
Posted in christianity, Earth, Empire vs. Revolution (10/16), Humanity, literature, Religion, William Blake's reception
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Tardigrades
Tardigrades are the toughest animals that we have yet discovered, not due to their physical strength, but rather their incredible ability to survive. People praise cockroaches for their ability to survive levels of radiation that would be lethal to humans, but the real heroes are microscopic “water bears” called tardigrades. Tardigrades are extremophiles, or micro-organisms … Continue reading Tardigrades Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog7, Class, Earth, extremophiles, tardigrades, Universe
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The Rare Earth Hypothesis
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 → Continue reading
Posted in Aliens, astro2110, blog7, Earth, Exoplanets, Fermi Paradox, Moon, Solar System, Terrestrials
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Are Extremophiles Our Roommates?
Extremophiles are microorganisms that can survive in extreme conditions, such as high temperatures or great acidity. A recent study has found extremophiles in a location much more familiar to us, and it’s actually in the homes of humans. The study took samples from water heaters across all 50 states. Around 50% of the tested samples … Continue reading Are Extremophiles Our Roommates? → Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog6, Earth, extremophiles, microbes, Observables, science
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Comets as Omens of the Future
Comets have been noticed by ancient civilizations for millenia, and, like many other celestial bodies, were viewed as omens of the future. Comets in particular were considered bad omens. The most famous example is Halley’s Comet, seen in 1066 by the English and theorized to have been an omen for Harold II of England’s death. … Continue reading Comets as Omens of the Future Continue reading → Continue reading
Has Anyone Been Hit By a Meteorite?
We are pretty used to things falling from the sky unexpectedly, as this often results in humans falling victim to injury. So it is pretty natural to ask, has anyone been hit by a meteorite: a piece of rock and metal that has survived passage from space through Earth’s atmosphere and ultimately fallen to Earth’s … Continue reading Has Anyone Been Hit By a Meteorite? → Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog5, Earth, Historical, meteorite, Small SS Objects, Solar System
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A Brief, Incomplete History of “Earth”
When looking at our solar system, it is pretty easy to notice one thing that separates Earth from the other planets with which we share a star. Namely, Earth is the only planet not named after a Roman deity. You have Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and even Pluto! So where does “Earth” […] Continue reading → Continue reading
Climate Change
Climate change is predominantly caused by the greenhouse effect, which is when gases in our atmosphere prevent heat from the sun from escaping the Earth. As greenhouse gasses continue to be added to our atmosphere (primarily by burning fossil fuels), the greenhouse effect becomes more severe, allowing less and less heat to escape from our … Continue reading Climate Change Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog4, Class, climate change, Earth
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