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Category Archives: Historical
The Arecibo Message: Humanity’s Greeting to the Cosmos
To this day, one of humanity’s most loaded questions remains unanswered: are we alone in this universe? Though we have yet to detect the presence of any extraterrestrial civilizations, that has not stopped humanity from attempting to make contact with whatever else might be out there. The most famous attempt to communicate humanity’s existence to … Continue reading The Arecibo Message: Humanity’s Greeting to the Cosmos → Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog6, Class, Historical
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Ancient Egyptian Astronomy
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 → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog7, Class, Historical, Solar System
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Fission Rocket Engines: Soon?
NASA has revived the dreams of many optimists hopeful of smashing the dire predictions of the ideal rocket equation. Insane designs have long been dreamed of by lunatics attempting to create breakthroughs with the power of the atom, but a NASA research program in the 70’s laid encouraging groundwork for a possible fission rocket. NERVA … Continue reading Fission Rocket Engines: Soon? Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog7, Historical, propulsion methods, spacecraft
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Project Orion: Humanity’s Best Hope?
In the 1950’s and 60’s, optimism about the new discoveries related to fission of atoms and available energy ran rampant. Ambitious designs of all kinds were created based around the new marvel of nuclear energy. Eager to harness the massive potential of fission and fusion reactions, scientists and engineers at NASA began to ponder the … Continue reading Project Orion: Humanity’s Best Hope? Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog6, Historical, propulsion methods, spacecraft
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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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Halley’s Comet
Halley’s Comet is one of the most famous comets known to humanity. While there’s no real reason for its popularity, it’s still an interesting space object to be observed. It was first observed in 239 B.C. in China and notably found by Edmond Halley who examined three sightings in 1531,1607, and 1682. He stated that […] Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog5, Class, Halley's Comet, Historical, Solar System
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Probing the Mysteries of 50000 QUAOAR
Hundreds of millions of miles beyond the orbit of Neptune lurks one of the most intriguing objects in the Solar System, 50000 Quaoar. 50000 Quaoar is notable for multiple reasons, but the most apparent is its name. Quaoar is the name of the creator deity of the Tongva people in the Los Angeles Basin. The … Continue reading Probing the Mysteries of 50000 QUAOAR → Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog5, Class, Historical, Small SS Objects, Solar System
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The Northern Lights
Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights, is a natural phenomena that is observable at the North and South poles. Named by Galileo and meaning “Dawn of the North”, Aurora Borealis is a visualization of the reaction between electrons from the Sun and our atmosphere. Due to our magnetosphere, most of the electrons are rejected, but … Continue reading The Northern Lights → Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in astro2110, blog4, Historical, 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