Category Archives: Instruments

includes telescopes and space probes

The OWL

Posted on February 20, 2013 by marknshirleyvu

While reading about different types of telescopes here on Earth I stumbled across a cancelled project known as the OWL (Overwhelmingly Large) Telescope, and overwhelming might be an understatement.  This telescope, a concept developed by the European Southern Observatory, would boast a single aperture measuring 100 meters in diameter, longer than a football field! It […] Continue reading →

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Interferometry

Posted on February 20, 2013 by eaangel

The concept of interferometry is really cool to me.  The fact that multiple telescopes can be combined to make larger images makes perfect sense, but I have trouble wrapping my head around the idea that even though there are huge … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Hubble Images: Not as Easy as Just Taking Pictures

Posted on February 20, 2013 by zvgio

Most people have heard of the Hubble Space Telescope, a visible light telescope that has been orbiting Earth since 1990, and if they haven’t, they’ve probably at least seen some of it’s images of distant galaxies and majestic nebulae. These pictures are vibrantly colorful and awe-inspiring, but they don’t start off that way. All of […] Continue reading →

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Neutrino Detectors

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Will K

Over the past several decades telescope technology has improved dramatically. Not only are we able to view the galaxy from massive observatories on Earth, but we can capture light through telescopes orbiting in space. Although these advances have allowed us to detect light from many different ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum, telescopes cannot detect all […] Continue reading →

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Clear Path to the Stars

Posted on February 18, 2013 by a2megal

In class we talked about the different types of telescopes and the different shortcomings of reflecting versus refracting telescopes. In all though, a challenge that all types of ground-based telescopes face is the interference caused by Earth’s atmosphere. This interference causes distortion of EM waves coming through the atmosphere from outer space. The bending of […] Continue reading →

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James Webb Space Telescope

Posted on February 18, 2013 by juliettealper

universetoday.com The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is Hubble’s successor. As impressive and useful as Hubble was, it will eventually stop working and spin out of it’s orbit. That is why the JWST is being made. It will be better and more advanced than Hubble, allowing scientists to view infrared light. JWST will study four […] Continue reading →

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The Hubble Telescope

Posted on February 17, 2013 by indianwm

The Hubble Telescope has been one of the most beneficial tools for discoveries and research since the beginning of the study of astronomy. When the Hubble Telescope was launched in 1990, it was sent 353 miles above earths surface where it would orbit earth at an incredible speed. The telescope orbits earth every 97 minutes. […] Continue reading →

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How Technology Changed the Sky

Posted on January 28, 2013 by werdercj

Technology shapes modern astronomy. When thinking about the night sky, one thing that strikes me as particularly fascinating is that humans have been observing and analyzing this same sky for many thousands of years.  However, it has had such different meaning for each successive group to observe it.  Although we see the same movements and […] Continue reading →

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NASA meteor counter

Posted on January 27, 2013 by indianwm

  NASA has released an iPhone app that encourages people to go outside and observe the nights sky, particularly meteors. Not only does this app benefit the people using it, but it also helps NASA research with meteors and meteor showers. This app was initially developed to be a fun way for people to explore […] Continue reading →

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Moon App!

Posted on January 27, 2013 by juliettealper

Apple has an application for your iPod and iPad that helps you easily learn everything you would want to know about the moon. It is kind of like Stellarium for your phone! Whether you want to know the phase the moon is currently in, its Azimuth or altitude, this app can tell you. I think […] Continue reading →

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