Category Archives: Instruments

includes telescopes and space probes

The Map in the Stars

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Nathan Xiao

Getting around is always a difficult task. Even with supercomputers that fit in the palm of our hand and tell us how to get literally anywhere, we still get lost. That being said, it was much more difficult to navigate when all we had were the stars in the sky. Celestial navigation is a craft … Continue reading The Map in the Stars → Continue reading →

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Telescopes of All Kinds

Posted on February 11, 2018 by yadavdhruv

Telescopes allow us to view the stars, planets, galaxies, and even quasars in great detail. Before the telescope, astronomers relied on naked eye astronomy, something Tycho Brahe was very good at. It’s really fascinating to learn how these telescopes work. Essentially, there are two types of telescopes – refracting and reflecting. Refracting telescopes use two … Continue reading Telescopes of All Kinds → Continue reading →

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James Webb Space Telescope

Posted on February 11, 2018 by alcottastr2110

Because of the nature of light, it is evident that the key to learning the secrets of the past is through the use of telescopes. As of right now I believe the most powerful telescope in the world is the Hubble telescope. However, that is set to change in 2019 with the launch of the … Continue reading James Webb Space Telescope → Continue reading →

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Blog Post #2

Posted on February 10, 2018 by jonsastroblog

For centuries astronomers have used telescopes to look into the night sky. In 1946 Lyman Spitzer, a prominent astrophysicist in his time, theorized that a telescope placed outside of Earth’s atmosphere would be able to collect much clearer data than telescopes on the surface of the planet. The logic behind his theory is that the … Continue reading Blog Post #2 → Continue reading →

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Blog Post #2

Posted on February 10, 2018 by jonsastroblog

For centuries astronomers have used telescopes to look into the night sky. In 1946 Lyman Spitzer, a prominent astrophysicist in his time, theorized that a telescope placed outside of Earth’s atmosphere would be able to collect much clearer data than telescopes on the surface of the planet. The logic behind his theory is that the … Continue reading Blog Post #2 → Continue reading →

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James Webb Telescope

Posted on February 8, 2018 by haleytopper04

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, will be a large telescope that is intended to be the premier observatory of the next decade. The telescope will study every phase in the history of the universe, from right after the Big Bang to the formation of the universe that we know today, and even the … Continue reading James Webb Telescope Continue reading →

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On This Day in Astronomy History…

Posted on February 7, 2018 by maxflorsheim

  Thirty-four years ago today, on February 7th 1984, NASA Astronaut Bruce McCandless II became the first person to fly untethered from their spacecraft. McCandless, who just recently passed December 21st at the age of 80, was able to travel 320 feet from the space shuttle Challenger without any connection to the shuttle. He accomplished […] Continue reading →

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The Largest Telescope in the World

Posted on February 7, 2018 by maxflorsheim

Wikipedia Commons In order to allow for astronomers to observe far into space, there are numerous gigantic telescopes laid out globally. None larger than the Gran Telescopio Canarias, located on the island of La Palma in the Spanish Canary Islands. As an infra-red telescope, the telescope seeks to explore questions such as the mystique surrounding […] Continue reading →

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GMT: What else is out there?

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Katie

This telescope, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is currently in the process of being built. It is a refractory telescope with 7 separate mirrors that each have a diameter of 8.4 meters. This telescope is going to be incredibly large. In fact, it is going to be the largest optical telescope to be built. According … Continue reading GMT: What else is out there? Continue reading →

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Of Light and Glass (Blog #2)

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Chris K.

Humans had been studying the stars for thousands of years before the first telescopes had been invented. The naked eye was enough to understand basic astronomical phenomena in the solar system, but if we wanted understand more, the human eye would need some help. Although they were primitive and only had magnifications of around three … Continue reading Of Light and Glass (Blog #2) → Continue reading →

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