Category Archives: SolarSystem

Phases of the Moon

I enjoyed this video from the history channel, which shows phases of the moon. It was interestingly relevant to my last post, since the image of the moon and Earth is so entirely NOT to scale because they are so large, and so close together. However, I did enjoy the explicit way that they explained each […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, SolarSystem | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Phases of the Moon

The size and scale of the solar system

http://www.space.com/30590-solar-system-built-to-scale-in-nevada-desert-video.html I thought this video was a fascinating new way to consider both the size and scale of the Solar System in one experience; so often orbits in images of our Solar System are to scale compared to each other, but not compared to the size of the planets. Instead, often the planets are far too […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, SolarSystem | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The size and scale of the solar system

Eclipses Throughout History

Eclipse science! You’re just mowing grass one day and the sun disappears. You look up and see an eclipse. Today, people would just brush it off for the most part. There would be some oohs and ahhs, but most people would just treat it like any other day and probably forget about the occurrence a […] Continue reading

Posted in Historical, Observables, Sun | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Eclipses Throughout History

Information About Eclipses

Here are some of my favorite sites for learning about eclipses (including the upcoming Great American Eclipse!): Mr. Eclipse (the guy NASA uses) NASA Eclipse Web Site eclipse2017.org (make sure to check out the AMAZING interactive Google map!) timeanddate.com (and their eclipse list) Of course, one can certainly use the Wikipedia article on Eclipses (you can […] Continue reading

Posted in Observables, SolarSystem | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Information About Eclipses

Fuller-Mooning in the Winter

Whoa there. Before you flag this post as inappropriate, answer this question. Was this photo taken at noon or at midnight? If you answered midnight, congratulations! And surprisingly enough, this stunning photo of a full moon could only have been photographed in the winter. But why winter? Don’t we get full moons year-round? This is […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Sun | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Fuller-Mooning in the Winter

Mayans Predicted the 1991 Solar Eclipse

Okay so this picture may look like just a bunch of doodles on a piece of clay, but it actually is hieroglyphs from four ancient Mayan codices that predict with surprising accuracy the 1991 Solar Eclipse. The Mayan astronomers were able to predict within a day, the time of the 1991 solar eclipse. Keep in […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Sun | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Mayans Predicted the 1991 Solar Eclipse

The Speed of Light

The speed of light is very, very fast, almost incomprehensibly fast. It is unusual to think that whenever we see an object, light is bouncing off that object and hitting our eye. We perceive this to be instantaneous, but it actually takes some infinitesimal amount of time for light to travel from nearby objects to […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Light, Sun | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Speed of Light

The Speed of Light

The speed of light is very, very fast, almost incomprehensibly fast. It is unusual to think that whenever we see an object, light is bouncing off that object and hitting our eye. We perceive this to be instantaneous, but it actually takes some infinitesimal amount of time for light to travel from nearby objects to […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Light, Sun | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Speed of Light

Your Zodiac Sign is Wrong: 3 Misconceptions You Have About the Night-Sky

We all get it. You’re a Capricorn or a Taurus or a Sagittarius or a(n) [any other zodiac constellation]. You’ve read all of your horoscopes, and they fit your personality soooo well. “This is so me,” you might yell to your friends, completely disregarding the fact that they don’t care which vague internet prediction you identify with. […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens, Class, Dwarf Planets, Exoplanets, Galaxies, General, Historical, Instruments, Jovians, Light, Moons, Observables, Outreach, Physics, Planet Rings, Public Policy, Science, Small SS Objects, SolarSystem, Space Travel, Stars, Sun, Terrestrials, Universe | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Your Zodiac Sign is Wrong: 3 Misconceptions You Have About the Night-Sky

Observing Deep Space

Trying to observe deep space proves to be difficult with the naked eye.  Over time telescopes have allowed humans to see farther and farther into space.  The Hubble space telescope was launched in 1990 and orbits around the Earth.  Because the telescope is in space, there is minimal light pollution.  The telescope lens is almost […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, SolarSystem, Space Travel | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Observing Deep Space