Category Archives: Stars

Ophiucus: The Thirteenth Zodiac?

Posted on January 27, 2013 by jacob933

Two years ago, an astronomer from Minnesota named Parke Kunkle informed the American public that not only  had the date ranges for each of the zodiac signs changed, but that a 13th Zodiac sign had been added called Ophiuchus. This became big news very quickly and elicited very heated responses from many astrologers. One astrologer […] Continue reading →

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Precession and the Poles

Posted on January 27, 2013 by mirandaskunz

Pretty much everyone in the North Hemisphere knows about the North Star and how it can be used in navigation. The North Star is such a familiar subject to me that I was surprised when I learned that the North pole does not always point toward the North Star. As we have learned in astro […] Continue reading →

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Google Sky Map

Posted on January 27, 2013 by AlanL

Once I first learned about the Google Sky Map app I was amazed at how it worked and its capabilities. It uses the date and time and the phone’s GPS and compass to determine where you are and where you’re looking to create a star chart that you can interact with. If there is something […] Continue reading →

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Farthest Supernova Yet!

Posted on January 27, 2013 by jacob933

A few weeks ago, it was announced that a type 1a supernova had been discovered that was 10 billion light years away! Officially named SN SCP-0401 but nicknamed “Mingus” after a jazz composer, this supernova is remarkable not just for its distance but for the detail in its spectrum. Scientist will be able to use […] Continue reading →

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The Speed of Light

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Will K

Even looking through a telescope, outer space can be very daunting. There is a seemingly endless distance between us and even the closest stars. At 39,900,000,000,000 kilometers away, the nearest star to our own Sun is Proxima Centauri of the Alpha Centauri star system. This distance is so enormous that it takes 4.22 years for […] Continue reading →

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Astronomy Smartphone Apps

Posted on January 24, 2013 by eaangel

This image comes from the Star Chart App for smartphones.  This app is really cool because it tells you the location of stars, planets, and constellations, etc.  It has charts of what the night sky will look like all over … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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