Category Archives: Stars

Helix Nebula

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

This is an image of the Helix Nebula, located in the constellation Aquarius. Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Stars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Helix Nebula

May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine

Posted on May 4, 2021 by brandonlipper

One of my recent blogs crushed the dreams of many Star Wars fans by debunking the close proximity of asteroids within an asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back. That is why, in the spirit of Star Wars Day, I will be sharing an aspect of the films that Star Wars ended up getting correct:Continue reading “May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine” Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Class, Exoplanets, Stars, Sun, Universe | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on May the 4th be with you: the Twin Suns of Tatooine

Our Milky Way Galaxy

Posted on May 4, 2021 by captivatingcomet

The Milky Way is a large barred spiral galaxy with four arms: the Sagittarius arm, Perseus arm, Outer arm, and Scutum-Centaurus arm. Majority of the stars in the Milky Way are single or binary stars; however, there are three distinct types of star clusters, collections of tens to thousands of stars, within the galaxy. TheseContinue reading “Our Milky Way Galaxy” Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Galaxies, Observables, Stars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Our Milky Way Galaxy

Drake Equation

Posted on May 3, 2021 by justinboreskyvanderbiltedu

The Drake equation is an equation used to estimate the amount of civilizations humans can communicate with. The Drake Equation was made by Frank Drake an American astronomer and astrophysicist from Chicago Illinois. The equation takes into factor only planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Drake Equation helps try to answer a question we’veContinue reading “Drake Equation” Continue reading →

Posted in Stars, Universe | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Drake Equation

Keeping Up With The Kardashev Scale

Posted on May 2, 2021 by olivesobservatory

Feel free to take a few seconds out of your day to fully appreciate the genius title I came up with for this post. I’ll even give you some scrolling to do while you appreciate it! The Kardashev scale was designed in 1964 by Nikolai Kardashev to measure a civilization’s level of technological capability based… Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Class, Stars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Keeping Up With The Kardashev Scale

The Star That Vanished

Posted on May 1, 2021 by jagobillot

From 2001-2011, astronomers studied a luminous blue variable star about 75 million light years away in the Aquarius constellation. It was a massive star, about 2.5 million times brighter than our Sun, and it was approaching the end of its life. Flash forward to 2019, and an astronomer named Andrew Allan, began a study ofContinue reading “The Star That Vanished” Continue reading →

Posted in Stars | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Star That Vanished

Calling All Nerds! (Just Kidding, LOTR is Cool)

Posted on April 14, 2021 by olivesobservatory

This image may look familiar to all you high fantasy fans out there as the Eye of Sauron from Lord of the Rings, but what if I told you that you didn’t have to travel to Middle-earth to see it? I know you’re all on the edge of your seats now! This is an image… Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Exoplanets, Instruments, Stars | Tagged , | Comments Off on Calling All Nerds! (Just Kidding, LOTR is Cool)

Makemake

Posted on April 14, 2021 by justinboreskyvanderbiltedu

Makemake was discovered in 2005 by Michael Brown, Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz. Makemake might be the most interesting dwarf planet with its cool name and special facts. Makemake is the second biggest dwarf planet and once it was discovered it led to the demise of the title of planet for Pluto. Because of MakemakeContinue reading “Makemake” Continue reading →

Posted in Stars, Universe | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Makemake

What Exactly is a Supernova?

Posted on March 30, 2021 by miichellewang

To put it simply, supernovas are explosions of stars. They are the largest explosions that occur in our universe. There are actually two ways that supernovas can occur. The first way happens at the end of a star’s lifetime. Stars are able to get their energy through nuclear fusion, which is when two atoms combineContinue reading “What Exactly is a Supernova?” Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Stars, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What Exactly is a Supernova?

What threat do Coronal Mass Ejections Pose to Us?

Posted on March 22, 2021 by weatherbysofferings

As discussed in class, one of the side effects of the Sun’s shifting magnetic field is that, occasionally, it arranges in an inconvenient fashion that causes the Sun’s plasma to explode aggressively outward. Thankfully, whenever that comes towards Earth, we are protected from any health effects thanks to our atmosphere. But as Professor Grundstrom mentioned,Continue reading “What threat do Coronal Mass Ejections Pose to Us?” Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Stars, Sun | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What threat do Coronal Mass Ejections Pose to Us?