Tides happen everyday, but there are certain types of tides do not happen everyday. The strongest tides and the weakest tides are called spring tides. Spring tides happen when the Sun and Moon are aligned, causing unusually strong gravitational forces and resulting very high and very low tides.
Because it takes a month for the Moon to orbit Earth once, there are two chances for spring tides to happen in each month, meaning that they occur during the full moon and the new moon.
Neap tides are weak tides, which show the weakest tidal effect. They happen when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another, causing the bulges to conflict each other and then partly cancel the tidal effect. Neap tides happen when the Moon is at first or third quarter.
Tides happen everyday, but there are certain types of tides do not happen everyday. The strongest tides and the weakest tides are called spring tides. Spring tides happen when the Sun and Moon are aligned, causing unusually strong gravitational forces and resulting very high and very low tides.
Because it takes a month for the Moon to orbit Earth once, there are two chances for spring tides to happen in each month, meaning that they occur during the full moon and the new moon.
Neap tides are weak tides, which show the weakest tidal effect. They happen when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another, causing the bulges to conflict each other and then partly cancel the tidal effect. Neap tides happen when the Moon is at first or third quarter.
Last Tuesday, SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon Heavy rocket. Excluding the Saturn 5 rocket, this is the most powerful rocket system ever developed. The goal of the launch was test the Falcon Heavy’s ability to deliver a payload to orbit and land safely to earth.
Then rocket launch commenced at 2:45 PM CST on Tuesday, March 6th in Cape Canaveral. After delivering the main stage and payload to the upper atmosphere, the two boaster stages detached and landed safely in Cape Canaveral. The core stage delivered the payload to the edge of space and attempted to land itself on a drone ship on the ocean. Unfortunately, two engines on the core stage failed and the core stage crashed on the drone ship. The payload then orbited the earth, firing an additional booster stage after half an orbit to change the payload’s trajectory. The original intent of this engine firing was to put the payload on a path to orbit mars, however the engine had fired for slightly too long. This will place the payload on a course around the asteroid belt.
The launch was largely a success, proving the Falcon Heavy’s functionality and reusability. The launch proved to be extremely exiting. Personally, I was on my feet yelling at the screen as I watched the booster stages land.
Last Tuesday, SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon Heavy rocket. Excluding the Saturn 5 rocket, this is the most powerful rocket system ever developed. The goal of the launch was test the Falcon Heavy’s ability to deliver a payload to orbit and land safely to earth.
Then rocket launch commenced at 2:45 PM CST on Tuesday, March 6th in Cape Canaveral. After delivering the main stage and payload to the upper atmosphere, the two boaster stages detached and landed safely in Cape Canaveral. The core stage delivered the payload to the edge of space and attempted to land itself on a drone ship on the ocean. Unfortunately, two engines on the core stage failed and the core stage crashed on the drone ship. The payload then orbited the earth, firing an additional booster stage after half an orbit to change the payload’s trajectory. The original intent of this engine firing was to put the payload on a path to orbit mars, however the engine had fired for slightly too long. This will place the payload on a course around the asteroid belt.
The launch was largely a success, proving the Falcon Heavy’s functionality and reusability. The launch proved to be extremely exiting. Personally, I was on my feet yelling at the screen as I watched the booster stages land.
This diagram shows the moon and sun’s effect on the earth’s tide.
People around the world aim to predict the highest and lowest tides using tide tables. Spring tides happen due to the gravitational pull from both the moon and sun. When the moon and sun are pulling from the same direction, the tide is more intense and this is called a spring tide. This usually occurs during a full moon or new moon. Tides are very important to track. This is especially true for boats who must cross under bridges or for coastal construction projects that must take the tide into consideration when building.
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 convex lenses which inwardly bend line, making “objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. However, reflecting telescopes don’t use any lenses. Rather, they use concave mirrors. Reflecting mirrors are more popular in larger telescopes such as the one pictures above in Mauna Kea primarily because you can build them larger and they don’t cause chromatic aberration. Essentially, the larger the mirror, the more light can reflect off it (hence the term reflecting telescopes), and the larger field of view we have of our cosmos. Interestingly, the largest telescope mirror in the world is the Gran Telescopio Canarias at 10.4 meters!
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 James Webb Space Telescope. The Hubble telescope is very powerful, mostly operating on the UV part of the spectrum. However, the Webb will operate on the infrared part of the spectrum which will allow astronomers to see further back in time than ever before. Planets that are beginning to form at the moment are mostly hidden to us due to dust that surrounds them, but a telescope that perceives infrared light will be able to see through these dust clouds. This is certainly very exciting, and it is impossible to know what this telescope will reveal. I feel like I am really unable to even speculate the possibilities, but this topic really caught my attention and I wanted to bring it to the attention of others who perhaps have not heard about this. It seems that this telescope could reveal all sorts of information about some of the earliest stars and planets and how exactly they were formed. Perhaps through this we could even learn more about our own origins and hopefully come closer to unlocking the secrets of the entire universe’s history.
Up until recently, the only way we have been able to gather information about stars, galaxies, and the universe around us has been through the study of light. However, as of the last few years, the discovery of gravitational waves provides a new method of collecting information about the universe.
Although gravitational waves were first observed recently, they were first theorized a century ago by Einstein. In essence, gravitational waves are ripples moving through the fabric of space-time. These (observable) ripples are caused by violent gravitational events, such as the merger of two black holes. Even though such violent events involve massive amounts of energy, the gravitational waves they produce are minuscule.
In order to detect these tiny ripples in space-time, extremely sensitive detectors are needed. These detectors rely upon the spacial contraction that gravitational waves produce. Although a gravitational wave detector may seem like a complicated piece of machinery, it is really quite a simple device. A gravitational wave detector uses a laser to precisely measure a large distance. It then monitors for tiny fluctuation in distance that would indicate a ripple in space-time.
So far, this technology has only been used to confirm events first observed by optical telescopes, but as the field of gravitational wave spectroscopy develops it will surely lead us beyond the scope of optical telescopes.
Up until recently, the only way we have been able to gather information about stars, galaxies, and the universe around us has been through the study of light. However, as of the last few years, the discovery of gravitational waves provides a new method of collecting information about the universe.
Although gravitational waves were first observed recently, they were first theorized a century ago by Einstein. In essence, gravitational waves are ripples moving through the fabric of space-time. These (observable) ripples are caused by violent gravitational events, such as the merger of two black holes. Even though such violent events involve massive amounts of energy, the gravitational waves they produce are minuscule.
In order to detect these tiny ripples in space-time, extremely sensitive detectors are needed. These detectors rely upon the spacial contraction that gravitational waves produce. Although a gravitational wave detector may seem like a complicated piece of machinery, it is really quite a simple device. A gravitational wave detector uses a laser to precisely measure a large distance. It then monitors for tiny fluctuation in distance that would indicate a ripple in space-time.
So far, this technology has only been used to confirm events first observed by optical telescopes, but as the field of gravitational wave spectroscopy develops it will surely lead us beyond the scope of optical telescopes.
When one looks up their horoscope in the daily paper, predictions are made based on the sun signs. One of the many things these horoscopes miss is the powerful astrological influence of the moon, which in some cases is stronger than that of the sun. It’s not just pop culture astrology that overlooks the moon; Western, secular culture often does the same. In a post-industrial society with a solar calendar, the influences of the moon which were strongly felt in times past through the lunar calendar and the economic ramifications of the tides are no longer seen as so practically important. While most individuals no longer follow the phases of the moon, the sun’s daily and yearly influences cannot be ignored even by our modern society, whether the marking of time or the passing of the seasons.
Popular horoscopes and modern culture may ignore the importance of the moon, but astronomy and astrology acknowledge the powerful influences of the moon on both the earth and those on it. Since the moon is so much closer to earth than the sun is, its gravitational effects can sometimes be felt more strongly than the star and the center of of our solar system. For example, the sun does influence the tides on earth, but only at a strength less than half of that of the moon. This causes the phenomena known as spring tides and neap tides. When the sun’s tidal influence aligns with that of the moon, tidal effects become more extreme, creating spring tides. When the opposite occurs and the sun’s tidal influence is at odds with that of the moon, weaker tides, known as neap tides take place. In this case, the moon’s influence is seen as stronger than that of the sun! This same gravitational influence of the moon has changed the earth’s day length from about 6 hours to our current 24 hours as it slows down the earth’s rotation.
Tidal influences of the sun and moon; spring and neap tides. Wikipedia.
At the same time, the astrological influences of the moon are vital in any birth chart. While second to the sun overall, there are certain domains in which the influences of the moon are dominant. The moon is understood to determine the emotional, inner moods of an individual, even as the sun determines the overall personality. For example, someone whose natal sun is in Scorpio but whose moon is in Aquarius will have a personality strongly influenced by deep emotion and a stubborn willpower yet will also tend to be emotionally detached, rebellious, and moody. If both the natal sun and moon are in Scorpio, then the individual will see Scorpio even more powerfully than usual! This is why the influence of the moon must not be ignored, since it provides influences which are distinct and often at odds with those of the sun. Wonder why popular horoscope readings often seem inaccurate? It’s because they ignore vital influences like those of the moon on individuals! Beyond this, popular horoscopes also ignore the rest of the planets and their positions in the chart, missing all of the nuances of the birth chart! This is why newspaper horoscopes seem so vague, because they reduce everyone in the world into 12 categories. Of course they will be vague! In reality, there are so many influences in the birth chart, and few are as important as those of the moon. Just like astronomically, when the influences of the sun and moon line up, they cause these influences to be even more extreme, as we see with the tides!
