Tag Archives: astronomy

Copernicus in Context

Posted on January 29, 2019 by JSpin

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus was born February 19, 1473 and died May 24, 1543. Copernicus‘ most important contribution to astronomy is his heliocentric model of the solar system that placed the Sun at a fixed point in the center, and depicted the planets orbiting the Sun. In this model, Earth was just another planet. The … Continue reading Copernicus in Context → Continue reading →

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Using Stellarium for observing

Posted on January 22, 2019 by justinrstevens

“Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.” – Stellarium webpage   Stellarium is an amazing bit of software to use for help with astronomical observing.  It is free 🙂 and you can…

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How Tiny Are We?

Posted on January 20, 2019 by epiphany9

One of the most beautiful aspects of astronomy is learning about our place in the vast universe. Although we humans often feel as if we are the center of the universe, we are so tiny and so young compared to the whole cosmos. At around 20 years of age, most of us probably feel as […] Continue reading →

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Astronomy’s Lasting Influence on Human Thought

Posted on May 1, 2018 by aquarianastronomy

If my short study of Astronomy has taught one thing, it is how influential Astronomy has been on our way of thinking as a species. This influence can be seen in ancient times, when civilizations such as in Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, Egypt, China, India, and Greece placed Astronomy and Astrology at the centers of their ideology, […] Continue reading →

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Did the U.S. Navy detect Alien Aircraft?

Posted on May 1, 2018 by aquarianastronomy

The Fermi Paradox is a fundamental piece of where human civilization currently stands concerning the question of life on other planets: if the probability of life in the universe is so high, why have we not interacted with this life before? One of the answers to this is question is simple: life from other worlds […] Continue reading →

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Pale Blue Dot

Posted on May 1, 2018 by yadavdhruv

Over the course of the semester, I learned a lot of things. I started off learning about the size and scale of the universe, and the enormous distances between planets and stars. We can’t even travel a tenth of a light year in our lifetime in the fastest spaceship we own. Our furthest spacecraft, Voyager … Continue reading Pale Blue Dot → Continue reading →

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Where Do We Go from Here?

Posted on April 29, 2018 by therestisstardust

Given that NASA is a government agency, it’s a little worrisome how it’s funding can be pretty wantonly taken and given as the government sees fit. (That’s why privatization of the space industry through companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX is so necessary) However, Nasa is currently budgeted .5% of our national budget- that’s 18.4 billion-so […] Continue reading →

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The Fermi Paradox

Posted on April 29, 2018 by therestisstardust

After already having done research on the Drake equation and its implications for extra-solar life, the next question begs to be answered. If there really are so many earth-like planets out there that may have evolved intelligent life, why haven’t we heard from any of them? This is the underlying question that lies behind a […] Continue reading →

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On This Day in Astronomy History…

Posted on April 9, 2018 by maxflorsheim

On this day, April 9th, 59 years ago in 1959, NASA introduced the world to their first ever astronauts, the Mercury 7.  A press conference was held in D.C. to announce the line up, and reveal America’s next move in the space race against the Soviet Union. This came a year after NASA had introduced […] Continue reading →

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Life on Europa?

Posted on April 9, 2018 by interplanetira

For thousands of years, humans have considered the possibility of life existing on other planets – specifically those in our own solar system. Perhaps one of the most prime candidates for harboring life in our Solar System (other than our own planet, of course) is Europa – one of Jupiter’s 4 largest moons. Europa, the […] Continue reading →

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