Tag Archives: blog2

Blog Post #2: Solstices and Equinoxes

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Lauren

As in the olden days, the sun was used to measure and chart the passing of time.  The sun is the life-source for all living things here on earth and is a vital part of the ecosystem.  The fact that the length, intensity, and the spot of the sun’s glow on earth determines the seasons, […] Continue reading →

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Google Earth Sky

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Chad F

In the video above, Sally Ride, helps teach us how to use Google Earth as a star gazing program.  Instead of a program like Stellarium, Google Earth provides a way to actually zoom in on the galaxies around us.  The vantage point of Google Earth Sky is not on Earth.  Instead, the camera is located at […] Continue reading →

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The slowness of the speed of light

Posted on January 26, 2014 by bsturge93

Warp Speed The speed of light is about 3*10^8 m/s, or in more recognizable units, over 670 million miles per hour. To observers on Earth, this is unimaginably fast and allows us to communicate almost instantly with anyone, no matter where they live. In fact, light can travel around Earth over 7 times in a … Continue reading The slowness of the speed of light → Continue reading →

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Seasons on Earth

Posted on January 26, 2014 by efb28

  Unless you live near the equator, you have experienced how much the temperature outside varies by season (or by day in TN). Many people assume this has something to do with Earth’s orbit being an imperfect circle, but they are wrong. As pictured above, it is actually Earth’s tilt that causes seasons to change; […] Continue reading →

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Zodiac

Posted on January 26, 2014 by katiew

The Zodiac was created about 2,000 years ago as a way to track time. Each month, the sun appears to pass through 1 of 12 constellations that are each tied to a sign (In 1930, the International Astronomical Union, actually defined 13 constellations that the Sun passes through, but one does not have a sign). […] Continue reading →

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Solstices and Equinoxes

Posted on January 26, 2014 by philipapelles

Dividing our calendar into four segments, the equinoxes and solstices detail length of daylight hours and how the sun interacts with Earth. The solstices, or days by which the summer and winter are defined by, represent the longest and shortest days in our calendar. June 21, or the summer solstice (in the northern hemisphere), is… Continue reading →

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The Zodiac

Posted on January 26, 2014 by colepospisil

The signs of the zodiac have been the focus of astrologers for thousands of years, believed to have influence on the personalities and fortunes of those born under their time in the sun. While there is no scientific evidence to support this belief, there can be no denying that it serves as an important cultural […] Continue reading →

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Is it a parallax or only one? ;)

Posted on January 25, 2014 by juliamac17

So one feature of star observation that has allowed us to figure out that we’re not the center of the universe is this really neat and slightly tricky idea of stellar parallax. It’s the phenomenon where based on our position in orbit, a star may appear to have moved based on the stars behind it. […] Continue reading →

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Star Walk: Planetarium in Your Pocket

Posted on January 25, 2014 by hollyreichert

When looking up into the sky at night, usually I can’t identify all the constellations above.  The Star Walk app knows where you are and tells you what stars and planets are above you.  You can hold it up wherever you are and it is like having a mobile planetarium.  Even in the city where […] Continue reading →

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The Grandest Experiment

Posted on January 24, 2014 by jblubin

The majority of physics experiments take place in a small lab found in the basement of a university science building. However, for a grand hypothesis, one needs a grand experiment. The year was 1919 and a nervous Albert Einstein awaited the results of an experiment on the scale never before seen nor bested up to … Continue reading The Grandest Experiment → Continue reading →

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