Here are two things I’ve been doing this semester (in addition to taking this course) Watching Star Trek: The Next Generation Taking an investigative writing course focusing… Read more “A semester wrestling pessimism and optimism”
Tag: astro2110
Are civilizations doomed? One possible explanation for the Fermi Paradox
It’s the age old question: are we alone in the universe? It’s a topic we began wrestling as children, well before we even had basic knowledge of… Read more “Are civilizations doomed? One possible explanation for the Fermi Paradox”
Comet tails: an origin story
4.6 billion years ago, our solar system was just a big cloud of gas and dust. A lot of it gathered together and formed the sun. Most… Read more “Comet tails: an origin story”
Oops, I accidentally welded!
Welding is the use of high heat to melt two metal pieces together so they fuse into one. It’s tricky and not a relaxing hobby done on… Read more “Oops, I accidentally welded!”
A New Non-Aurora!
Photographers had known about it for decades, but scientists didn’t get wind of it until 2016. It’s a streak, purple or white, across the night sky. It… Read more “A New Non-Aurora!”
A down-to-earth explanation of zero-gravity
Astronauts floating against a starry backdrop. Food suspended in a spacecraft. These images are what have constructed our cultural understanding of space as a place where the… Read more “A down-to-earth explanation of zero-gravity”
Two Times Sir Isaac Newton Could have Died
Sir Isaac Newton (Jan. 4th, 1643 — Mar. 31st, 1727) is important to astronomy because he formulated the mathematical and physical ideas that would give future astronomers… Read more “Two Times Sir Isaac Newton Could have Died”
Bright Lights (and not much else)
Matchbox Twenty’s Bright Lights. CeeLo Green’s Bright Lights Bigger City. My personal favorite is Sara Bareilles’s Bright Lights and Cityscapes. There is no shortage of songs about… Read more “Bright Lights (and not much else)”
