I took this class because I wanted to learn more about the solar system. Growing up, I really enjoyed learning about the planets and stars. One of my favorite parts of the class was the observing. I was able to see the difference between a red-shifted and blue-shifted star which before this class I wouldn’t have known what that meant! I hope that I have the chance to observe again soon.
Tag Archives: astro201
Extremophiles
The idea that there is life that does not live and survive the way we do is very interesting. I think humans have come up with an idea of what they are looking for when defining “life.” Yet, these extremophiles prove many of these ideas wrong. They live in places humans never could survive but it is the habitat they wish to have. I think it is important to study these because they can allow humans to develop a new idea of life.
Planetary System
It amazes me how small Earth is. I find it difficult to comprehend even the size of Earth alone. Flying to other continents can take days. Then I look at a scale model like the one below and I realize how small we are in comparison to the rest of the planets. Jupiter and Saturn are massive in comparison. If I was to attempt to fly anywhere on Jupiter it would take days!
Neptune
When I was in elementary school, I had to do a project on a planet. I chose Neptune! I spent hours coming up with a presentation and making a model. Sadly, I don’t remember a lot from that presentation, but I’ve decided to brush up on my knowledge. Neptune is a bright blue color and has many unique features including a giant spot as seen on the left side of the picture. Additionally, it has extremely strong winds. The idea of there being winds as strong as there are on Neptune is difficult for me to understand. On Earth, the greatest winds we have tend to be during large storms out in the ocean, but Neptune’s winds can be in the 1000s mph!
Source: Neptune
The Northern Lights
I have always wanted to see the Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis. I never understood what cause the bright colors in the sky until this class. Upon reading the book I understood that the lights are simply the result of “charged particles trapped in the magnetosphere.” It is fascinating to me that these charged particles are able to create this magnificent light.
Solar Flares
Learning about solar flares in class has been one of the most interesting things to me. I think it is amazing how unpredictable they are and how they can affect of Earth. It is fascinating to me to think about how a solar flare can wipe out our electronic systems. Our book explains that the reason we lose electronics is due to the the geomagnetic storm that occurs when a solar flare happens. It makes me wonder how vast of an area could lose power due to a geomagnetic storm and what would then happen.
Planetarium
Growing up, one of my favorite things was going to the planetarium. I was very eager to go learn about each of the planets and the universe. I would spend lots of time trying to find the constellations, and my brother even got a star named for me! The star is located near Pegasus and I hope that during the observation part of the class, that I’ll be able to see it.
Tides
Having grown up near the ocean, I always found tides fascinating. Until now though, I never quite understood what was happening. Moon tides are caused by the Moon’s gravity which creates two “bulges.” Additionally, there are Sun tides, but these are not as strong due to how far away the Sun is.
Recently, in the San Francisco Bay Area, a man names Andres Amador, has been creating spectacular drawings in the sand during low tides. Which are then of course, washed away during high tides. I am very much looking forward to going to visit the beaches he designs on in the near future.
Historical Astronomers in Context
There was a civil war in Scotland between 1562 and 1594. This was due to the Catholic and Protestant divide in the country.
France was also divided by religion and had the French Wars of Religion between 1562 and 1598.
Michelangelo , born: 3/6/1475, died: 2/18/1564
Michelangelo was an important artist who made the famous David sculpture.
It was interesting to realize that many things were going on in the arts and sciences and the lots of the world was divided regarding religion.
Stellarium
Learning about and using Stellarium has been great fun! I have always enjoyed looking at the stars. As a child, I used to go to the planetarium numerous times a year. Additionally, one year for my birthday, my brother got me a star through the International Star Registry. Now that I have learned how to use Stellarium, I plan on figuring out when I can see the star which I believe is near Pegasus.
Stellarium has numerous features. The ability to move locations and change the time so easily allows for one to see how the stars move. One thing I really like about this picture is that the atmosphere is turned on and since the sun is setting the stars are still observable. I would be curious about if it was a cloud free night, would I be able to see the stars at this time?
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