Astrophysics
The Death of a Small Star
A few weeks ago we talked about the birth of a star, how tiny pieces of matter start clumping together in very cold and dark regions of space, becoming a protostar, and blowing its shell out with the massive amount of energy from fusion. A star is born in the darkness. It lives anywhere between … Continue reading
The Standup Paddleboard Project
What did I get myself into? I was supposed to save money, but after a string of expenses I ended up paying the same as a cheaper paddleboard, and about $200 more of what I could have gotten at Costco. This board is mine now, and when I come up with a design from the … Continue reading
The Doppler Effect
Today we’ll talk briefly about a popular phenomena that few people understand: the Doppler Effect. Sound and light are waves. The pitch of the sound and the color of light are a result of the frequency of these waves, that is to say, how many times the wave “peaks” in one second. This is otherwise … Continue reading
The Moon’s Locked On
Ever notice that we always see the same side of the moon? If all planets rotate, and all moons rotate, and even the sun rotates, why is it that our moon doesn’t seem to? In fact, it does, but it’s our fault we only see one side. The moon is in Tidal Lock with the … Continue reading
Nebulae – Clouds Alight in a Deep Ocean of Darkness
We took a brief look at nebulae, but some of you fed back to me that we didn’t take far enough of a look. A nebula, as explained a few days ago, is a big mass of gas and dust that either reflects or fluoresces light. They are a showcase for the stars that inhabit … Continue reading
Classifying Stars – Luminosity, Brightness, Temperature, and Color
A few days ago, we talked briefly about how stars are made. But no two stars are identical: they can vary in size, internal pressure, temperature, composition, age, mass, mass loss, density, spectra, brightness, and luminosity. Today we’ll talk about some of their visual characteristics. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about their types, and how these two … Continue reading
Parallax
Fictitious scenario: My science project is due tomorrow! I’m supposed to talk about stars, and planets, and such! Better run to Wikipedia and grab some quick facts. (Note: I do not advocate the use of Wikipedia for academic research, but it’s sometimes a good place to start to familiarize yourself with a topic) According to … Continue reading
A Star is Born
We see them twinkle at night, we make odd shapes out of them, and one of them is a major component of our daily lives as members of a race and components of a complex ecosystem. But what is it, and how did it come to be? The Interstellar Medium When we look into space … Continue reading
