Carnival of Space #256
Welcome to the 256th edition of the Carnival of Space. Your one stop shopping for all your astro-blog needs. This week looks at Mars exploration, extraterrestrial light pollution, and even some astro-poetry!
read moreAstroWoW is moving!
Where is this week’s astronomy word? At it’s new home! I’m thrilled to announce that AstroWoW has been picked up by EarthSky Communications. So come on over and make yourself comfortable. You’ll learn how astronomers use subtle shifts in the color of starlight to find planets and discover the expanding Universe. The astronomy word of the week is “redshift”!
read moreThe astronomy word of the week is “quasar”
Quasars - the energetic cores of distant galaxies - are among the most powerful sources of continuous energy in the Universe. Their light comes to us from a much earlier time - a time when galaxies flared with the birth of new stars and funneled cosmic ingredients down the maws of supermassive black holes in their centers.
read moreCarnival of Space #250
Why, yes, it's the sestercentennial edition of the Carnival of Space - a weekly round up of the past week's astro-blog shenanigans.
read moreThe astronomy word of the week is “parallax”
How far away are the 100 closest stars to the Earth? Or the 100 closest galaxies? How about the size of the galaxy in which we live? Or the extent of the entire Universe? How would you even go about answering that question?
read moreThe astronomy word of the week is “obliquity”
The planet you're standing on is not very steady. She bobs and wobbles, ducks and weaves, as she makes her annual trek around the Sun. Our home constantly struggles with forces both external and internal; the Sun, the Moon, and the planets tug her back and forth while shifting masses within force her to constantly find new balance.
read moreCarnival of Space #248
What's that? You've finished with this week's astronomy word and you're already hungry for more? Well, the 248th edition of the Carnival of Space is now up at the Dear Astronomer blog - a weekly roundup of the best the astronomy blogging world has to offer.
read moreThe astronomy word of the week is “nova”
In 1572, Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, along with observers around the world, noticed a new star in the constellation Cassiopeia. Rivaling Venus as the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon, the unexpected guest remained visible for nearly two years before fading from view. The appearance of a new star was nothing short of revolutionary; astronomers long agreed that the celestial sphere was unchanging. A transient star challenged this assumption and suggested that the heavens were perhaps more dynamic than originally thought.
read moreThe astronomy word of the week is “meridian”
Astronomers love to draw imaginary lines in the sky. Without fixed landmarks, it is the only way we can reliably navigate the celestial sphere. The ecliptic and the equator, declination and right ascension - these are all attempts at breaking up the night sky in to manageable chunks. The meridian is yet another of these lines and is closely tied to how we track time and how professional astronomers plan their observations.
read moreThe astronomy word of the week is “light-year”
A light-year is just the bigger, badder cousin of the inch, the mile, the kilometer, and the furlong. It's how far a beam of light will travel in one year - a distance of roughly six trillion miles!
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