The meteor radiant point in Leo
{Track of meteors seen at Greenwich, Nov, 13, 1866}
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It’s just one big giant space pizza out there.
overheard in Astronomy 101
“Heareth, the law of baryon number conservation speaketh! You mere mortals, know that since the baryon number of the universe is now one gazillion, it has been and always will be one gazillion!”
The author of this book I’m reading for Astronomy is having a little too much fun.
Astronomy 211
I get to visit the planetarium every week this quarter.
I squealed like a little girl when the professor announced it.
My astronomy teacher reading some of our text out loud:
“‘Newton penetrated Kepler’s esoterica’…
…I don’t know about that."
But just as we finally recognize ourselves as passengers on a small-ish planet circling an insignificant star lost somewhere near the edge of an ordinary-looking Galaxy drifting inside a relatively sparse cluster of galaxies in some region of the universe resembling every other region, we learn that the matter out of which you and I and stars and galaxies are made may not even be the main component of the universe. How humble do we have to be?
A. Zee, Einstein’s Universe, Chapter 11
blueshiftfancies asked:
You! I'm going to UW this year as well to become an astrophysics major! I was so excited to see that you were here as well after you followed me. What kind of wondrous advice do you have for me?
wonderousscience-blog-deactivat answered:
Hi! What year are you? :)
I actually don’t have much advice to give, as I’m starting the astronomy major in fall of my junior year. However, I feel like I’m pretty adept at astronomy and physics. The best thing I can tell you is to use all your time to your advantage. If you have an hour late in the day, use it to review concepts that were difficult to understand. If you can even find time to work one physics or math problem, do it.
I often find that I have questions in my mind right as I lay down to bed. Say, the difference between a neutron star and a pulsar. Instead of going to sleep, I grab my astronomy book and find the answer. Once you get in the habit of actively finding answers (even if you haven’t learned the material yet in your studies) you will be much better off for later coursework.
Also, running this tumblr blog is wonderful for keeping my mind focused on science!
What courses are you in for this fall quarter? :)
That’s great advice anyhow! I will keep that in mind as I begin my studies. Thank you!
I’m a freshman this year and am taking Astronomy 101 (with a FIG), English 111, Physics 114 (although I am trying to change it, since it won’t go into my major), and a one credit seminar on antimatter, consciousness, and the physics of time.
What classes are you taking? And what kind of math/ science classes have you taken thus far?
College president Sarah Sultan announced, “In our present, rapidly changing technological environment, it is more important than ever to encourage students to consider study and careers in all the sciences. Except astronomy,” she added, pretending she was coughing. “Nobody cares about Astronomy,” she said, obviously under a cough.
vibing-waves-deactivated2016081 asked:
What are the difference between Astronomy and astrology?
antikythera-astronomy answered:
So astronomy is just the observational application of physics to celestial objects and phenomena and astrology is a class taught by Professor Trelawney (at Hogwarts)
gabijonesmusic asked:
What inspires you about outer space in particular? :)
blueshiftfancies answered:
OH GOODNESS.
The real question is, what about space DOESN’T inspire me?
I think a lot of people look out into the night sky, into those billions of light years of space, and feel very, very small. It’s true, we are just a speck in this humongous universe of ours. Just a blink in the great expanse of the cosmological time scale.
But, just look around. Look at all these beautiful things that are happening around you, all because of these minuscule differences in the distribution of matter in the first few seconds of our universe’s birth! We haven’t yet found signs of any life at all, let alone intelligent life in space. We could be the only life in our solar system, or possibly even our galaxy. And that seems pretty special to me. Sure we live on a small planet, around an average-sized star, in a normal-looking galaxy in a galactic cluster that looks like all the others. But goddam. Look at all this life around you.
I love listening to astronauts talk about looking back at earth from the space station or the moon. We are all human beings on this one little rock, rocketing through time and space. And yet we’re sitting around making borders for ourselves, making judgements about others. We’re all just people, here together for a brief moment in the universe.
Plus… let’s be real. Space is fucking rad. Like… THE BIG BANG HAPPENED EVERYWHERE. Think about it.
Oh my gosh wow this is just… Wow. Thank you for answering my question! Your response is amazing.
Thanks so much for asking! I get really excited about space.
Feel free to send more questions my way! Astronomy-related or otherwise.
❤️🚀⭐️
