One beautiful Fall day seventeen years ago I wandered into an office and my life profoundly changed. I was an undergraduate at Princeton, and was looking for a thesis advisor. Jadwin Hall was an intimidating place. Plenty of names familiar from my textboo
Stereoscopic visualization is seldom used in Astrophysical publications and presentations compared to other scientific fields, e.g., Biochemistry, where it has been recognized as a valuable tool for decades.
On November 28, 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Anthony Hewish discovered the first Pulsar, a fast rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation of a pulsar can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing toward the Earth, much the way a lighthouse can only be seen when the light is pointed in the direction of an observer, and is responsible for the pulsed appearance of emission.
Powers of Ten takes us on an adventure in magnitudes. Starting at a picnic by the lakeside in Chicago, this famous film transports us to the outer edges of t...
958 years ago today, Chinese astronomers observed a new star in the constellation of Taurus, which later turned out to be a supernova.
China was able to contribute to the developments in the science of astronomy critically. In their philosophy, the harmony between earth, the sky and humankind were essential, and therefore any disturbance to that balance had to be predicted. This believe caused the astronomers of the historical China a great status, they were able to predict comets like no other culture. Also, the precise predictions were caused by the critical consequences the responsible astronomer had to face in case of a false prognosis.
On June 6, 1436, German mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, translator, instrument maker and Catholic bishop Johannes Müller aus Königsberg was born, better known under the Latinized version of his name as Regiomontanus. His diligent and accurate observations, measurements and recordings paved the way for modern astronomers such as Tycho Brahe and Nikolaus Copernicus.
On November 8, 1656, Sir Edmond Halley was born. The astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist, was best known for computing the orbit of the eponymous Halley's Comet.
On June 26, 1730, French astronomer Charles Messier was born. He is best known for his publication of an astronomical catalogue consisting of nebulae and star clusters that came to be known as the 110 "Messier objects". The purpose of the catalogue was to help astronomical observers, in particular comet hunters such as himself, distinguish between permanent and transient visually diffuse objects in the sky.
astrophysicist John Dubinski's self-published DVD containing his stunning supercomputer simulations of galactic evolution set to Bach music. "... Gravitas points clearly at ties between the ideas of Isaac Newton and the music of Bach. To do this with sounds and images that appeal to club kids and new music fans equally is a major achievement." - John Terauds, Toronto Star, March, 9 2006
The Chandra Astrophysics Institute (CAI) is an opportunity for students in grades 9-11 from a wide range of academic backgrounds to train for and undertake astronomy projects. The students are mentored by MIT scientists and use observations from the Chandra X-Ray space telescope.
A fidget spinner in space! How long does it spin? I'm not sure, but it’s a great way to experiment with Newton’s laws of motion! Allowing the fidget spinner ...
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The last transit of Venus took place recently on 5 and 6 June 2012, and it was the last Venus transit of the 21st century. Venus transits are very rare events. The next one will be December 10–11, 2117. So it is much likely that this on was the very last Venus transit I had a chance to see in my lifetime.
On January 4, 1643, Sir Isaac Newton, famous physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist and theologian, was born. With his Principia he laid the foundation of modern classical mechanics.Besides he constructed the very first reflecting telescope and independent of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz developed differential and integral calculus.
J. Scheer, K. Bruning, T. Frohlich, P. Wurz, und W. Heiland. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 157 (1-4):
208--213(August 1999)
D. McComas, F. Allegrini, L. Bartolone, und et al.. Solar Wind 11/SOHO 16, Connecting Sun and Heliosphere, Volume 592 von ESA Special Publication, (September 2005)