Astronomy
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What is a Light-Year?
In my article, “Where Are We?” I showed you just how huge astronomical distances really are. There’s a reason people say that incredible things are “astronomical!” The image above illustrates how far Earth is from several faraway objects, including one…
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What was the Big Bang?
Have you heard of the Big Bang? I still remember the first time I heard about it. I was little; I can’t remember if I’d fallen in love with astronomy yet. But I do remember sitting in my living room,…
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What is Cosmology?
Cosmology is the study of the universe itself: how it came to be, how it has behaved since, and why the laws of physics operate the way they do. It’s one of the strangest branches of science — second only,…
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Active Galaxies Demystified
Active galaxies are, without a doubt, absolutely spectacular. Though rare, they tell a critical part of the story of galaxies — and of the universe as a whole. And we’ve spent the last few posts exploring them in depth. But…
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A Full Story of Galactic Evolution
Over the course of the last few posts, we’ve explored different types of active galactic nuclei: Seyfert galaxies, double-lobed radio sources, and quasars. At the heart of each of these galaxies lies a supermassive black hole, feeding off an energy…
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Why Galactic Nuclei Erupt
Astronomers know that when galaxies’ nuclei become active — releasing tremendous floods of energy — supermassive black holes are the ultimate culprit. We also know that supermassive black holes lurk at the hearts of most large galaxies. But most galaxies…
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How Supermassive Black Holes Work
We first took a peek at supermassive black holes back in our discussion of galaxies. But now that we’ve covered a few types of active galaxies, it’s time to take a deeper dive. Okay, I guess we won’t really be…
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How to Safely View a Total Solar Eclipse
The total solar eclipse is an incredible phenomenon, one that I hope to see myself someday. But what happens during a solar eclipse? What can you expect to see, and how can you protect your eyes from the sun’s damaging rays?
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What is a Solar Eclipse?
March 2024: This post has been updated and republished from Sept 2017. A solar eclipse is the most amazing astronomical sight you’ll ever see. Not only is it the only time you’ll ever be able to clearly see the “new…
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What the Heck is a Quasar?
I’ll give you a hint: this is not an image of a quasar. This image is from a first-season Star Trek: The Original Series episode, “The Galileo Seven” — the original footage, before it was remastered (and before astronomers had…
