Astronomy

  • The Ecliptic

    The Ecliptic

    The ecliptic, as astronomers call it, is the apparent path of the sun against the background of the stars in the sky. It’s useful because it tells us how to find the planets in the sky. They can be hard to…

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  • What is Precession?

    What is Precession?

    We have a bit of a shorter post today — I thought precession warranted its own post, before I go on to talking about the ecliptic. Precession refers to the way Earth wobbles around on its axis, a bit like a…

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  • The Celestial Sphere

    The Celestial Sphere

    When you look up at the night sky on a clear, dark night, it seems as if the stars are glittering like bright thumbtacks on a great canvas above you. (You can get a similar effect — with less light…

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