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Photo by: Brews ohare Creative Commons A standard candle is a class of astronomical objects that belong to the same class and have a standard luminosity or brightness. You can actually determine an object’s distance from the earth using standard candles.
Hertz is a unit of frequency with an abbreviation, Hz. It is equal to number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. It was the German physics professor Heinrich Rudolf Hertz who expanded on the identifying electromagnetic waves. He was the first to experiment on generating and receiving electromagnetic waves. In particular, he used
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Photo by: RichN Creative Commons Zodiacal light is a faint white glow in the nighttime sky. There are space dusts in the zodiacal clouds that when hit by the sun’s light, give a white glow on a dark night here on Earth. On an evening when there is no moon, it is said that 60%
Photo by: Kapeke.de Creative Commons The Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope is a known variation of the Schmidt camera, and is compact enough to present excellent results especially when not pushed to its design limits. It permits outstanding visual observation of the skies with its convex and spherical secondary mirror reflecting the converging beam originating from the primary
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When stars reach their final stage, some explode as a consequence of nuclear reactions occurring inside the core. The stellar explosion is called the supernova which is divided into physical types: the Type I and Type II. They are basically classified according to their luminosities and spectral lines. Type II supernovas have lesser peaking of
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Photo by: CWitte Creative Commons Virgo cluster is a group or clusters of galaxies in the universe. The cluster includes approximately 1,300 to 2,000 galaxies. Some are big while 90% of them are dwarf galaxies. These galaxies are attracted to each other by a common gravitational force. The Virgo cluster spans 15 million light years
You can determine the characteristics of a star by breaking down its light into its components. This collection of colors obtained is called a spectrum, and is useful in determining the elements and other components of stars. We know the spectrum of our own sun whenever we view its spectrum, whenever we see a rainbow.
A spectrometer is an instrument that is used in analyzing a specific portion of light. This instrument is commonly used in to provide spectral analysis in identifying materials. If you are highly observant, you would have noticed that these instruments have found their way into pop TV culture.
The local magnetic field of the earth traps protons, ions, and electrons forming a protective layer which is called the Van Allen radiation belt that takes the shape of a torus, consisting of an outer layer and an inner layer. The charged particles are caused by the cosmic rays from the sun.
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Photo by: Chrkl Creative Commons Supernovas are explosions towards the end of the life of a star. They are classified as supernova I and II, depending on their solar luminosities. Type I supernova has a peaked maxima (about 10 billion luminosities) and then gradually disappears. Type I supernova is further divided into Type Ia and
