Read the latest news about a group of black holes near the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.
Read about how scientists have listened to signals from space at different frequencies and the apparatus used to do this, called "The Big Ear"
(what is the Big Ear?)
The Hubble Space Telescope has been an invaluable tool in looking deep into space and beginning to understand the origins of the universe
In the 02/03 school year, we spent two weeks looking at how astronomers are searching for extrasolar planets and what kinds of mathematical data and formulae they use to determine whether a star has a planet orbiting it and what are its characteristics.
Often, this course looks at ways that scientists and mathematicians are working together to try to determine the curvature, interconnectedness, or shape of the universe.
How are they trying to accomplish this?
We have also looked at artists and computer scientists working together to model activity in the universe such as the collision of two galaxies. Find out more about the picture of two galaxies colliding that is the background for this page here.
Galaxies and Galaxy Clusters are some of the most incredible and diverse sets of objects that exist in the universe. Astronomers have been able to catalog and analyze an enormous number of galxies...
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A discussion of the shape or curvature of the universe naturally leads to the concept of the fourth dimension. Curvature of a 3-D space requires that extra dimension. I highly recommend Rudy Rucker's book The Fourth Dimension if you want a fun, readable, mind-blowing book on the subject.
In the discussion of GPS, we learn that "Space Weather" and the solar wind greatly affect the GPS satellite signals. Therefore it is important to track the activity of the sun in order to be able to maintain accurate GPS readings...
Learn more about sunspots.
