Supernovae
Category archives for Supernovae
Making the Elements in the Universe
Posted by Ethan on June 25, 2009 Earlier this week, I wrote about how the heavier elements in the Universe were made. Specifically, that they are made in stars. These stars then explode in a variety of ways, enriching the Universe with these heavy elements, and allowing us to form glorious things, like our planet! By contrast, the big bang makes light…
The Last 100 Years: The 1930s and Fritz Zwicky
Posted by Ethan on June 15, 2009 There are many great discoveries that happened in the 1930s that changed our view of the Universe. From tiny discoveries (the neutron) to huge ones (Pluto), from theoretical explanations of antimatter to the neutrino to the start of quantum field theory, the 1930s were a great time for making new discoveries. But one man often…
The Camera that Changed the Universe: Part 5
Posted by Ethan on May 15, 2009 It is done! The longest-running and most famous camera in the world, Hubble’s WFPC2, has been removed and replaced. Scientists will now get to use the Wide-Field Camera 3 (below), and WFPC2 is headed to the Smithsonian. You’ve already gotten a chance to taste what WFPC2 has done for our understanding of the Universe, Planets,…
A Beacon from the Invisible Universe
Posted by Ethan on April 28, 2009 Stars are like everything else in the Universe (to quote E.B. White): we’re born, we live a little while, we die. The thing that people may not realize is this: stars have been doing this since before the Universe was visible! What do I mean by this? Take a look at this nebula, Barnard 68.…
The Hand of God in Space?
Posted by Ethan on April 20, 2009 Someone at the New York Daily News must have started celebrating April 20th a bit early. Because this beautiful supernova remnant, with a spinning, pulsing neutron star at the center: is no excuse to run a poll asking readers if this is either the Hand of God or a natural stellar formation. I could tell…
Is Uranium the Heaviest Natural Element?
Posted by Ethan on April 3, 2009 Last night, I was watching the Daily Show, and they had Tom Zoellner on, talking about his new book: Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock that shaped the world. There are certainly a lot of interesting things about Uranium in culture, particularly in terms of energy (hey, we can use this thing to power the…
