Mysterious Signal From the Perseus Cluster

More excitement brought to you by astronomy!

Video: Star-Crossed Galaxies

Bill Moyers and Neil deGrasse Tyson Talk Science and Religion

This program may be a half hour long, but the time passes quickly.  Of course, that's true with anything involving Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Neil deGrasse Tyson and an Awesome Kid

At age 9, this kid is obviously quite intelligent and curious, asking thought-provoking questions.  The future looks bright from here.

A Capella Science-Rolling in the Higgs (Adele Parody)

Seriously, how long does it take this guy to do these videos?  He rocks!

Learn About String Theory With A Capella Science-Bohemian Gravity

This guy is amazing!  I don't know how else to say it.

Stephen Hawking's Big Ideas Made Simple-Animation

The minds that figure these things out are truly amazing!

Y is for Yellow Sun

Our yellow sun is an average star.  In the cosmic sense of things, it isn't anything special, though it will always be special to us since it keeps us alive from day to day.  Even though it is decidedly average, there are a lot of things about the sun that you may find quite interesting.  Have a look!

The following is a time lapse video of the sun.  It's kind of neat to see how the surface of the sun changes over a period of time.

X is for X-Ray Astronomy

X-rays have a shorter wavelength and higher frequency than visible light.  Most people encounter x-rays for the first time in a medical setting, but x-rays are extremely useful for astronomical purposes as well.  That's because plenty of objects emit x-rays.

Here's a video that discusses the history, present, and possible future of x-ray astronomy.

W is for Wavelength

Electromagnetic waves bombard us from every direction each second of every day.  One of the important properties of EM waves is the wavelength. We can only visually observe waves of a certain wavelength, which is often referred to as the visible spectrum.  

To learn more about the higher and lower wavelength EM waves you cannot see, watch the video below.

The following video gives a brief explanation of the Doppler Effect, which deals with the shift in wavelength observed when the object emitting the waves is in motion relative to an observer.

S is for Scales of Size

The universe is so grand in scale that the human mind can scarcely imagine its size.  Nevertheless, we try to find ways to make sense of that incomprehensible size.  Here are a couple of videos that boggle the mind and stimulate the imagination.  And the second one (which I posted on this blog months ago) is narrated by Morgan Freeman!

Q is for Quarks

Have you ever wondered what a quark is?  Here's a catchy song that will answer questions you may never have thought to ask!

M is for Milky Way vs. Andromeda

We live in the Milky Way galaxy, which is a spiral galaxy.  Our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda, is also a spiral.  Andromeda is also the only galaxy moving toward us while all other galaxies are moving away.  It's been predicted that billions of years from now, the Milky Way and Andromeda will merge to form a new galaxy altogether.  To see some spectacular predictions of how that will occur, watch the video below.

K is for Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion are a basic that any student of physics and astronomy must know. When Johannes Kepler derived them from the motions of the heavens, they revolutionized our understanding of the solar system.

First, here's a brief biography of Kepler.

Next, let's learn more about the laws themselves.  Who better than Carl Sagan to introduce the specifics of Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion?

I is for Isaac Newton

Yes, I'm going by the first letter of his first name rather than by last name.  Either way, I say it's okay for me to do that, and I'm going to do it anyway.

Isaac Newton contributed greatly to scientific understanding.  Neil deGrasse Tyson credits him with being the greatest physicist of all time, so that's a good endorsement as far as I'm concerned.

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Here's a brief biography about Isaac Newton with the briefest of overviews of his work.

H is for Higgs Boson

With the recent discovery of the oft hypothesized but elusive Higgs Boson, I could hardly choose any other topic for H.

When it comes to particle physics, it can be difficult for the layman to make any sense of what these physicists are talking about.  I've met my share of people who think the science community is simply making these things up.  Still, just because a concept can be slippery to grasp, it doesn't mean that it isn't worth the effort.  And luckily, some scientists take the time to adequately explain these matters to the rest of us.

Science can certainly be ambitious, as I think it should be.  However, science also knows how to celebrate.  Next I would like to share two episodes of Star Talk Radio.  These are live episodes that are dedicated to the discovery of the Higgs Boson.  Scientists and comedians come together to make science fun and entertaining for a live audience.  I highly recommend taking the time to listen to these.  I did and it was time well spent.

F is for Feynman Diagrams

Physics is full of interesting diagrams.  I always thought Feynman diagrams look cool.  Here's a simple video that will help you learn what those wibbly looking diagrams mean.

D is for Drake Equation

The Drake Equation is well known to most who wonder about the possibility of intelligent life existing elsewhere in the universe.  Personally, I have no doubt intelligent life exists somewhere in the universe.  The only question is, how common is it? 

The Drake Equation is meant to estimate how many intelligent civilizations may exist in our galaxy that have the technological capability to communicate with us.

Background Image courtesy of tungphoto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This video gives a good background of the equation and looks at a couple of the estimates that have been made using the equation.

B is for Big Bang

First of all, I thought I'd share a little fun.  Here's a link to the full theme song from the show The Big Bang Theory.  I highly recommend you take the time to listen to the whole thing if you haven't heard it.

Most people know that the Big Bang is the most popular scientific theory regarding the beginnings of our universe.  Here's a brief summary of how we made it from the moments immediately following the Big Bang to today.  Science is learning more every day, so no summary will ever offer a full picture, but this is still a good overview.

Once you posit that the universe started with the Big Bang, the question naturally becomes "What caused the Big Bang?"  This next video looks at why we ask that question and how we try to answer it.

For anyone who wants to know even more and has a little more than an hour to dedicate to it, here's a link to a lecture given by Andrew Lange at UC Berkeley.  There's a lot more detail here and is, in my opinion, relatively accessible for those who don't have a much of a background in science.

Oreo Separator Machine

Personally, I love the whole Oreo, but I still thought this was pretty neat.  David Neevel definitely demonstrated determination and ingenuity when he built this.