V is for Variable Star

As I mentioned in an earlier post, parallax is a method of measuring the distance of nearby stars. The next step on the cosmic distance ladder is a kind of star known as a Cepheid Variable.  This video explains what these stars are and how they're used to determine cosmic distance.  There's also a little bit about the history of women in astronomy, which I think is cool.  Enjoy!

L is for Lagrange Points

Lagrange points are great for astronomy.  These points in space give us a nice, stable spot to keep telescopes and things.  However, I don't feel like I can give a proper description of what Lagrange points are.  I'll let Phil Plait, also known as The Bad Astronomer, explain what they are and why they're important.

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.

G is for Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei deserves credit for pursuing scientific truth in the face of opposition.  It is this perseverance that makes possible our growing knowledge of the universe.  Here is a brief introduction to his life and works.

Anyone Got Some Sunglasses?

This is cool.  In the effort to confirm whether extrasolar harbor extraterrestrial life, scientists need to be able to look directly at the planet itself.  Of course, the light of the parent planet inevitably creates a viewing problem as it drowns out the image.  Now scientists are playing with an idea originally conceived in the '60's by Lyman Spitzer.  They want to build a spaceshade that would be positioned out ahead of the telescope so it could filter out the interfering light.

Now, before anyone offers NASA their used sunglasses so they can save money, it isn't that simple.  The shade needs to be very specifically shaped to avoid the other problem of sunlight bending around the shade to screw up the image.  In short, we're hoping to build a giant sunflower in space.  Wow, that sounds even cooler here than it did in my head.

Scientists are also entertaining other ideas to combat the problem, including coordinating multiple telescopes to cancel out the light or techno-babbly add-ons for future telescopes.

I hope they get this figured out soon, because I really can't wait to see where the aliens might be.