Yesterday, April 24th, was the 30th anniversary of the launch of perhaps the most famous telescope: the Hubble Space Telescope. Orbiting the earth, this telescope has changed the way astronomers and the public alike view the universe. With over 1.4 million observations, providing data for more than 16,000 peer-reviewed scientific papers, Hubble has exceeded expectations…
Louis Pasteur once said, “Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.” The act of doing science should not, and cannot, be confined to people in lab coats with multiple degrees squinting at computer screens and scribbling on whiteboards. Exploring the natural world around us should be something everyone can take part in, and that’s what citizen science is…
It’s easy to think of the sun as a simple bright sphere in the sky, constant and unchanging; but, that is far from reality. The sun is dynamic, with many solar flares, cells of convection, and even storms. One of the easiest changes to see are sunspots, which are located on the surface of the… Read more »
Looking back into the archives of scientific papers published in the past few decades, the majority have one, or at most four, authors. Most projects were conducted by a single individual (or a man and multiple uncredited women, but that’s a whole different topic than what I’d like to discuss here): one person started with… Read more »
Our blog would be nothing without our writers. Unfortunately they can’t stay here forever; they must go on to their next great adventures in life. So we wanted to take a moment to recognize a few of our authors who have recently left or are preparing to leave soon. We wish you all the very… Read more »
The anniversary of the first steps on the moon is today and undoubtedly you’ve seen a lot of images from the landing. News media love to show the footprints, the saluting of the flag, and the Earth-rise over the lunar surface. However there are many pictures that get overlooked. So here we present 5 photos (and… Read more »
Water is essential to life on Earth. So, if we are searching for life off-world, it would make sense to look for signs of water. Astronomers have been doing exactly that: employing different methods to find the first signs of life outside of our own world. Until recently, it wasn’t known whether there is water… Read more »
Sue the T Rex. Lucy the early human ancestor. These are scientific discoveries that are remembered and even loved. They have names and feel real despite being collections of bones. Even the buckyball evokes the idea of fun where other structures of molecules do not. Names are important. Astronomy has been doing this for a… Read more »
Many of us here at ScIU have recognized that there is a shortage of classes to teach science communication at IU and in science programs in general. While not every scientist does outreach everyday, we sometimes forget that the simple act of explaining your science to a grant committee or your neighbor who likes to… Read more »
Taking astronomical images can be a very rewarding process—in part because of the gorgeous images you take, but also in part because of all the obstacles that can prevent you from observing the skies. We can protect our telescopes in buildings during the day to keep them clean and dry, but when night comes and… Read more »
