Universe
Questions
1. Are you interested in the universe?
2. What would you like to know about the universe?
3. Would you like to travel around the universe?
4. Who is the centre of your universe?
5. Do you think McDonalds and Starbucks will be in the outer regions of the universe one day?
6. What three adjectives would you choose to describe the universe?
7. What do you think the edge of the universe looks like?
8. What did you learn about the Universe at school?
Videos
Passage written by Carl Sagan for the book Pale Blue Dot published by Random House,
Copyright ©1994 Democritus Properties, LLC
Category: Science
The earliest time measurements were observations of cycles of the natural world, using patterns of changes from day to night and season to season to build calendars. More precise time-keeping eventually came along to put
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time in more convenient boxes. But what exactly are we measuring? Andrew Zimmerman Jones contemplates whether time is something that physically exists or is just in our heads.
Lesson by Andrew Zimmerman Jones, directed by Nice Shoes.
Lesson by Andrew Zimmerman Jones, directed by Nice Shoes.
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Category: Science
The Earth is 4.6 billion years old — but how can humans relate to a number so colossal, and where do we fit on the geologic timeline? Comparing the Earth’s lifetime to one calendar year, events like the extinction of
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dinosaurs and Columbus setting sail took place relatively recently. Joshua M. Sneideman reminds us of our time and place in the universe.
Lesson by Joshua M. Sneideman, animation by Powerhouse Animation Studios Inc.
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Category: Geography & Travel | Science
Jedidah Isler first fell in love with the night sky as a little girl. Now she’s an astrophysicist who studies supermassive hyperactive black holes. In a charming talk, she takes us trillions of kilometers from Earth to introduce us
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to objects that can be 1 to 10 billion times the mass of the sun — and which sometimes shoot powerful jet streams of particles in our direction.
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Category: Science
At Switzerland’s Kulmhotel Gornergrat, guests sleep among the mountains and under the stars. The establishment is home to an observatory that has drawn astronomers from around the world. The lack of light pollution and
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dry air create the optimal conditions for stargazing. At an elevation of over 10,000 feet, it is the highest hotel in Switzerland, nestled among a mountain range that includes the Matterhorn.
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Category: Geography & Travel | Science
What it took to collect these 54-million-year-old photons from a supermassive black hole.
On April 10, 2019, the team announced their results: They had successfully imaged the supermassive black
On April 10, 2019, the team announced their results: They had successfully imaged the supermassive black
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hole in the center of the galaxy m87, which is nearly 54 million light-years away from us. They were able to achieve unprecedented resolution using very long baseline interferometry, which combines the observations of multiple radio telescopes across the globe.
The team wanted to find out whether Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity holds up in the extreme environment of black holes, and the results do, in fact, seem to be consistent with the predictions. In the future, we may see more and sharper images of black holes as the team targets smaller wavelengths of light and recruits more telescopes. Eventually, they may include an orbiting space telescope.
The team wanted to find out whether Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity holds up in the extreme environment of black holes, and the results do, in fact, seem to be consistent with the predictions. In the future, we may see more and sharper images of black holes as the team targets smaller wavelengths of light and recruits more telescopes. Eventually, they may include an orbiting space telescope.
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Category: Science