Astronomy Playlist

Hello everyone! This post will be a break from all the other astronomy-related articles. It's more like a break for me from monotonous finals and regents. Music has definitely helped me survive this month (well, not completely since I still have a few more finals and regens to go until the summer). Thus, I want to recommend a few songs that I've been listening to. 

1) "Moondust" by Jaymes Young: You might have recognized the title as the background music of this blog because I am in love with the lyrics and the song. 


"I'm building this house, on the moon

Like a lost, astronaut

Lookin at you, like a star

From a place, the world forgot

And there's nothing, that I can do

Except bury my love for you"


2) "Nothin On My Mind" by Astronomyy: Not much information was revealed about the band. However, the song soothes my mind every single time.


"Take me to a place

Where we both don't have to face

The things we faked

There'll be nothing on my mind"


3) "Chivalry is Dead" by Trevor Wesley: Nothing really meaningful about the lyrics but the melody is really catchy and you should probably check out Ian Eastwood's dance cover to this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGhes-VIC94 ("Moondust")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZfR7qc0WVs ("Chivalry is Dead")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQs9hco8HVw ("Nothin On My Mind")

The History's Strangest Astronomer

  I remember very vividly that back in eighth grade, my Earth Science told me two facts that stayed with me throughout middle school and potentially, for the rest of my life. Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer, was described by Alasdair Wilkins from the article "The Crazy Life and Crazier Death of Tycho Brahe," as the "history's strangest astronomer." And indeed he is, the 13-year-old me was quite shocked when she learned that Tycho had a golden nose and died of bladder explosion.YES, if I learned anything at all in Earth Science, it would be the fact that an astronomer, whose contributions were noted in my Earth Science textbook, was involved in a fight that resulted in his broken nose and died because he refused to go to the bathroom...Oh by the way, he had an unusual birth as well.

  Tycho's life turned inside out at the age of merely two. He was born in a rich family of noblemen. However, the twist is that he was taken (as in literally kidnapped) by his uncle, Jørgen Brahe, either with or without the consent of Tycho's parents when he was only two years old. There are several theories on what actually happened. According to Michael Fowler from his lecture on Galileo and Einstein, Tycho Brahe's father agreed to Jorgen Brahe that if the child was born a boy, he would give him the consent to raise him out of pity since Jorgen is childless. However, Tycho's parents soon changed their minds, causing Jorgen to kidnap Tycho instead (University of Virginia). At the age of 13, Tycho witnessed a solar eclipse, igniting his interest in astronomy. Tycho himself, described the event as divine and pursued his interest.

  So here's the fun part, Tycho was involved in a fight with another student over a math formula. This fight unfortunately involved intense physical violence and Tycho's nose was cut off as a result. A golden nose was placed in replacement. Fast forward, Tycho's life involved much more eccentric and odd events which I will go in depth about later in this post. However, it is again, debatable, whether or not Tycho was assassinated or not.  He did die of sudden bladder malfunction at a banquet in 1601. According to my Earth Science teacher, he did not want to use the bathroom out of politeness at the banquet which resulted in the rupture of the bladder. However, some say that he was overdosed with Mercury and some even blamed it on Kepler. 

The moose I will go into details about

  Alright, so all of the above was taught by my Earth Science teacher along with some extensive research. In the article mentioned above, Alasdair Wilkins noted a few extra details that I did not know about. For instance, Tycho lived in a castle with "a rather unusual group of regular entertainers." One of which is Jepp, the jester, whom Tycho believed to have possess supernatural powers. A novel written by Katherine Marsh called Jepp, Who Defies the Stars goes in depth about this character. Jepp was ordered to eat his dinner under the table and was a dwarf if that's not disturbing enough. 

This book is going to be on my next to-read list 

     

       Alongside the jester, Tycho also kept an elk. Uh, I don't really know how to word this properly, but the elk also died of an unusual cause. The deer "reportedly drank a lot of beer while visiting a nobleman on Brahe's behalf, after which it fell down the stairs and died" (Wilkins). So that was it, the unusual life of an unusual astronomer, hope you enjoyed today's post ! 

So here's Tycho and his elk taken from this website

Credits:

"The Crazy Life and Crazier Death of Tycho Brahe, History's Strangest Astronomer." Io9. Web. 27 Mar. 2015. <http://io9.com/5696469/the-crazy-life-and-crazier-death-of-tycho-brahe-historys-strangest-astronomer>.

Gannon, Megan. "Tycho Brahe Died from Pee, Not Poison." 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2015. <http://www.livescience.com/24835-astronomer-tycho-brahe-death.html>.

Fowler, Michael. "Tycho Brahe." Tycho Brahe. Web. 27 Mar. 2015. <http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/1995/lectures/tychob.html>.

The Dress Controversial and Optical Illusion

  Many of you probably have heard about the debate over the color of a dress that has gone quite viral overnight. Buzzfeed, NewYorkTimes, Tumblr, and several other social media agents commented on this bizarre brain illusion. In fact, it has become such an internet sensation that my biology teacher was flooded with emails and messages demanding for an answer. Thus, he spent about a quarter of the class time talking about his point of view of the hue. Basically the dress is, in fact, blue and black. Duje Tadin from the University of Rochester proposed an interesting theory. He said that due to the variation in the number of blue cones in a specific individual's brain, he or she may interpret the color differently. The more blue cones you have, the more likely you are to see blue. The less blue cones you have, the more likely it is for you to perceive the color as white.

(The second picture is the actual picture that ignited the whole controversy. In the first and third picture, light was added and extracted, making the colors appear different.)

To me, it is simply one of the many optical illusions like the one below. Although square A appears darker than square B, the second picture proves that they are of the same color. Try putting your fingers on the two sides of the squares, covering the screen, as shown in the second picture, and you will notice that they are both gray. In fact, by covering up the green cylinder itself, one perceives the colors better without the shadow casting over one of the squares. The brain tries to fill in the information that is not there by itself. Thus, since the black and white squares are arranged in an alternating pattern, the brain automatically assume that square B is white. 

(http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/awareness-and-attention/articles/2011/sensory-illusions/)

Similar to any other optical illusions, the heated debate over the true color of the dress ranges on despite the confirmation by a British retailer that the dress is black and blue. “Most people will see the blue on the white background as blue,” Bevil Conway, a neuroscientist, says. “But on the black background some might see it as white.” Additionally, the picture is badly taken, altering the lighting of the dress by contrasting it with a lighter background. The positioning of the computer screen in which one views the picture through also plays a role in why we perceive colors differently. Essentially, the computer screen reflects light that bounces off and then enters the retinal. Try tilting the computer screen while looking at the dress and you will notice a difference in the color.

Citations:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/business/a-simple-question-about-a-dress-and-the-world-weighs-in.html

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/

 

Nurturing Unconventional Interests and Dealing With Competitions

   Being passionate about something that is often not a popular and "normal" topic can be hard at times. All those cheesy Youtube videos about motivation and success tend not to work so well in the face of reality. So how do you stay motivated? Well, I might not give the best at giving out advises, but I believe that one should take pride in knowing what they want and slowly work towards that goal. Only a handful of teens know what they want to become and what career path they want to choose or even what they truly like to do. That decision or momentary thought will most likely change overtime and that is okay because time will tell you if that is the correct path. Toning down the intensity, being interested in a topic makes me want to become an expert at it. Thus, I get a bit depressed when others show their intelligence in astronomy (Ahem~a bit jealous of the Scioly team). To me, being interested in a topic doesn't mean that you have to excel at it. I, myself, am still constantly reminding myself that it doesn't matter if someone is better at doing something. View and appreciate your interest simply as a hobby and you will see improvements along the way. The solution to dealing with competitions is, in fact, not to think of the whole ordeal as a competition. This paragraph is more of a way to advise myself more than anyone else, but I hope you have found your source of enlightenment of the day.

   Recently, an one-way trip to Mars has been set up for 2024. The non-profit organization, Mars One, chose 100 people out of the 200,000 applicants. The age of the applicants ranged from as young as 18 to 71. Although the odds are against the participants, all of them are willing to settle on Mars for the rest of their lives. There is no guarantee that the participants will even set their feet on the planet, nor is there any chance of them coming back. However, the candidates are chosen based on their ability to handle the psychological stress of living in a foreign planet with a few other people and their survival skills. Most of the applicants are lovers of the outer-space, they are people who take risks for their interest and inner curiosity. My question for you is to what extent are you willing to take risks for the sake of your interests?

http://www.gmv.com/blog_gmv/mars-one/

Free from stress

   The past few weeks have been hectic and stressful due to the bombardment of finals, presentations, essays, and quizzes. In spite of that, I have some good news for you. The presentation on astronomy for my Writing Process class is finished. The finished presentation can be found at the link https://prezi.com/xbve3kbyhpny/why-astronomy/.  Presenting in front of  a room full of students was nerve-wracking. It actually went better than I thought, mostly because I was too distracted by previous presentations to feel nervous. Hopefully, I got my point across to the audience. Looking back to how desperate I was during the finals week, I feel totally refreshed and ready for the incoming tests. To be honest, I listened to Beta Waves on Youtube while studying, in order to enhance my memory. (Click on the link for Beta Brain Waves). I strongly recommend listening to music, or in this case "brain waves," to help you concentrate.  Anyhow, I successfully conquered the hardest weeks of the semester (maybe not the gym test with Mr. Hanson), and now it's time for some fun.

Recently, I've been watching Youtube videos such as Man vs. Pin and they are pretty "entertaining" to watch. (Source: youtube.com)

A "leggy" galaxy hidden behind our Milky Way
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100408150201.htm

Should Astronomy Be Taught??

   Hello everyone, first blog of 2015! (>‿◠). This morning was cold and disastrous. The snow delayed me and I missed about 20 minutes of first period lesson☁ ☂. To update a few things, I am currently working with a piece of argumentative essay for Writing Process class. The essay centers around whether or not astronomy should be taught in schools. Like most people, if you are not into astronomy, you might question the necessity to write about such boring or insignificant topic. However, this is a sneak peak of the introduction of my first draft and it might change your opinion about astronomy:


    Imagine a starry night sky with the stars glistening ever so brightly under that tranquil, navy blanket adorned by pieces of gem sparkling, revealing light from the heaven. Gazing into the history of the stars and watching them dwindle in size is something wondrous and surreal. Such beauty of the cosmos can no longer be appreciated if astronomy is no longer regarded as important. Astronomy is defined as the study of the branch of science that encompasses heavenly bodies and celestial objects outside the Earth. Galaxies, stars, planets, nebulae, supernova explosions, black holes, the Moon, the Sun, all fall under astronomy.It is currently one of the units under Earth Science, however, not everyone takes Earth Science. Although some people feel that astronomy is unimportant and unnecessary to be taught in schools, it should appear more often as a criteria because astronomy engenders critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, and interest toward science. More importantly, astronomy satisfies our curiosity and work in conjunction with relevant fields that can better the lives of everyone.

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   So that is that, feel free comment on my blog about any improvements I can make to fix my introduction, I am open to any opinions.  Something interesting that I came across with while researching for my essay is a quote by Edwin Powell Hubble:

"The history of astronomy is a history of receding horizons."

I did not choose to include this quote in my essay mainly because I do not completely understand the parallel between the two. To me, this quote paints a very visual and symbolic scenery. Both the universe and receding horizons projects a vast space which contrasts my small existence.What is your interpretation of the quote? 

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(A piece of work by Makoto Shinkai, a japanese director and animator)

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(a real photograph taken in Waterville Plateau)

So here is my finished work. You can check the presentation out by clicking the following link:

https://prezi.com/xbve3kbyhpny/why-astronomy/

Science Olympiad Experience

As you can probably tell, I joined the Science Olympiad club at the beginning of the year because of my interest in astronomy. However, I did not make the team. I was disappointed at my in-house exam result. BUT, I've decided to stick around the club and try to make the team next year. The in-house exam for astronomy is, in fact, manageable if you studied properly according to the guide... However, I have to admit that I did not study more than I would of liked.

www.picturequotes.com

                                       

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Generally, I think it's a worthy experience. I learned a lot more about time management and the determination it takes for next year!

Ok,something more entertaining. Have you watched the movie, 'The Theory of Everything'? Well, you should and I strongly recommend it to anyone. The movie depicts Stephen Hawking's life at Cambridge University, his diagnosis of ALS, and his brilliant theory of the beginning and end of the universe.

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(Stephen Hawking played by Eddie Redmayne 
Jane Wilde played by Felicity Jones)

                                                                    (Trailer, Video Link)

I just watched the trailer again unconsciously and it still gives me goosebumps of excitement. The trailer alone is enough to get you into this movie. Toronto says it best, "The Theory of Everything has the right formula for Oscars." The most symbolic scene is perhaps when a cup of coffee cream swirls cosmically, enlightening Stephen. Oh and don't forget the scene where Stephen Hawking inches up the stairs just to get a glimpse of his baby.