Physics / Astronomy

Drifting through cosmic dust into April Lyrid Meteors

People say that April showers bring May flowers, but have you ever considered meteor showers? We are in the midst of the annual Lyrid meteor shower, and it is one of the oldest meteor showers ever observed with sightings dating back to 687 BC. In 2022, the shower is expected to peak on the night

2017 Nobel Prize in Physics

On Tuesday, October 3rd the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish, and Kip Thorne for their contributions to the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). On February 11th, 2016, LIGO announced the first detection of gravitational waves, a monumental moment in science. Gravitational waves were predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916,

What is Quantum Mechanics?

What comes to mind when you think about the word “physics?” You probably see yourself sitting in your high school or college Intro Physics course trying to memorize what seemed to be pointless equations and relationships between variables. For example, the good ole' F=ma. Many of us know these basic physical principles referred to as

Wait a Hot Minute!

What if I told you that the flow of time is an illusion due to our limited consciousness and that the only true distinction between the past and the future is the presence of heat? You might call me crazy. However, it turns out that while the flow of time is obviously an essential part

Getting around space, Star Wars style?

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/262628478″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /] Normally the scientific community takes a stab at making science fiction a reality. But, science fiction took a page from science this time around. Learn about how the ion engines of Star Wars work in reality and how it is enabling space exploration, like never before. Links: CubeSat Podcast, Saturn

That’s No Moon…

Welcome to Star Wars week here at the Athens Science Observer. To help celebrate May the 4th – Star Wars Day –  we wanted to take a look at the real life science of that galaxy far far away. To start off, we'll dive into one of the most iconic pieces of Star Wars culture:

First Detection of Gravitational Waves

By Paige Copenhaver On February 11th, scientists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) announced the first ever detection of gravitational waves. Analogous to ripples caused by throwing a rock into a pond, gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime caused by the acceleration of massive objects in space. The collision of

Dark Matter and Dark Energy

By: Paige Copenhaver, Athens Science Café Most people have heard of dark matter and dark energy in the news or in the media. For example, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Enterprise encounters a dark matter cloud. In Futurama, dark matter is used to fuel starships. Though many people are familiar with the terms,

Lightsabers: Science fiction, or scientific possibility?

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” Arthur C. Clarke SciFi is one of the most popular genres of storytelling out there. Greats like Lucas, Asimov, and Shelley have inspired generations to think weirder and imagine bigger. In the last 15 years alone, we have developed prototypes for jetpacks, driverless cars and organ printing

Microwaves in Space!

How old is the universe? The deeper you look into space, the further you are looking back in time. This is because the further light is away from us, the longer it takes for it to reach us. Looking back in time to about 378,000 years after the birth of the universe, and thus viewing

Not so Fast Elon Musk: The Biological Barriers to Colonizing Mars or the Moon

The reality of a man-made colony in space is becoming more plausible every year. Both private industry and government institutions are combining their collective genius to tackle the substantial engineering challenges associated with building human habitats on these completely alien environments. Many see space colonization as inevitable, like homesteading the American West with a twist;

Scroll to Top