The Big Finale

...................... Today, no words..... Just Watch.........

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 14 ( Finale ):

Virtual Planisphere

A Planisphere is one of the most important and basic objects you should own. Basically a planishpere displays what the sky above your head looks like at a given time and location. But if you can't buy one locally for any reason...... never think you are in trouble. This is the solution, A virtual Planishphere is in your hands here... Enjoy!! :D

Virtual Planishpere page

 

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 13

Sorry, i was a little bit busy again with projects and study :D. But here is today's episode of The Universe. A totally awesome episode specially for Alien Hunters ;D.... Enjoy!! :)

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 13:

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 12

Taking you to places you would never dare to get close to, the hit series The Universe in its new episode.

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 12:

10 Amazing Facts

The Universe is full of truly amazing and in-ordinary things. Facts that a human mind can sometimes never imagine. Here are some...

1. Astronauts get taller when they're in space.
2. Did you know that sunspots can sing?
3. Did you know that the moon is slowly drifting away from us 3.8 cm every year?
4. Can you believe that Earth has at least 4 moons?
5. Saturn’s density is so low that if you put it into water, it would float.
6. The Sun makes up 99.86% of the Solar System's mass! That means that all the planets put together as well as all the asteroids only make up about 0.14% of the Solar System's mass
7. Just a pinhead of the Sun's raw material could kill someone up to 160 kilometers away!
8. The sunlight we see today started out in the core of the Sun 30,000 years ago.
9. If two pieces of metal touch in space, they become permanently stuck together.
10. The full cost of a spacesuit is about $11 million.

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 11

Let's venture to the outer solar system planets together and discover those mysterious objects that reside at the edge of our solar system. The new episode from The Universe will take us there.

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 11:

SCOPE

Are all stars like the Sun?
The answer to this basic question has driven the field of astronomy and astrophysics for nearly 100 years.
Explore the answer here by observing stars and comparing their features to those of the Sun - by classifying stars. Your participation will be a major contribution, observing stars never before classified. You can be the very first person to measure the temperature of a star never before measured! This is discovery in the purest sense of the word.

SCOPE Home

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 10

Here comes the 10th episode. Wow, this was so fast, The greatest astronomy series ever in its best. Watch and rate :D

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 10:

ORBIT

Take flight into orbit around the third planet from the sun in the exciting journey ORBIT!

 

You control your own spacecraft. You will find yourself in a realistic VRML environment. All of the sights you will see are based on actual astronomical data and satellite imagery. This is as close as you can get to being in orbit without being hired by NASA. You can also travel in time to see what the universe looked like years ago or far into the future.

ORBIT Homepage.

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 9

Been wondering about other galaxies?! Totally different worlds than ours?! Watch this episode and get all the fun and knowledge.

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 9:

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 8

Sorry i was a little busy and i couldn't put any new posts for today, but i will keep my promise and post The Universe new episode as every day. Today's episode - the 8th episode - is about "Lord of the Rings". guess you all know who it is. Enjoy!! :D

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 8:

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 7:

Take a journey to the inner planets of our solar system in the 7th episode of the greatest astronomy show, The Universe

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 7:

The Origin of Life

One tough question that scientists have tried to answer since a very long time is: How did life came to be??!!
Many theories have been proposed on how life developed on Earth.
The Theory of Evolution that was put by Darwin attracted the attention of many people at the time and it seemed to miraculously solve the mystery behind the origin of life. This theory said that life was first started on Earth by mere chance and then evolution was responsible for the development of life as we see it now.
The idea was fascinating and collected many followers and till now supporters of this theory still believe that the scenario predicted by Darwin's ideas is the right one.
But as science have developed and our understanding of the components that make up intelligent life got deeper, scientists soon realized that life was so complex that it would exist just by coincidence.
So there had to be a source, there had to be a higher source which provided life to our planet.
As the 20th century came upon, the eyes of humanity started turning out to space. People who were not so convinced by the ideas of Evolution theory thought that maybe the source they were looking for came from outer space.
The idea itself was intriguing. Even that was enough to make governments move for the sake of this new quest, Finding life in outer space.
Though all the progress made by man in the field of space hadn't revealed even the most primitive forms of life, hopes are still high and everyone thinks that we are on the verge of discovering extraterrestrial life.
Unfortunately, this doesn't solve the problem. Even if we discover any life in outer space and had it have any relation with life on planet Earth, still stands the same question, Where did life come from at the first place??
Taking into consideration that the universe has evolved from the same place as it is many widely agreed that the Big Bang is what set fire for the beginning of our universe, universe is made of same matter and all our rules of science apply everywhere -- except maybe for very few things that remain unexplained. This means that even if life existed elsewhere, a source is essential for its start.
So we are back at the same point and our question is not answered but it has even gotten more complex.
However, the answer is very simple. Whenever our minds stop and our rules break, it is not the end of the world, but it is the end of our capacity to understand and think. Doubtlessly there exist a source of life and far more intelligent than we could perceive. It is God who created the universe and initiated life in it. this would be the only reasonable explanation that would lead the human mind to settle down knowing that the universe is not the work of coincidence or chance, but truly the work of the mighty God.

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 6

Hello guys, Sorry i was late in posting the next episode of The Universe due to some problems. But here it is and with no further delay, i will just leave you to watch one of the fascinating episodes of the greatest astronomy series ever made, The Universe

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 6:

SLOOH

SLOOH, The Live Online Observatory. It may be the only one of it's kind now on the internet, but sure by far it is the best.
It has free and paid memberships. Free members can have almost all the fun too.
SLOOH offers many things that you can never do at you backyard.  
SLOOH provides an unparalleled opportunity to explore space live by mountaintop telescopes situated throughout the world. Using SLOOH’s patented instant-imaging technology and user-friendly interface, customers of all ages and skill levels can take control of powerful telescopes from their Mac or PC computer and Internet browser. Real-time space exploration is just a click away!

There are mission that you can watch or even interact with all over the day. Be sure you don't miss all the fun and the best images you can get from you home.

Here is the link to the homepage ------> SLOOH's Homepage

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 5

The Moon, our friend and ally since heavens sent humans on the surface of this planet. Although it is our nearest neighbor, it still folds secrets for the human kind to uncover. Watch this episode to feel what i mean!!  

Astrophysics explains it all

When i saw this video, i was left in awe. It is nothing but fascinatingly imagining what today's science is seeking to prove and somehow i feel it will. It might help explain what i was saying before by combining the structure of particle physics with astronomy under the cover of Astrophysics. Watch and share the awe :D

Stellarium

Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.
It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go.

It is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Visit Stellarium and download the open source program and feel like seeing the skies in open door, with no boundaries.

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 4

Here comes the fourth episode. This one has a lot of information, and pretty nice photos. Enjoy! :)

AstroQuiz

This is a simple quiz. I am going to put some question and i will be waiting for your answers.
The purpose behind this quiz is to start some interaction between members and of course for everybody to learn and increase his/her knowledge.
I will put up 10 questions and everyone has to give only one answer for each. Good luck and remember no cheating :D.

1- How old is our universe (approximately) ?
2- How long is the distance from Earth to the nearest star?
3- How many planets are in our solar system?
4- Which star appears brightest in the northern skies?
5- What is the true color of the Sun?
6- What is the nearest galaxy to our galaxy?
7- According to the Sun's mass, What is going to happen when our sun dies?
8- Which is hotter, The Sun's surrounding corona? or the sun's surface?
9- If you know that the Sun's radius is 400 times the Moon's radius? How can the Moons totally block the Sun in solar eclipses?
10- From Earth, How far away is the center of the Milky Way?

So Those were the questions and i think they are pretty easy. Have your time thinking about the answers. I will be posting winners and best possible answers in due time. Enjoy!! :D

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 3

Hello guys, the new episode from The Universe is here.

Watch this episode and tell me what you think. It's absolutely amazing!!

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 3: 

Our Baby Universe

I thought it would be an attractive title to name the early life stage of the universe by "Baby". But honestly when i thought about it, i found that the term is highly descriptive of the early universe state.

How did our universe looked like when it was younger? What about right after the big bang??

If we want to find an answer for these questions, we have to understand something first.
To make this simple, There are four fundamental forces in nature according to particle physics (Electromagnetism, Weak nuclear force, Strong nuclear force and Gravitation).

When the universe was just few seconds from its birth (which we consider to be the big bang), it was filled with the most fundamental particles that exist in our physical models. Those particles can only interact using only the methods of interaction listed above (fundamental forces). The simplest particles would gather up and form a more complex particle. After certain amount of time when those particles increase in mass and it tends to be cooler, other interactions take place.

I don't want to go through the whole process because it requires good knowledge in particle and theoretical physics. It's one of my favorites yes, but i know it will be boring for most of you.

So if we imagine the early universe as an embryo in its early stage, we will discover it's not at all different.
You can imagine that the simple particles across the universe are like the cells in an embryo.
They keeps interacting and multiplying and developing into other cells with more complex features, just like the particles of our universe which ended up making our world now. Quarks came together to form protons and neutrons, while leptons came together to form electrons and muons. These particles can form any shape of matter we know. Weak and Strong forces bonded them together forming elements, from which galactic dust was formed.

Galactic dust or Nebula is the place which stars are formed. You can say its the uterus at which happens the cosmic evolution.

Stars were formed, gravity couldn't stand still. It brought stars together in packs. The largest one would often lead the group and every one has to obey. Larger mass mean more gravitation and so every one has to follow. This way galaxies were formed over millions of years. Then constellations appeared also from the effect of the might gravity.

The largest packs of celestial objects that are known to stick together till now are the Super clusters. Gravity gets weaker after this scale because most of our universe is made of space, occupied by energy and not masses.

Gravity is the biggest contributor to the formation of the universe as we know now. although it can't be noticed on atomic scale, gravity is considered to be the force binding the universe together.

The evolution of the universe isn't a simple one, and we don't understand many things about it till this very moment

I hope this was informative, but i know for sure it was not an easy one. Not for everyone ;D

Do you see anything common?!! I think i do...

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy

A great book that offers really simplified explanation for nearly all the topics that you would like to address in Astronomy. Never mind about the name, it's for propaganda :P. Be sure to check the sale from ebooks.com on this books and other books.

What is Astronomy?

After all the posts that i have posted on the blog, I thought to stop for a moment and think. What did i miss? Instantly, i remembered that i didn't mention What is Astronomy?

Astronomy, is an old Greek term. Astro- (from astron) means "star", while -nomy (from nomos) means arranging or regulating.

So it's fair to say that, Astronomy is the science of observing stars and arranging them according to their different properties.
But such a definition is incomplete in many ways. This definition would have applied in the early times of history of human race where naked-eye observation was the main method to see the sky above.
As the time passed, new technologies evolved and more methods where introduced to the process of observation. The first of a kind was Galileo's telescope. Many more methods followed that breakthrough and the science of sky observation became more than just mapping the sky or assigning names to stars.

Nowadays, Astronomy is the science that studies every celestial object in our vast universe to understand the specific characteristics of each and therefore formulate a definition for the Cosmos as a whole.

Astronomy is concerned mainly by the physical approach, but that doesn't mean that other branches of science aren't totally involved in astronomy. Many topics in astronomy would demand the presence of other sciences like chemistry, biology, geology, etc...

I consider that Astronomy is one of the most important branches of science for mankind. It doesn't only allow us to see how fabulous is the universe, but redefines our perception of everything in this life. From our perception of space (how small we are compared to the cosmos) to our perception of time (how short is our lives compared the age of universe). If we really understand the concepts this science offers to our little minds, our lives would greatly change into a unique experience of each individual.

Well, what i am trying to say is that we should not view astronomy as complicated subject but in matter of fact it has to be viewed as a life necessity.

Hope you enjoyed my small brief about Astronomy, wait for more!!

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 2

As i promised, here is the second episode to the amazing TV series The Universe.

Enjoy watching :).

Symphony of Science

The Symphony of Science is a musical project headed by John Boswell designed to deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form. Here you can watch music videos, download songs, read lyrics and find links relating to the messages conveyed by the music.

The project owes its existence in large measure to the wonderful work of Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steve Soter, of Druyan-Sagan Associates, and their production of the classic PBS Series Cosmos, as well as all the other featured figures and visuals.

Thanks to a such smart and intellectual project. Most of the music on the blog are form Symphony of Science.

Here is the latest video from Symphony of Science called

The Poetry of Reality

Galaxy Zoo

Galaxy Zoo is a Zooniverse project. The current version of the project is Galaxy Zoo 2.
Galaxy Zoo 1 has already done a great job with help of all the people who participated in it.
Galaxy Zoo 1 was launched in July 2007, with a data set made up of a million galaxies imaged with the robotic telescope of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. With so many galaxies, the team thought that it might take at least two years for visitors to the site to work through them all. Within 24 hours of launch, the site was receiving 70,000 classifications an hour, and more than 50 million classifications were received by the project during its first year, from almost 150,000 people.

The task of the first Galaxy Zoo users was to split the galaxies into ellipticals and spirals and — if the galaxy was a spiral — record the direction of the arms.

For Galaxy Zoo 2 project the aim is a little bit different. Here are some of questions that users will need to answer through galaxy zoo 2:

• Is the galaxy simply smooth and rounded, with no sign of a disk?
• How rounded is the given galaxy?
• Could the galaxy be a disk viewed edge-on? 
• Does the galaxy have a bulge at its center? What shape is it?
• Are there any signs of spiral arms?
• etc....

 As you see it requires more information and consequently more work on the images, but in the core the idea is very simple and it can be of a great help to the scientific community.

So i encourage everyone to take part in, try classifying some galaxies and feel that you have done something even if it small.

Here the link for the project site http://www.galaxyzoo.org 
You can register here https://zooniverse.org/signup
You have to go through the tutorial first before you can begin the real work

I hope you find this useful. Have fun doing the scientists work :D

Join the Quest

What is setiQuest?

For centuries humans have looked at the stars and wondered “are we alone?” Now, setiQuest is an opportunity for you to help answer that question. In 1960, Frank Drake conducted the first scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Since then, scientists from many countries have conducted more than 100 projects looking for communication signals from other civilizations. With the spread of the Internet in the 21^st century, it is now possible for humans around the globe to participate in this new SETI program.

You can participate as a software developer, signal detection algorithm developer, or a citizen scientist.

What is SETI?

SETI is an acronym that stands for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Since we currently have no mechanism for directly discovering intelligence across the vast distances between the stars, we look for something produced by intelligence (at least here on Earth). We attempt to find evidence of another civilization’s technology. At the SETI Institute we search for engineered radio signals using the Allen Telescope Array, and for short bright laser pulses using the optical telescopes at Lick Observatory.

Andromeda Galaxy

Andromeda galaxy captured in infrared. Totally a Beauty!!

Our Universe, The Known Universe

As it is widely known, The Visible Universe ( Known Universe ) to human race is approximately 13.7 billion light years. If you can't imagine how this could be, please take a moment and watch this great video.

The Known Universe: 

The Universe

It's here the infamous TV series, The Universe. This TV series is totally worth watching. I would say you must see it if i could. You will not just feel the power of knowledge, but you get twice the fun you get from going to the movies and it's granted. :D

Episodes will be added daily. Starting with First episode from Season One.

Enjoy!

The Universe, Season 1 Episode 1: