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A Dragon Eats the Sun: Ancient Chinese Astronomy - ...on what appeared to be the
sun’s annual journey across the background stars.
Why the Emperor Executed Hsi and Ho...
You and Your Telescope - ...appy to let you gaze at the heavens through their telescopes.
Some veteran amateur astronomers even warn newcomers that they will be disappointed
...
The Size of Things - ... get smaller, of course, just the angular size of the head does. In fact,
you can use this same trick (if sufficiently distant) to crush cars, or...
Hermes, Zeus and Maia - ...mes with these words: "You, 0 child, lying in the cradle, inform me about my
cattle and be quick or so...
Book of the Dead by Homer - ...d feet he kept shoving it up to the top of the
hill. But just when he was about to thrust it over the crest
then its own weight forced it ba...
What is mythology - ...d beliefs." This indeed is as good a
definition as any, clear and all-inclusive, highlighting the essential
meanings of the word in its m...
The historical dimension of Greek myths - .... Consequently our view
of Greek religion and mythology has been (and will continue to be)
modified by new knowledge, not least in the area ...
Myths of Creation in Greek culture: Part 1 - ...iverse as a flat disc with hills,
touched at its rim by the vast dome of the heavens. The deity
Oceanus is the stream of ocean that encircle...
Myths of Creation in Greek culture: Part 2 - ...not think to ask that her beloved avoid ruinous old age and retain perpetual youth. Indeed as long as he kept
his desirable youthful bloom, Tith...
ZEUS Rise to POWER: The Creation of Man: Part 1 - ...and sisters as allies: Hestia,
Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Allied with him as well were
the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes, for he h...
ZEUS Rise to POWER: The Creation of Man: Part 2 - ... even more
amazed at the kinds of skills and means that I devised; the greatest
this: if anyone fell sick, there existed no defense, neither...
Zeus, Hera and their children: Part 1 - ...His sisters Hestia and Demeter
share in divine power and functions; the other major gods and
goddesses are also given significant prerogativ...
Zeus, Hera and their children: Part 2 - ...ortal head of the lord and he made great
01 ympus tremble. After the two had made their plans, they parted; then
she leape...
Anthropomorphic conception and Greek humanism - ... more grand and
intense, their sentiments more praiseworthy and touching; and
they can embody and impose the loftiest moral values in the un...
Nemesis and Croesus - ... the seventy years will number
thirty-five and these additional months will add 1050 days.
All the days of the seventy years will total 26,2...
The Persians and Croesus - ...man placed him on the pyre wishing to see if any of the
gods would save him from being burned alive. At any rate
this is what Cyrus did, bu...
Poseidon and the sea monsters - ...Nereus, the eldest of his children, who
was gentle, wise, and true, an old man of the sea with the gift of
prophecy. Nereus in turn united ...
Athena and Minerva in greek mythology - ... of the immortals. was gripped
with awe as they watched. She quickly sprang forth from
the immortal head in front of aegis-bearing Zeus, bra...
Aphrodite and Eros in Greek mythology: Part 1 - ... her birth gives her parents
as Zeus and Dione. Dione is little more than a name to us, but a
curious one, since it is the feminine form of ...
Aphrodite and Eros in Greek mythology: Part 2 - ... the grip of
the eternal and all-dominating female through whom resurrection
and new life may be attained. An important variation on the sam...
Aphrodite and Eros in Greek mythology: Part 3 - ...have
a way," he said, "whereby men may continue to exist but
will cease from their insolence by being made weaker. For
I shall cut each ...
Aphrodite and Eros in Greek mythology: Part 4 - ... the nature of
this spirit. The conception you had of Eros is not surprising.
You believed, to infer from what you said, that Love
was ...
The Homeric Hymn to Artermis - ..., rejoicing in the chase as she draws her bow, made
all of silver, and shoots her shafts of woe. The peaks of the
lofty mountains tremble, ...
Callisto and Diana in Greek Mythology - ...er its smooth and sandy bed.
She praised the place; she dipped her feet into the water
and it pleased her. "No man is here to spy on us," s...
latest articles under "The Universe"
Navigation: Categories » Education and reference » The Universe
Below is a list of all The Universe articles. If you want to find a tutorial by keywords, all you have to do is a quick search in our directory. Just use the search option available at the top-right side of the page. The website search is powered by web-articles. Or, if you want to read specific The Universe tutorial, just point to it. The newest articles and tutorials are shown first in the list. To access the last ones, browse the pages 2, 3, 4... at the bottom. Also, you may browse articles alphabetically ordered.
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Below is a list of all The Universe articles. If you want to find a tutorial by keywords, all you have to do is a quick search in our directory. Just use the search option available at the top-right side of the page. The website search is powered by web-articles. Or, if you want to read specific The Universe tutorial, just point to it. The newest articles and tutorials are shown first in the list. To access the last ones, browse the pages 2, 3, 4... at the bottom. Also, you may browse articles alphabetically ordered.
Page# 1 (last added articles shown first)
The Size of Things (04/04/2007)
(...) Now, from our perspective on Earth, two stars may appear to be separated by the width of a finger held at arm’s length when they are actually many trillions of miles distant from each other. You could try to fix the measurement between two stars with a ruler, but where would you hold the measuring stick? Put the ruler close to your eye, and two stars may be a quarter-inch apart. Put it at arm’s length, and the distance between those same two stars may have grown to several inches. (...)
(...) Now, from our perspective on Earth, two stars may appear to be separated by the width of a finger held at arm’s length when they are actually many trillions of miles distant from each other. You could try to fix the measurement between two stars with a ruler, but where would you hold the measuring stick? Put the ruler close to your eye, and two stars may be a quarter-inch apart. Put it at arm’s length, and the distance between those same two stars may have grown to several inches. (...)
Finding your way in the dark, The Moon (04/03/2007)
(...) We said earlier that, from many locations, our sky is spoiled. The sad fact is that, these days, fewer and fewer of us can see anything like the three thousand or so stars that should be visible to the naked eye on a clear evening. Ten thousand years ago, the night sky was not lit up with the light pollution of so many sources of artificial illumination. (...)
(...) We said earlier that, from many locations, our sky is spoiled. The sad fact is that, these days, fewer and fewer of us can see anything like the three thousand or so stars that should be visible to the naked eye on a clear evening. Ten thousand years ago, the night sky was not lit up with the light pollution of so many sources of artificial illumination. (...)
Celestial Coordinates (04/03/2007)
(...) The lines of latitude, you may recall from geography, run parallel with the equator and measure angular distance north or south of the equator. On the celestial sphere, declination (dec) corresponds to latitude and measures the angular distance above or below the celestial equator. While earthbound latitude is expressed in degrees north or south of the equator (Philadelphia, for instance, is 40 degrees north), celestial declination is expressed in degrees + (above) or – (below) the celestial equator. (...)
(...) The lines of latitude, you may recall from geography, run parallel with the equator and measure angular distance north or south of the equator. On the celestial sphere, declination (dec) corresponds to latitude and measures the angular distance above or below the celestial equator. While earthbound latitude is expressed in degrees north or south of the equator (Philadelphia, for instance, is 40 degrees north), celestial declination is expressed in degrees + (above) or – (below) the celestial equator. (...)
Fall Constellations (04/03/2007)
(...) Look to the Great Square’s northeast corner for the star Alpheratz, which is not part of Pegasus, but part of Andromeda, the Maiden in Chains. If you trace a line from Alpheratz through Markab, continuing about 40 degrees southwest of Markab, you’ll find the zodiacal constellation Capricornus, Capricorn, or the Sea Goat. Capricorn is distinguished by its brightest star, the brilliant Deneb Algiedi. (...)
(...) Look to the Great Square’s northeast corner for the star Alpheratz, which is not part of Pegasus, but part of Andromeda, the Maiden in Chains. If you trace a line from Alpheratz through Markab, continuing about 40 degrees southwest of Markab, you’ll find the zodiacal constellation Capricornus, Capricorn, or the Sea Goat. Capricorn is distinguished by its brightest star, the brilliant Deneb Algiedi. (...)
A Dragon Eats the Sun: Ancient Chinese Astronomy (04/03/2007)
(...) In fact, the Chinese word for their own country means “Middle Kingdom.” Their belief was that the objects in the heavens had been put there for the benefit of humankind in general and for the emperor in particular. Perhaps for this reason, they felt particularly threatened when, occasionally, something seemed to take a bite right out of the sun, then nibble away, gradually and ominously darkening the sky and the earth below. (...)
(...) In fact, the Chinese word for their own country means “Middle Kingdom.” Their belief was that the objects in the heavens had been put there for the benefit of humankind in general and for the emperor in particular. Perhaps for this reason, they felt particularly threatened when, occasionally, something seemed to take a bite right out of the sun, then nibble away, gradually and ominously darkening the sky and the earth below. (...)
You and Your Telescope (04/03/2007)
(...) So our first piece of advice is to be patient: Don’t run out to a sale at your local Mega-Lo-Mart and buy a telescope just yet. Do I Really Need a Telescope? Few experiences with the night sky are more instantly rewarding than your first look at the moon, a nebula, or a planet through a telescope. Saturn, in particular, can look almost too perfect. (...)
(...) So our first piece of advice is to be patient: Don’t run out to a sale at your local Mega-Lo-Mart and buy a telescope just yet. Do I Really Need a Telescope? Few experiences with the night sky are more instantly rewarding than your first look at the moon, a nebula, or a planet through a telescope. Saturn, in particular, can look almost too perfect. (...)
Space Race: From Sputnik to the International Space Station (04/02/2007)
(...) Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) was a lonely Russian boy, almost totally deaf, who grew up in retreat with his articles. He became a provincial schoolteacher, but his consuming interest was flight, and he built a wind tunnel to test various aircraft designs. Soon he became even more fascinated by the thought of space travel, producing the first serious theoretical articles on the subject during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. (...)
(...) Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) was a lonely Russian boy, almost totally deaf, who grew up in retreat with his articles. He became a provincial schoolteacher, but his consuming interest was flight, and he built a wind tunnel to test various aircraft designs. Soon he became even more fascinated by the thought of space travel, producing the first serious theoretical articles on the subject during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. (...)
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