The Science of STAR WARS….SPOILERS!

By | 2017-12-21T14:41:59-08:00 December 21st, 2017|Astronomy, Featured, Physics, Technology|

There are plenty of concepts in Star Wars that just straight up require a suspension of scientific understanding.  Some of the classic are: no sound in space, explosive fireballs in space, and the basic laws of gravity.  However; all of these blights allow for a more entertaining movie so we allow them without much questioning. Also...why does every spaceship in Star Wars always orientate itself to be right-side up?  There is no right side up in space! The first scene of "The Last Jedi" starts out with an iconic space battle.  Poe Dameron and Leia Skywalker are leading a bombing run on a [...]

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What SpaceX Means to Space Travel

By | 2016-04-29T12:06:26-07:00 April 21st, 2016|Astronomy, Featured, Science, Technology|

Ask any expert and they will tell you that SpaceX will not be the first to take a man to Mars.  This is quite a strange consensus since Elon Musk founded his space technologies company for that exact purpose.  He can even be caught repping the tagline, "Occupy Mars," across his T-shirt as he walks around his state of the art facility. “My proceeds from the PayPal acquisition were $180 million. I put $100 million in SpaceX, $70m in Tesla, and $10m in Solar City. I had to borrow money for rent." -Elon Musk "Stop fighting, WWIII would ruin our [...]

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Let’s Build a Warpdrive

By | 2016-03-27T03:37:35-07:00 February 24th, 2016|Astronomy, Featured, Physics, Science|

If you have read our recent article, or any like it, then you already know about the incredible discovery of Einstein's predicted gravitational waves.  And so, it is time for us to "nerd out" imagining what new technologies could arise from the discovery. It is time for us to build a Warp Drive. Yes, that same legendary Warp Drive you remember from Star Trek is actually based in some concrete scientific fact. How it works: The space in front of the spaceship is condensed while simultaneously the space behind the ship is expanded. This takes an insane amount of energy. A bubble of normal, "flat" [...]

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What are Gravitational Waves and why do I care?

By | 2016-03-02T06:37:34-08:00 February 12th, 2016|Astronomy, Featured, Physics, Science, Technology|

(Image: one of two LIGO research facilities that detected gravitational waves, Washington State)  By now you most likely have heard the news about the discovery of gravitational waves and that it is being lauded as the biggest discovery of the last century. So what is a gravitational wave? Image depicts warping of space around earth. The discovery of a gravitational wave really solidifies a theory that we had a fairly firm understanding of previously.  And that is that that space can be bent and warped in the presence of matter and energy.  This bending is what we call gravity. However; [...]

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My Blind Faith

By | 2016-03-11T04:58:25-08:00 November 10th, 2015|Astronomy, Biology, Featured, Philosophy, Physics, Politics|

"Oh I'm a Christian, so I don't believe in that" is no longer a valid excuse for ignoring concrete scientific facts.  And so it is time for all Christians (including myself) to wake up into the modern scientific age and ask some tough questions about our beliefs or be left at the kids table with the guy who is way too old to still believe in Santa Clause. Christianity needs a scientific revolution. A pursuit as noble as seeking the truth found in Christ has somehow made enemies with a pursuit of the same family; Science, the pursuit of truth found [...]

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Dark Energy Epicycles

By | 2015-11-11T07:24:39-08:00 July 23rd, 2015|Astronomy, Featured, Philosophy, Physics, Science|

  There is a world hidden from sight.  A world that we cannot touch, see or hear.  It is hidden behind every point of space and every moment of our lives; a dark world that surrounds us.  Or so most scientists believe. Graphic showing how the measured speeds of stars as they get further from the center of their galaxies does not decrease to match calculations. Why do scientists believe in this hidden world?  Because galaxies should simply not exist based on our understanding of gravity and the laws of physics.  These massive collections of stars spin so [...]

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The Problem of Scale

By | 2016-05-16T22:39:09-07:00 January 16th, 2014|Astronomy, Physics, Science|

  This image is referred to as the "Hubble Deep Field" and it is the single most astonishing picture ever taken.  It is the product of Hubble astronomers' dumb luck as they whimsically aimed the Hubble Telescope at what they thought was an empty space in the sky.  But instead of darkness they found galaxies; billions and billions of hidden galaxies, ghosts caught on film. Patiently, the Hubble Telescope steadily aimed at this dark spot and exposed over 300 images for 10 days.  When the images were merged into one, the black spot was revealed to not be black at [...]

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Citizen Science: Get Involved!

By | 2015-11-11T07:26:44-08:00 August 1st, 2013|Astronomy, Biology, Physics, Politics, Science, Technology|

  Science seeks to harness the brain power of the human population with citizen science projects.  Utilizing the internet, research groups have gamified research for the scientifically curious citizen to help play a role in the advancement of science.  Online programs have been designed to catalog craters on the moon, search for asteroids headed towards earth and identify the creatures of our seas. Clearly, the every day citizen isn't the prefered source for scientific data analysis but there are only so many graduate students to go around.  Because of this, some studies have turned to the average joe to [...]

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In Search of Europans (On Jupiter’s Moon)

By | 2015-11-11T07:27:20-08:00 April 6th, 2013|Astronomy, Biology, Featured|

No, this article's title is not a typo and this search is not for our friends across the Atlantic.  These potential Europans are not as conveniently located; in fact, they live on the distant moon of Jupiter.  The icy surface of this moon, named Europa, might seem like a barren wasteland, but below its outer shell could lurk a hidden ocean; an ocean of liquid water that, until recently, has remained hidden without our knowledge.  As Europa orbits Jupiter, the gravitational stress causes the moon's core to heat up, which could melt the ice into a possible haven for life.  Pictures of Europa's surface, taken [...]

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The Panspermia Hypothesis

By | 2015-12-07T22:44:46-08:00 March 19th, 2013|Astronomy, Biology|

  They tumble through the blackness of space; frozen and isolated.  Their solar systems have abandoned them and the light from the star that gave them birth fades into the void of interstellar space. Perhaps this journey began with tragedy; a distant world in turmoil.  It's inhabitants scrambling to save their oasis of life from an impending collision, but to no avail.  And from the ashes of this scattered world falls a freeze-dried microcosm; a comet carrying with it the remains of its parent planet. Normally an ambiguous occurrence of the universe, but this comet is headed for Earth.  Not an Earth we [...]

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What are we teaching these kids?!

By | 2015-11-11T07:27:46-08:00 March 18th, 2013|Astronomy, Biology, Featured, Physics, Politics, Science|

  Sadly, the human mind has a limited knowledge capacity.  So why then do our schools continue to waste student's valuable brainpower on outdated paradigms and extinct scientific rationale?  Without even qualifying these dated lessons as science history or as a step in the progress of science, we are building scientific scaffolding in the minds of our young students that leads them to build a incorrect view of our world.  Even more frightening, it could prevent our future generations from being able to progress our scientific understanding. I will consent with Isaac Newton's sentiment that, " we stand on the shoulders of giants," but even Newton [...]

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An Anthropic Universe (Many Worlds Theory)

By | 2016-02-03T22:58:43-08:00 January 29th, 2013|Astronomy, Biology, Featured, Science|

  The problem with proving the theory of multiple universes is that these universes are inherently not apart of our own.  Due to this seemingly obvious fact, designing and tediously carrying out experiments in our universe have failed to detect anything beyond.  But still, our great minds ponder a bubbling foam of multiple universes and our whole universe trapped inside one of those many bubbles.   Perhaps we will one day decipher a method for crossing through the thin skin of our cosmic bubble, but for now the idea of multiverse is entirely theoretical and mathematical. Quantum does theory suggests these hidden worlds with cornerstone principles such [...]

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December 21, 2012: Mayan Apocalypse

By | 2015-11-11T07:28:19-08:00 December 18th, 2012|Astronomy, Featured|

  There is a lot of misinformation out there so let's set the record straight before we all start running for the hills because after a few ridiculous blockbuster movies and some thought-provoking history channel documentaries, we are now a society closely approaching a highly anticipated date. The Mayan calendar known as the long count will end its 13th baktun (a period of 144,000 days) which marks the end of the first "Great Cycle" on December 21, 2012. There are questions on the accuracy of this date due to the calendar not accounting for leap years, however the issue of [...]

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I might believe in UFOs, but I don’t believe YOU…

By | 2015-11-11T07:28:40-08:00 December 7th, 2012|Astronomy, Biology, Featured, Science, Technology|

  I love a good UFO conspiracy as much as the next guy. However, traveling across the universe and through the vacuum of space to probe some humans seems ridiculous. And while the numbers are clearly on the side of the existence of extra-terrestrial intelligent life, it is hard for me to believe that these same advanced aliens fail to be able to land securely and crash into the the deserts of New Mexico. Although if these are aliens are crashing into our planet, I have new found confidence that we could successfully defend ourselves against a alien invasion. Because [...]

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Our Cosmic Bubble

By | 2015-11-11T07:28:51-08:00 December 4th, 2012|Astronomy, Biology, Featured, Philosophy, Science|

  Our cosmic bubble is a nurturing oasis, yet so fragile and vulnerable.   The Earth is home to us all, the only known refuge for life across the universe.  Past its thin atmosphere, we find life growing abundantly.  From the oxygen rich atmosphere, to the shielding magnetic field; the Earth seems to be almost perfectly adjusted for life.  As if the planet was made with humanity in mind.  As if this place we call home was predestined for life.  So much had to have gone right for the earth to be so hospitable. However, this third rock from the sun has not always been [...]

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Stargazing Monkeys

By | 2015-11-11T07:30:45-08:00 October 10th, 2012|Astronomy, Biology, Philosophy|

  We are as specks on a cosmic fabric, a vapor in the celestial wind.  However, our species have become conscious not only of our existence but also of the happenings of the universe we inhabit.   How is this revelation of existence evolutionarily significant?  Or is this question a leading one due to the assumptions imbedded?  There is strong fossil, genetic, and experimental data to support the selfishness of genes.  Meaning that genes that survive are the ones that promote the reproduction of the organism.  Or in some rare cases simply the reproduction of the gene itself.  This is [...]

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Goodbye Blue Sky

By | 2015-11-11T07:31:13-08:00 September 19th, 2012|Astronomy, Physics, Politics, Science, Technology|

  All men have looked up at the sky in wonder, but less have looked down from the sky in awe.  Few have been wrapped in the dark arms of the universe.  And even fewer have seen all of mans existence shrink into a pale blue dot as Carl Sagan so eloquently put it.  These men, through the help of our government were the pioneers of a new frontier.  And their efforts have paved the way for hundreds of new space fearing innovations like satellites, orbiting telescopes, and private space flight.  But even though this innovation has redefined the skyline, it still has found a glass [...]

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The Big Freeze

By | 2015-11-11T07:31:58-08:00 September 7th, 2012|Astronomy, Philosophy, Physics, Science, Technology|

Like most landmark discoveries, the history of our universe was stumbled upon by accident.  It seems most game-changing, earth-shattering discoveries are a product of proper planning giving opportunity to dumb luck.  (The discoveries of radiation, the electromagnetic force and penicillin to name a few.) Albert Einstein once said, “Education is what is left after we have forgotten all we have learned in school.” And it seems similarly, scientific break-throughs are what is left after the scientific method breaks down. The discovery that revealed our universe's rich history was the detection of cosmic background radiation, and it was found in a [...]

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