Since I grade an astronomy class for non-majors, I've come across a lot of common scientific misconceptions. I've had an interest in teaching science to the general public for a while now, so I'm going to make this into a series, written whenever I have both the time and a good topic in mind.
The very FIRST misconception I'd like to clear up is the idea that science is hard. A lot of the time, when I tell someone that I am studying astrophysics, I get a response like, "Wow, you must be really smart!" It's not a matter of being smart; it's a matter of love for the subject. There is honestly nothing I would rather do than contemplate supernova explosions.
Anyone is capable of learning science; we just need to change the mindset given to children early in their education. We need to stop saying things like, "Oh, you must not be much of a math person". It's true that math or science will not come naturally to everyone, but that doesn't mean that it can't be taught and that definitely doesn't mean it shouldn't be emphasized.
Redshift
Light travels in waves, and not all of it is visible to the human eye. In fact, the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye is actually quite small.
The frequencies toward the red side of the spectrum are less energetic (lower energy), while the frequencies toward the blue side of the spectrum are more energetic (higher energy). Believe it or not, our own Sun emits all wavelengths of light, but with different intensities; we see sunlight as "yellow" because most of the light emitted falls into that range.
"Shifting" occurs when an object that emits light is moving toward or away from us. This works in the exact same way as Doppler shift does for a siren on a firetruck. As the truck approaches, it will sound like it has a higher pitch than it would if you were standing beside a non-moving firetruck. After it passes and drives away, the siren will sound like it has a lower pitch. This is because the sound waves get compresses as it gets nearer and stretched out as it recedes.
The same thing happens with light. When a star is moving away from us, the light waves we receive get stretched out. In the diagram above, you can see that the more "stretched" looking waves are toward the left of the image. This is redshift. The opposite is true for a star moving toward us; the light waves get compressed, which corresponds to the right of the image. This is blueshift.
They derive their names from the fact that red light is a longer wavelength of visible light and blue is a shorter wavelength of visible light.
redshifted spectral lines of a distant star (right) in comparison to our own Sun (left) (source)
Have a science question? Ask me in the comments, send me a message, or email me (jupiter312@gmail.com)!
Homeopathy is ridiculous, but this description makes it sound even worse than it did when I first learned about it. Listen to "Dr." Werner fudge basic science that any freshman physics major could explain in their sleep. Actually, her little talk here sounds like what I would get if I handed a ten year old some note cards with scientific terms and equation on them and said, "put them together however you'd like".
After two years of debating and putting it off, I finally decided this week that I was going to see a professional about what I believe is Seasonal Affective Disorder.
I didn't recognize it for a while--at least two years after the first signs of it started appearing. It's a gradual change: as the seasons progress from summer to fall to winter and the days get shorter and colder, I start slipping further and further into this state, but not really realizing it at the time...except for this year. I'm noticing it now. When the Sun is out, I'm almost exuberantly happy, but start feeling bad if it so much as gets cloudy. I notice it way more in the spring, when it feels like coming to the surface after being underwater for as long as I could remember.
So with all this in mind, and with my dread of winter gnawing at the back of my mind, I decided that I was going to head to my school's free counseling center and see if I could talk to someone. I have an hour break tomorrow, in between classes, advising, and grading, and I decided that would be the perfect time to head over.
That was my plan until this afternoon, when my astronomy professor offered me research. I'll be meeting him tomorrow at noon, and my mental health can wait. I've made it through twenty winters already, after all.
...and he doesn't know how to use the English language.
Today is November 5, also known as Guy Fawkes Day. Perhaps you've heard the phrase, "Remember, remember the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."
Useless Ex #1, who likes to fancy himself some kind of anarchist, writes as his facebook status: "REMEMBER REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER THE GUN PLOWER TRESON PLOT THERE SHOULD BE REASON NOT TO FORGOT THE GUN PLOWER TRESON"
There are finger marks in the cookie dough. There are dirty pots on top of the stove and crusty noodles in a colander in the sink. There is a vague smell of rotting meat coming from the trash can.
I hate being the only neat freak in my apartment.
Update: here it is, the next morning, and still no one cleaned their mess. I sense an apartment meeting looming on the horizon.
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