Author Archives: robb1138

The Warmth of the Sun

01 Wednesday Oct 2014

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sun-in-blue-skyI know many people who refuse to wake up or get out of bed in the morning until the gentle rays of the Sun warm their face. What is not apparent to the average person is that those rays of light travel at the finite speed of 186,000 miles per second. That those rays of light transverse about 93 million miles from the Sun to the Earth. It has taken those same rays of light 8.3 minutes ((93000000/(186000 mps x 60) = 1116000 mpm) =8.3). The time that it takes light to travel from the source (the Sun) to an observer is called “lookback” time. In this case the lookback time is 8.3 minutes.

When looking at distant stars we are seeing the light of those stars that has finally arrived here on Earth that in some cases have taken over 2 billion years to transverse the void of space. We are seeing these stars as they were 2 billion years ago.

1160000

The time it takes light to travel from a source to an observer. Light travels at the finite speed of 300,000 kilometers per second. The Sun is so distant that light takes 8.3 minutes to travel from it to Earth. Hence, the Sun has a lookback time of 8.3 minutes; we see it as it was 8.3 minutes ago. The Andromeda Galaxy has a lookback time of 2 million years; we see it as it was 2 million years ago

Some Great Links:
http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/lookback_time.html
http://www.site.uottawa.ca:4321/astronomy/index.html#lookbacktime
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/the_universe/Lookback.html

My Proudest Professional Achievement

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by in Personal Experience, Professional

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My proudest achievements professionally is that I can take an idea for a product or concept, work with a few special people, and create a solution that is greater than the sum of their parts.  Like a movie director, taking a vision and running on it to create a product, or solution that meets the customer’s requirements.  Meet project deadline objectives, and overall, makes money for all involved or achieve the intended results. Several projects come to mind, one was when I was working over at the Advertising Checking Bureau.  I was in the middle of a large project for one our major clients and my boss came to me and requested that they needed me to transition off my project and take over another one.  The Project Manager for that project left the company and they wanted me to take over the project.  I started a transition plan that would move my duties to several individuals, allowing me to move slowly away from the project and allow a new project manager, to take over and not be overwhelmed.  On the other hand,   I would not have the luxury of phasing into my new project.  Due to project timeframes and the morale that the last PM left the team in. it was a major entertainment company that I stepped in, took control, and reorganized the project, communicated our plans to the customer, and tackled any development issues head on with the customer.  In less than four month, I moved back to my original project team.  What I left with that project was a stable communication plan, a stable quality control process, and team members in good morale, with an enthusiastic team spirit. Customer’s satisfaction increased, becoming a standard for the company and the product that we delivered to them they still utilized the software solution today, and the customer is still happy.

Have you ever felt like you were born in the wrong decade or era?

29 Monday Sep 2014

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Church © Alptraum | Dreamstime Stock PhotosFirst I thought about being born around the beginning of the 20th century. But then I thought about the diseases and lack of utilities like the toilet and toilet paper. That already knocked off the 19th century off my list. I didn’t want to be born in the 1920s because I would be just right to be obligated to go to WWII. If I was born in the 1940s I thought it would be cool to experience the 1960s in my twenties with all the music and free love and living expenses were much lower. But that meant I would have to live a life similar to my father’s and I would want that. I thought about being born in the 1970s but cinematically and musically the 1990s wasn’t that great and the 80s were better. Being born anytime after 1980 isn’t an option for me because I wouldn’t know all that I know know to understand all that could have been.

The Age of Reason

26 Friday Sep 2014

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Throughout the history of modern astronomy the scientific method has played an important role in helping to guide scientist in correctly modeling a theory of how our solar system interacts in the whole cosmology of the universe. The history of scientific method and the history of astronomy seem to develop hand in hand. A development in astronomy seems to coincide with a refinement in the method of studying the sciences. The ancient Egyptians, using a form of the method in their surgical manuals, stated the basic forms of examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. The ancient Greeks formalized at tradition of a scientific method that included some of the steps that we include today. However, it was during the renaissance period that we get a more defined version of a method. The philosopher/scientists Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Newton all played a part in defining this process and in turn used it to prove to the world that the model of the universe was not geocentric, but was in fact, heliocentric, the Earth revolved around the Sun.

The Heliocentric model of the solar system was put forth by an ancient astrologer  Aristarchus of Samos in 200 BCE, however without any method to prove this theory, this model was overshadowed by the geocentric model of the Solar System and common sense.The method commonly accepted today, in its simplest form, includes the following four steps: The first step involves observing and describing a phenomenon or group of phenomena. The ability to observe what was happening up in the heavens in ancient times was limited at best. With out the aid of telescopes ancient man resorted to using mathematics to explain what the thought they saw in the sky. Claudius Ptolemy (85 -165 CE) used mathematics to portray a very complicated geocentric model trying to explain how the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets revolved around the Earth. This model of the universe was accepted by the Catholic Church and survived and prevailed for almost 1400 years due to the church’s heavy influence.

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Philosophy of Movement

26 Friday Sep 2014

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As in Philosophy, so it is in Astronomy, there are many events that happen on a regular basis that we take these proceedings for granted. In Philosophy the question, “How do you know that the sun will rise again tomorrow?” always comes across the first year philosophy student and leaves him just as perplexed about it at the end of his ponderings as he did prior to them. The fact of the matter is, the sun does not move in the manner in which we commonly take for granted.

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