Benjamin Banneker was an African-American astronomer, clockmaker, & publisher who was instrumental in surveying the District of Columbia. Banneker taught himself astronomy & advanced mathematics. He turned his attention to both subjects. His study of astronomy enabled him to make the (...)
Hipparchus of Rhodes was born around 190 BC in Nicaea, Bithynia (now known as now Iznik,Turkey). Hipparchus divided a circle into 360 degrees was the inventor of trigonometry. Hipparchus calculated the length of the year to within 6 1/2 minutes and discovered the precession of equinoxes. His (...)
This is how the Earth looked as photographed from a point near the Moon by the Apollo 8 astronauts. The Earth fills less than one percent of the frame exposed through 80mm lens. North is approximately vertical. Kinda lonely, isn't (...)
When the Challenger disaster occurred, it exploded killing all aboard, it shocked the nation, started a NASA investigation, and led to many changes in the shuttle program. Here, we look back at the Challenger disaster to see what happened. Most of us remember where we were when we learned of (...)