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Solar Eclipse 2017 Experience: A Moment in Totality

Quincy Bingham
December 27, 2017
Astronomy
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Solar Eclipse 2017 Experience Experiencing the Eclipse No matter what you read on Facebook, 2017 has been a great year, especially for astronomy and space. The top three astronomical events that come to mind first were the discovery of the Trappist planets, the completion of Juno's mission to Jupiter and the American Solar Eclipse. Experiencing the Solar Eclipse was the first time I witnessed an eclipse with my own eyes. What I can unequivocally say is that it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. I advise anyone, no matter what interests or knowledge level, to see a total solar eclipse at least once in your lifetime. The next one over North America will be April 8, 2024, so don't miss it! I saw the eclipse with a close friend in Makanda, IL, at Star View Vineyards. There were already about twenty to thirty people…

Space Music: Solarbeat

Solar System Music As a former graphic designer, I have always loved interactive projects. That's why I was ecstatic when I found the interactive musical project created by Luke Twyman and Whitevinyl! SolarBeat features musical chords using the real orbital frequencies of the eight planets along with the dwarf planets Ceres and Pluto. The tunes can be adjusted to add more echo, flutter, and bass. Along with these adjustments, scale and speed can be adjusted as well. So the next time you're bored or have some free time play some Solar System tunes. Since the planetary orbital frequencies are real, the interactive project can serve as an education piece for young students wanting to understand the differences in time each planet takes to orbit the Sun. Luke Twyman is a talented interactive designer, photographer, web developer, singer, and musician based out of Brighton, UK. He's the man behind Neverest Songs (not to be mistaken…

Why Space Needs Marketers

Why Space Needs Marketers With the rise of "NewSpace," we have seen some companies on the rise with a vision of how they see themselves in this new age space race. Engineers are scientists flushed with start-up capital launching programs and initiatives in what seems to be a daily basis. Companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have lofty the goals when it comes to getting humans in space. Sadly, they've seemed to miss a crucial element of space exploration that ultimately doomed NASA.The problem is pretty straightforward. As long as there are issues such as healthcare, taxes, unemployment, education, and poverty, space isn't top of mind for 95% of people. You and your friends my love space, but the public is lukewarm at best when it comes to traveling the stars. Most people couldn't name all eight planets or what is the Sun made out of a lesser-known…

What are Exoplanets?

What are Exoplanets? One of the best-kept secrets of our times is the fact that planets exist outside of our Solar System. Exoplanets are planets orbiting one of the billions of stars we see in the nighttime sky. As our ability to search through the vastness of space increases, we continue to find ourselves faced with an ever-expanding potential of discovering planets that could look and behave a lot like Earth. That's all fine and dandy, but wouldn't you instead impress your friends with your exoplanetary knowledge? Look no further! The History of Exoplanetary Exploration Humans began their interest in exoplanets around the 16th century. The Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno was the first to publicly support the idea based off of his belief in the Copernican theory that Earth and the other known planets of the time were indeed orbiting around the sun. He speculated that this should also be the…

Solar Republic – Year of the Sun Playlist

Quincy Bingham
September 28, 2015
Music / Sci-Fi / Solar Republic

Year of the Sun Playlist The Solar Republic - Year of the Sun playlist is my humble opinion, one of the best space playlists you'll find online. The playlist was inspired by the card game Solar Republic, based on the planets, moons, and Sun of our Solar System. The playlist includes contemporary trip-hop, indie, and NASA soundbites. Perfect for capturing the essence of interplanetary travel as a here and now proposition, not some futuristic fantasy. Coming from a lifelong space lover, I always found much to be desired with most playlists. They were almost always overly orchestral or presented excessive electronic music. "Space" or the thought of the place just outside of our atmosphere has always been portrayed as a far away, distant and alien place where only robots and computers could thrive. We see this with "Space ambiance" playlists on Youtube or with one Google search of "Space Music, "…