A friend invited me to go with her and a couple of other people to do some star gazing at William O'Brien State Park on Friday evening. Some graduate students in astronomy were on hand to give a little talk with some pictures before we headed outside to have a look through the telescopes. I learned that it takes patience and some practice to be able to focus the telescope on what you want to look at. We started with Saturn and were able to see the rings around it. Later on one of the students tried to find a star nebula. When he did find it, he quickly lost it since it is hard to hold the telescope in place. It is possible to lock it but that movement moves the telescope a bit and might knock what you are looking at out of the field of view. It was getting late and we had an hour drive back to the city so we didn't stick around to see if he was able to focus long enough on a nebula so anyone else could have a look.
The vastness of the universe is mind boggling. It takes over 8 minutes for the light of the sun to arrive on earth. There are billions of stars in our galaxy and astronomers estimate there are billions of galaxies. That adds up to a lot of stars.
One of the things they told us about was the "apod" site where an Astronomy picture of the day is posted. Fascinating stuff! What an awesome creator who created not only the vast universe but also the atoms and cells I've been studying about in biology and chemistry. It is amazing how everything works.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
One Crazy Week
Last week was the first week I missed writing here without a good excuse and it was Friday before I had time to do more than check my email. Last weekend was filled with packing up my things and Sunday I moved in with a couple from church who graciously offered to let me stay with them until July 1st when I can move into a new apartment.
On Tuesday my Biology class started. The professor introduced himself and then asked us to tell why we were in the class. When I explained that I needed biology so I could take anatomy he said he thought I was in the wrong class and I should be next door. Maybe I should have gotten up right then. Wednesday I confirmed with an adviser that yes, I was signed up for the wrong class. I needed Biology 1001 not 1000. I was able to get out of the 1st class but needed a signature from the new professor and the dean of the science department to get into the new one. I didn't have time to do any of that on Wednesday and the professor wasn't on campus anyway. So once I was done with my math class on Thurs morning I parked myself outside the professor's office and waited for her to come. She was more than gracious and let me in despite there not really being a spot. I was able to make up part of the lab I had missed earlier in the week and I don't feel too far behind in lecture since most of what they had covered the 1st day was review from Chemistry class. Once I got home on Thurs evening I still had to study for the weekly Friday morning math test. Needless to say, I was glad when Friday afternoon rolled around and I could take a little slower pace. This week promises to be just as busy - minus the stress of making sure I'm in the right class.
I capped off the week today by going to a Twins game with my brother and his family. It was a good game with the Twins pulling out the win in the 9th inning. My 8 year-old niece was really hoping they would score so it wouldn't go into extra innings. Her attention span had been exceeded and she was wishing she had brought a book.
On Tuesday my Biology class started. The professor introduced himself and then asked us to tell why we were in the class. When I explained that I needed biology so I could take anatomy he said he thought I was in the wrong class and I should be next door. Maybe I should have gotten up right then. Wednesday I confirmed with an adviser that yes, I was signed up for the wrong class. I needed Biology 1001 not 1000. I was able to get out of the 1st class but needed a signature from the new professor and the dean of the science department to get into the new one. I didn't have time to do any of that on Wednesday and the professor wasn't on campus anyway. So once I was done with my math class on Thurs morning I parked myself outside the professor's office and waited for her to come. She was more than gracious and let me in despite there not really being a spot. I was able to make up part of the lab I had missed earlier in the week and I don't feel too far behind in lecture since most of what they had covered the 1st day was review from Chemistry class. Once I got home on Thurs evening I still had to study for the weekly Friday morning math test. Needless to say, I was glad when Friday afternoon rolled around and I could take a little slower pace. This week promises to be just as busy - minus the stress of making sure I'm in the right class.
I capped off the week today by going to a Twins game with my brother and his family. It was a good game with the Twins pulling out the win in the 9th inning. My 8 year-old niece was really hoping they would score so it wouldn't go into extra innings. Her attention span had been exceeded and she was wishing she had brought a book.
Monday, June 6, 2011
College Algebra
The first of two summer classes began last Tuesday. Over 30 of us are to show up every morning at 8 for two hours. Some straggle in and I heard numerous comments as the week went on about how hard it was to get up that early. It's not that hard for me but I am having to make sure I get to bed at a decent hour or I struggle to stay awake in the afternoon.
Since this is a summer course the class is moving at a rapid pace. Last week we covered 6 sections in 3 days. This week we only cover 4. For the following 5 weeks we'll be covering at least 6. So far we have covered things we are already supposed to know and carried them a step or two further. I do wonder why math definitions have to be so enigmatic. While I expect most people can easily determine if a graph is increasing or decreasing they would be at a loss to know what is meant by,
Since this is a summer course the class is moving at a rapid pace. Last week we covered 6 sections in 3 days. This week we only cover 4. For the following 5 weeks we'll be covering at least 6. So far we have covered things we are already supposed to know and carried them a step or two further. I do wonder why math definitions have to be so enigmatic. While I expect most people can easily determine if a graph is increasing or decreasing they would be at a loss to know what is meant by,
A function f is increasing on an open interval I if,
for any choice of X and x in I, with X < x, we have f(X) < f(x)
Why not just say that if it's going up from left to right than it is increasing. If it is going down from left to right, it is decreasing. That is simple and understandable to everyone (at least I would think so.)
Staci and I were approved for the apartment we looked at the end of May. We'll be moving in on July 1st. It is good to know what the next step is. In the meantime, I needed to find a place to stay for a couple of weeks and was blessed to have three offers from people at church. Besides studying, I'll be packing up my room this week.
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