Austin Peay State University Physics Student visits National Lab, Discovers Quasar
September 23, 2016
Clarksville, TN – Quasars—massive black holes that emit large amounts of radiation—are among the brightest objects in the universe, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to identify.
For centuries, they’ve been mistaken for other shining celestial objects, and in recent years, astronomers had yet to accurately identify a certain one of these brilliant specks in the southern sky.
Austin Peay physics student Jacob Robertson
Austin Peay State University College of Education prepares local teachers for 2017 solar eclipse
June 24, 2016
Clarksville, TN – More than 4,000 years ago, Chung K’ang, the fourth emperor of the Hea dynasty in China, reportedly executed two astronomers named Hi and Ho because they didn’t predict a solar eclipse.
“So (an eclipse) is a very important thing; it can be life-threatening,” Dr. Rex Gandy, Austin Peay State University provost and vice president of academic affairs, joked recently. “And it’s pretty amazing. The sun is 90 million miles away, and it’s huge, so what are the odds that there is this little rock a quarter million miles away that just blots out the sun almost perfectly.”
Tennessee State Representative Joe Pitts tries out a pair of solar glasses during a recent educational summit at APSU.
APSU Students earn high marks for research at famed Fermilab
October 3, 2013
Clarksville, TN – Mees Fix, an Austin Peay State University physics student, thought he might be in trouble. He was outside of Chicago, analyzing white dwarf stars at Fermilab – the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratory – when he noticed something strange. One of the stars was giving off way too much light energy.
“At first, I thought I broke something,” he said. “I figured I messed something up. I walked over to Dr. Smith and said, ‘check this out? What’s going on here?’” [Read more]
