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The exact distance between Earth and the Sun varies with its position in its orbit, which is
elliptical. The average distance...
[Note: This is an astronomer's answer. There are numerous answers in series here, so if this
one is too long, technical, or you...
The first animals intentionally sent into space were fruit flies, which traveled along with corn
seeds aboard a U.S.-launched V2...
The universe does not expand into anywhere, it is expanding everywhere at every moment.
The Newtonian view assumes instant...
Stellar Evolution [See Link] - or Life of a Star. Stellar evolution is the process by which a
star undergoes a sequence of...
Based on current estimates, there are between 200 - 400 billion stars in our galaxy (The
Milky Way). There are possibly 100...
The big bang occurred 13.7 billion years ago. It was not an explosion, rather an explosively
rapid expansion of the fabric of the...
Existence of Space Without "space" we would have no place to "exist". It can also depend on
how you look at it and what you...
The Big Bang Theory states that the universe was formed roughly 13.9 billion years ago from
an initially tiny state that suddenly...
As with a hurricane on Earth the "Great Red Spot" is fed by heat, but unlike on Earth, the
heat is generated internally on...
Could life that is not carbon based exist somewhere in the universe?
Non-Carbon Based Life Life is only believed to be sustainable under a certain and complex
set of conditions - basically the...
How much money does a professional astronomer earn in the United States?
Professional Astronomers earn different amounts, based on their education and job status.
Current theories and models suggest that there is literally no place (not simply that we cannot
get there) where you would reach...
What is a supernova?
A "supernova" is a nova (Latin "new") explosion of a very large star, creating a nebula of
illuminated gas that is one of the...
As the season progresses the time of sunrise and sunset changes but why is the change in
time unequal eg sunrise may change by 2 minutes but sunset may change by only 1
minute?
A lot of this is just due to rounding. Most sunrise/sunset tables are in whole minutes, so the
changes are pretty choppy. But...
Why do astronomers attempt to limit or make predictions as to the size of the universe?
All forms of science are about asking questions about the world and trying to find answers. If
someone is curious about the size...
How can you measure the diameter of the sun using only a meter- stick and a piece of
cardboard?
Make a pinhole camera by putting a pinhole in your piece of cardboard. Hold a piece of paper
one meter away from the cardboard. ...
All chemical explosives that work on Earth will work in space. Here's why. Chemical
explosives are just things that burn, but...
If nothing existed before the big bang does this suggest an infinity of nothing?
Not since the Big Bang. Your question seems to suggest that you accept the idea of a Big
Bang, since you use the term 'Big Bang'...
At one time scientist pointed the Hubble space telescope in one direction for a 100 plus
hours. They discovered that we are in a...
The surface temperature of the sun is about 5,780 K, which is 5,500 °C or about 9900 °F,
while at the core it's something on...
Approximately half. Because the Moon is orbiting the Earth, various fractions of this
illuminated surface are visible, depending...
According to Scientific American: "The North Star, or Polaris, is the brightest star in the
constellation Ursa Minor, the little...
It takes billions of years for molecules of Hydrogen, floating around in space, to come
together in sufficient mass to eventually...
There are black holes in space, probably the most famous is the one in the constellation of
Cygnus (the swan) and is called...
There are black holes in space, probably the most famous is the one in the constellation of
Cygnus (the swan) and is called...
First orbiting object was the Soviet satellite Sputnik launched in 1957. If "to be in space"
doesn't mean to orbit (which can be...
The answer is not a simple one, because it depends on the criteria used. As you move upward
from the surface, gravity and the...
(1) There are many theories, and as you can imagine, they are not easily tested. The above
answer is generally the inevitable...
Well, no one really knows but Some people think that the universe stretches into infinity
while others think that there are more...
There is a longstanding myth that the Great Wall of China is the only manmade object visible
from space. It and several...
The galactic year, also known as a cosmic year, is the duration of time required for the solar
system to orbit once around the...
a) Aphelion, axis, aurora, asteroid b) Black Hole, binary star, c) Cepheid, clusters, comet,
constellation d) Day, density,...
The Earth makes one rotation in 24 hours (well, not EXACTLY but close enough for
argument). So take the circumference in miles...
What would happen to Earth's climate if the tilt of its axis became less than 23.5?
Actually, the axial tilt is currently 23.44 deg and decreasing. The axial tilt is in a continuous
cycle between 22.1 and 24.5 deg...
The temperature in space is close to "absolute zero" because any object there will radiate heat
until it cools to that point....
How do the moon and sun affect the ocean tides on earth?
The very quick and dirty answer: Our moon plays a major role in the tides of the earth's
oceans because the earth and moon are...
Physics applied, sure, but not the physics we are acquainted with. There would be a wholly
different set of rules that applied...
If it were near enough, yes. But then we all would be incerated. If the star was really far
away, then we would eventaully get...
Which star is the hottest blue giant red dwarf or regular yellow star?
Blue Giants
If two bodies of mass are attracted to each other by gravitational force why don't
objects stick together?
The gravitational force is a very weak one. Actually we only feel earth's gravitational field
because the earth's mass is huge....
The stellar disk of the Milky Way galaxy is approximately 100,000 light years in diameter.
It's stellar disk is estimated to be...
When a gaint molecular cloud collapses to form a group of stars what is this stellar
group called?
AnswerNebulaA giant molecular cloud is a form of nebula. Small numbers of stars forming
from the same gas cloud are usually open...
The largest known star is VY Canis Majoris [See Link] which is about 2,100 times larger
than our Sun which would mean...
Midnight Sun Is The Fifth Book In Stephenie Meyers Collection-Which She Stoped Writing
In November 2008 When An Unreliable Source...
The Sun does not have enough mass to become a supernova because its mass is less than the
Chandrasekhar mass (approximately 1.4...
When a medium sized star (Similar in size to our own Sun) nears the end of its life and has
used up all of its available hydrogen...
Sir Edmond Halley of England, developed the first Coil (metal spiral band)thermometer in
the late 1600/s. The metallic band was...
The sun doesn't actually move. Rather, the earth's rotation (at approximately 24 hours per
revolution) makes the sun appear to...
Stellarium is awesome! I wish I could install it on everybody's computer: The best site to
download free...
The age is approximate and is constantly being adjusted according to most recent discoveries,
but is usually thought to be the...
MMMMMMOOOMMMMMMAAAAAYYYYYY111111117777777To become an
Astronomer, you must pass your mathematics classes and your science...
Ask someone at the reference desk of your local public library for the Occupational Outlook
Handbook. It lists all kinds of...
Lunar EclipseIt is when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon causing a shadow of
Earth on the Moon. The shadow can...
How many years does it take for heat generated in the sun's core to reach its outer layer
known as the photosphere?
10 million years. How many years does it take for heat generated in the sun's core to reach its
outer layer known as the...
Is panspermia plausible?
The visible universe is estimated to contain between 1078 and 1080 atoms.(One estimate at
the higher end of the range is 4 x...
Phases of the Moon in sequence: New moon (0% illuminated) Waxing crescent moon (1% to
49%) First quarter moon (50%) Waxing...
When the " big bang theory" happened, all of the particles in space spun around for a very
long time. Eventually, after a long...
Stars are formed from huge clouds of dust and gases, mainly hydrogen and helium (which,
combined, are called nebula). As the dust...
mercury is the closest planet to the sun. it is black and small. after that planet is venus and
then our planet,...
Is sun rise or moon rise when the sun or moon breaks the horizon or is it when the
entire sun or moon is visible to the naked eye?
It is when the sun or moon breaks the horizon. And sunset and moonset happen when the last
bit (trailing limb) goes below the...
The Milky Way is about 100,000 light years in diameter (one light year is about 9.5 x 1015
meters), but only about 1000 light...
In astronomy, diffuse nebulae is the general term for illuminated nebulae. The three types of
diffuse nebulae are reflection...
A black dwarf is a hypothetical stellar remnant, created when a white dwarf becomes
sufficiently cool to no longer emit...
We do not know this because the aliens had never actually been captured by us humans or
even seen properly to determine its types...
What causes the rise and set times of the stars to change from month to month?
The relative position of the earth. The earth changes its position as it orbits around the sun.
As its position changes, the...
Many developments in optics come from astronomy. The Galilean refracting telescope and
the Newtonian reflecting telescope form...
The Sun is approximately 93,000,000 (93 Million miles or 150 million km from Earth). So
how far away is that? Light - 8.3...
Northern LightsThere is no difinitive brightness to the aurora. The total brightness is in many
millions of watts in terms of...
The distance varies somewhat, during the course of a month and also during the course of a
year. It averages out to about 93...
Europa is one of the first four moons discovered circling Jupiter. Check out this webiste for
more information: ...
Ursa Major Stars are scattered randomly across the sky. Apart from the rare exceptions, the
stars that make up constellations...
In short, the universe is expanding. All of the galaxies we have observed that are farthest
away are moving away from us. And the...
There is believed to be water, both naturally forming, and through man's intervention. On
November 13, 2009, scientists from...
The solstices are when the Sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator; the point
in the apparent path of the Sun...
- Proposed that species could change over time and that these changes could lead to a new
organism - Suggested that similar...
The circular orbital velocity of a satellite in low earth orbit is about 7 km/s or 25000 km/hr or
17500 miles/hr. If it reaches...
Technically, it doesn't. The moon revolves around the earth, kept in orbit by the earth's
gravitational pull. Because the earth...
What is geocentric?
Geocentric means considering the Earth as the center. Astrology uses this model, as did many
early societies.Advances in...
They're different sizes. Supergiants are huge. Some of them are large enough that, if they
replaced the sun in our solar...
Certainly, if they are small. Unless they enter or skim the atmosphere, they would be next to
impossible to detect.
Duct Tape in Space Whoever told you this is wrong. Duct tape is useful everywhere....
The Earth's orbit is elliptic because the actual shape of the Earth is elliptical. I'm no expert,
but I believe that the...
Will you weigh the same amount at the equator as at the North or South Pole?
You will weigh more at the North or South pole than you will at the equator. The difference
will be extremely small. (from the...
Solar PointI don't know. I know what the subsolar point is, it's the point in a orbit (of an
object around a planet) where the...
When they classify stars with O B K etc what does each letter represent for example
does K represent Kelvin does B represent Balmer?
It has to do with temperature but K does not represent Kelvin. Here is a site that might help...
aha AQA application? aha AQA application? aha AQA application? A moon made of Aero
chocolate would be 2.64x10ü19 metric...
If a marble and a grain of sand were placed in a region of space devoid of gravitational
influence would the grain of sand be drawn to the marble?
No, the sand would not be drawn to the marble. Gravity is the force that draws smaller
objects to larger ones; this force occurs...
The big bang does not provide a theory of cosmic origins. The big bang is just a theory. I am
a Christian so you can jest all you...