Astronaut
Do astronauts age faster or slower in space?
That is an excellent question, and the answer lies with the two theories of relativity: special and general.
Alfredo Carpineti
Astronomy
Alfredo’s Top 5 Physics & Astrophysics Stories Of 2015
NASA’s discovery of water on Mars Billions of years ago, Mars looked more welcoming to life than Earth was at the time. We have seen evidence of ancient lakes and river beds, but nowadays water on the surface of Mars exist almost entirely as ice. In 2007, scientists observed some dark lines formi...
Asteroid
How dangerous is it to cross an asteroid field?
How easy is to navigate through an asteroid field? Do we need to take precautions when we send probes through them? Andrew, Sidney. I’m afraid TV shows and movies have lied to you: asteroid fields are not difficult to navigate.
Elliptical Galaxy
A60s – A Galactic Heartbeat
Astronomers can measure how much the center of galaxies changes over time, taking the heartbeat of these cosmic islands.
Jupiter
What’s going on with the moons of Jupiter?
The orbit of Jupiter’s moons are all messed up and seemingly overlap. Do they interact much? Greg, U.S. Jupiter has 67 confirmed moons. Of these, 8 are regular satellites with nice prograde motion (they move in agreement with Jupiter rotation).
Astronomy
New Horizon is now en-route for next target.
New Horizon has completed the four maneuvers necessary to direct it to its next target. New Horizons is approximately 120 million kilometres beyond Pluto (which it approached on the 14th of July) and 5.08 billion kilometers from Earth. The maneuvers will change New Horizons’ trajectory by approxi...
The Astroholic Live
Astroholic LIVE 3 – Halloween Spooktacular
TBC
AstroNews
The Universe’s composition is the same everywhere
The Japanese X-ray satellite SUZAKU has looked at the distribution of gas around the Virgo cluster, a large galaxy cluster close to the Milky Way and the second brightest in X-rays. It discovered that the elements needed to make living organisms, planets and spiced-up stars are equally distribute...
How About That?
How galaxies influence planet formation
Does the specific location of a solar system within a galaxy affect the solar system’s structure? Like does distance from the centre affect how big the star is, or what kind of planets form? Stuart, London Indirectly yes. You have more gas on the outskirts than in the central regions.
Astronomy
How hot or not is a Black Hole?
Short Answer - the temperature of a black hole is inversely proportional to its mass. For a black hole with the same mass as our Sun the temperature is 60 billionths of a degree kelvin.
How About That?
Why does Iapetus have two colours?
Iapetus is the third largest satellite of Saturn, and it is the largest object in the solar system not in hydrostatic equilibrium. Iapetus is a moon of Saturn known for its colour dichotomy. It has a dark side and white side, and it is often called the Yin Yang moon.
How About That?
What makes the worlds seem round?
Are Mimas and Miranda the smallest known objects in hydrostatic equilibrium? Dan – London This question relates to the shape of astrophysical objects and as we discussed in the past, it’s an important characteristic of stars, and it’s in the definition of “planet”.