# All Questions

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### Can we observe what objects exist at the L3 positiion of planets of our solar system?

From what I understand Earth's L3 is obscured by the Sun, so is that true for our viewpoint of the other planets? Or, are there times when other planets are on the other side of the Sun from Earth and ...
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### Binary stars system ultimate fate

I read an article mentioning that when two stars orbiting each other they'll produce gravitational waves that can carry away energy into space. These phenomenon increases the speed of the two orbiting ...
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### What could be the utmost lowest temperature in the universe/multiverse?

What could be the utmost lowest temperature in the universe/multiverse?
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### Can ground based telescopes use a starshade in space?

1) Could a starshade in orbit be used by ground based telescopes? If so, what kind of orbit should it have? 2) Could the same starshade be used by two different space telescopes, or does the ...
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### death of a red dwarf star / minimum mass needed for a white dwarf?

OK, first, I know there's a variety of sizes and types of red dwarf stars and the universe is too young for any of them to have reached the end of their main sequence phase yet, so it's all ...
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### infrared telescopes, magnitude and observations

Currently 22-23mag could be the limit to make a spectrum for ground based 10m class telescopes, 21-22may may be easy for them. 4m class telescopes could handle 20mag? I am not sure. 2m could be ...
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### how to tell an optical spectrum is featureless or just with a low S/N?

A featureless spectrum and a spectrum low S/N are very similar. Is there a way to tell them?
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### what is a Friedmann model?

Can you explain what is a Friedmann model to a layman? And also give some examples of Friedmann models, specially I would like to know if the lambda-CDM model is considered a Friedmann model.
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### Is the Oort Cloud actually opaque, or is the “cloud” used euphemistically because minor planets inside of it are too dim to be seen?

I did read several of the Oort Cloud questions/answers which I found very helpful and instructive, but this question still persists for me: Is the Oort Cloud actually opaque, or is the "cloud" used ...
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### Is there any practical use for astronomy?

Although astronomy is very cool and the things we are learning are awesome, is there really any practical use to knowing the things we know about the universe? Do other fields of science draw from ...
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### How can I calculate how the debris of an object ripped apart at the Roche limit will spread out?

Let's say I have a moon orbiting a planet at a distance $d$. Eventually, $d \leq d_R$, where $d_R$ is the Roche limit of the moon-planet system. I can figure out the mass of both bodies by experiment, ...
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### Leaving the Milky Way

If we had a hypothetical spacecraft, would it be possible to exit our galaxy, wait for some time and enter back into another section? Will this method be more efficient that a more traditional flight ...
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### Why are distant objects observed in the near infrared?

I was reading an article that explains why JWST is a successor to Hubble and not a replacement for Hubble. They explained that Hubble's science pushed astronomers to look at longer wavelength. And ...
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### Galactic extinction as a function of distance

I am looking at several galactic sources in the $I$, $R$ and $V$ bands and I want to calculate their absolute magnitudes. I can get the apparent magnitude and I know the distance so I just need to ...
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### What is the minimum size of a ball of gas to become a star?

I know there are two criteria to meet in order for nuclear fusion to occurs. High temperature (many times temperature at Sun's core) High pressure (protons are very close to each other) [Goal] ...
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### Is it possible to use the stars to determine the passage of time?

I'm writing a science fiction short story which involves a group of people being in suspended animation for a very long period of time, on the order of thousands of years. My question is, would an ...
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### Around what apparent magnitude can the naked eye observe an object during full moon

For a very rough guideline using healthy/corrected eyes adjusted to the dark, around how bright should an object be to expect it to be visible?
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### What is the largest object on which the Yarkovsky effect has been observed?

The Yarkovsky effect is responsible for changes in the rotation and orbit of some celestial bodies, most notably asteroids. It has been measured on asteroids, such as 6489 Golevka and 1999 RQ36. What ...
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The further away we see, the older states of the world we observe. And the volume of the part of space which is observable, increases by the square of the distance to it. So there should basically be ...
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### Is it possible that some stars are already black holes yet we see light emitted from before becoming a black hole?

For stars we see that are burning fuel at a fast rate, that are very bright, (or any star for that matter sufficiently far away from us) could it be that they are already black holes (the sufficiently ...
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### are all the planet in the same plane? [duplicate]

are all the planet in solar system the same plane in the space or not ? if yes is there any especial reason ? and if no how do they orbits then ? as far as i know they are in the same plane , but is ...
135 views

### BIG CRUNCH Theory

Someday before i read about a article which explained about a phenomenon called BIG CRUNCH, according to it the way Big Bang happened because of which the remains moved away from one another forming ...
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### Variables in the Instability Strip

I was thinking about the possibility of determining what phase of evolution a variable star is in when it is located in the instability strip (say, a Cepheid object). Can you differentiate whether it ...
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### Where is Mars in the night sky

I live around Houston, Texas and I'm taking advantage of Earth hour to look at the stars. I've found two objects that I think might be Mars. Both of them are in roughly the same plane as Venus and ...
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### Proof that Parallel Universes exist

Today I heard on the radio that the Super Collider has discovered mini black holes. They said that this discovery is proof of the existence of Parallel Universes and that the "Big Bang" never ...
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### How do you calculate the lookback time distance to a given galaxy?

By lookback time distance I mean the same as Light travel distance. Can you calculate it by just knowing its redshift?
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Stars can easily fuse atoms to give of heat and radiation. But at Wikipedia it said that only sub-iron atoms give of energy when fused and take energy when split, and post-iron atoms is the exact ...
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### Does the sun have a feature like the red spot on Jupiter?

Does the sun have a feature or prominence like the red spot on Jupiter? Is there a feature that will remain as long as the red spot? Maybe beneath the surface?
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### Could someone see anything while being inside black hole?

If we managed to survive in a black hole and move inside the event horizon then could we see the surroundings of the black hole inside the event horizon by source of light? Can the light not come up ...
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### Recombination question and arrow of time

Before recombination was there any present, past or future since photons were "trapped" and couldn't make that measurement possible?
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### Help identifiying a Diagram

Has anyone ever seen a similar diagram? I overlapped this image onto another and some of the lines line up. I'm trying to find a pattern that fits this. Sorry if this isn't the place for this ...
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### damage from an Asteroid

If an Asteroid, the size of the one that killed off the dinosaurs , passed by very close to the Earth but still remained outside of Earth's atmosphere, would it cause any damage ?
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### How can you determine the initial volume of a planet's atmosphere?

Since the surface pressure of a planet is determined by the mass of the column of gasses above it one would surmise that to determine the pressure you must know the volume and mass of the atmosphere. ...
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### How did water get on Earth

I recently read that water more then likely got here by comets (carrying water) hitting the Earth. However it also it says the impact of a comet hitting the Earth is much greater then an atomic bomb. ...
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### Is there a threshold on distance/size for a tidal locking?

I know that some systems tend to tidal locking (such as earth-moon), which occurs basically because the difference in the gravitational pull on one side is significantly different from the pull on the ...
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### Why did Earth need material from comets to assemble the raw materials for life?

It's often speculated that matter from comets played a crucial role in the development of life on Earth. For example, Maps of Time says, Many of the ingredients of the early atmosphere (including ...
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### What is the direction of the movement of the solar system in relation to the galaxy's plane

I got from this answer that the axis of the solar system is tilted of about 63 degrees in relation to that of our galaxy, so I can assume that we move through space (at least locally) roughly in a ...
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### Do we still use the term “astronomical unit” nowadays?

An astronomical unit is defined as the measurement of distance between Earth and our Sun, my question is since distances between celestial objects beyond our solar system are vast and unimaginable ...
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### Find constellation over Earth coordinates on a specific date-time

I would like some help in finding the exact constellations, or some sort of visualization of the stars over an specific location an time. The idea is to find out the closest star or group of stars on ...
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### Gravitational pull needed to keep a gas in atmosphere

How can you determine the gravitational force needed to keep a particular gas in the atmosphere of a planet (for example, carbon dioxide (CO2))? I came across the following formula ...
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### How much of the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye from earth?

When we see the Milky Way on a dark night are we seeing the bulk of the galaxy, or just our local arm? How much of the milky way is visible to the naked eye on a dark night?
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### average number of exoplanets in a system

I was just wondering what the normal amount of planets is in a star system, because in my mind 8 planets seems like a relatively large amount. so are we above average? can we even see all the ...
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I have, for years, been an Astronomy and physics nerd. For the first while, I was a total astronomy nerd. Then I slowly transitioned into physics and have been, for less than a year, a physics nerd. ...
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### Is there a simple, analytical formula for the lunar phase brightness curve?

Brightness of the lunar disk varies as a function of phase angle. This phenomenon is very well established, as is the increase in brightness at low phase angles. Is there a simple analytical formula ...
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### Why there is no smoke around the Sun?

Where there is fire, there is always smoke. So why there isn't any smoke near the Sun?
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### How to convert horizontal coordinates using NOVAS?

I'm using NOVAS 3.1. I know that I can convert equatorial coordinates to horizontal coordinates using the equ2hor function. Is it possible to make NOVAS do the ...
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### SN1604, Former and Current Name of the Constellation Serphens

Kepler wrote 'De Stella nova in pede Serpentarii' describing the supernova of 1604, now known as SN1604. My understanding is that the constellations used by Kepler and the constellations used today ...
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### What were the challenges for the ancients to observe the orbit of the Moon (instead of Mars)?

Astrophysics can be said to have been founded by Johannes Kepler around the year 1600. He based his break-through science on data of the position of Mars in the sky and disproved the ancient ideas ...