# All Questions

47 views

### Which is the most early type star with a planet discovered by radial velocity method?

We have discovered planets in Beta_Pictoris(A6V)here and Fomalhaut alpha(A3v)here. However they were discovered by direct images. There should be an stellar type limit by RV? What is the most ...
59 views

### Why do we not find larger quantities of helium in the Sun's atmosphere?

The Sun currently shines because H is being burned to He, and it has been doing this for about 4.57 Ga. But when we analyze the Sun's atmosphere, we do not find unusually large amounts of He. Why not? ...
118 views

### Are neutrinos affected by gravity fields?

Am asking if a neutrino can be pull by the gravity field of a quasar or a black hole, assuming the neutrino have momentum. It could be possible in the that a neutrino can orbit a black hole at an ...
110 views

### How can a Blackhole have mass?

It is said that in Blackhole 100% part of the mass is getting converted into energy. Then how come Blackhole is having mass ?
32 views

### Jupiter's magnetosphere interacts with the one from Saturn?

Jupiter's magnetosphere extends "seven million kilometers in the Sun's direction and almost to the orbit of Saturn in the opposite direction" and Saturn's magnetosphere extends towards the Sun on ...
51 views

### “Chain reaction” supernovae?

I know not all stars can "go nova", and that of those that do there are different types of novae, among which are some that aren't even explosions (at least not as we think of them), and that even the ...
177 views

### How are the speed, distance and time of India's MOM and USA's Maven Mars missions calculated?

How do the scientists calculate the correct time to launch the Mars mission so that the satellite travel time is less? How they are synchronizing the speed of satellite with respect to earth and mars ...
196 views

### The formation of absorption lines in solar spectrum

It is said that absorption lines originate from regions higher in the photosphere where the gas is cooler. The gas should be absorbing photons, then re-emitting them... absorb, re-emit, absorb, ...
82 views

### Position and velocity vectors of nearby stars?

One of my favorite tools for modeling the solar system is the Horizons Ephemeris generator where I can get position and velocity vectors of various bodies. Is there something similar for neighboring ...
29 views

### Telescope in Sun's gravity lens focus - pointing, gain, distortions

A telescope located in the gravitational focus of the Sun can use the Sun as a magnifying lens. The focus begins 550 AU away, but maybe a 700 or 1000 AU distance is needed to get rid of disturbances ...
99 views

### Why is every year the same number of days despite the gravity in the solar system?

I was just watching a Geoff Marcy talk on YouTube showing how they infer the presence of planets transiting distant stars. The supposed periodicity wasn't always quite regular from what I could see, ...
82 views

### 3D Positions of Nearby Stars

I have come across a number of star catalogs that list stars by right ascension and declination, along with other data such as magnitude. Is there a star catalog that lists the 3-D position of stars ...
87 views

### How did Bradley arrive at the +/- correct speed of light when he calculated it?

After Bradley discovered stellar aberration and the corresponding constant of aberration he was able to calculate the speed of light, since he knew the speed of the Earth around the Sun. As far as I ...
84 views

### Are we moving away or towards each other?

There are numerous theories about the shape of the Universe. I've read somewhere most probably in 'A Brief History of Time' that there is a possibility that the Universe is spherical. So is it ...
67 views

### Do the E and B modes of the CMB polarization have anything to do with electric and magnetic fields?

As explained in this article, as the CMB is created from a vaiable (matter?) density $\kappa$ its gradient $\nabla \kappa = \vec{u}$ can be separated into a gradient and curl part, called the $E$ and ...
79 views

### regarding spectral type of a star

consider two stars of the spectral type and subtype, but not necessarily both on the main sequence. Describe whether this information is sufficient to tell you how the stars differ in surface ...
67 views

### Average rate of supernova x number of stars

If we would take the average number of supernovae per year and multiply that by the number of stars, could we figure out how many years it will be before all stars are gone?
30 views

### Do more objects appear on sky in time?

I would assume that, with light from more distant areas in space reaching the earth, we should be able to see more distant (and older) objects. However there's lot of weird stuff regarding the space ...
104 views

### Black Hole, Object or Portal? [closed]

Some say that a black hole is a rip in space-time, a portal linking two points in the universe as one. How sound is this? I've read that when a giant star collapses, what is left behind (a massive ...
72 views

### Matter/mass exist into the space. Where does space exist? [duplicate]

It is said that before big bang there was nothing. Not even space/time. So, now where does space exists?
103 views

### Can we know whether any distant galaxy is moving away in same direction or in opposite direction w.r.t. our galaxy?

The Hubble law states that the recessional velocity of a galaxy is proportional to its distance from us. It takes redshift and angular sizes (for distance) of the galaxy to determine velocity, and ...
57 views

### What are angular sizes of thin and thick disks in our Galaxy?

What are diapasons of galactic coordinates for thin and thick disks of our Galaxy?
92 views

### Could dark matter particles be unstable?

Is it possible that dark matter particles are unstable and the existing dark matter will decay in the long run and turn into hydrogen, for example? What would be possible mechanisms for such a decay? ...
45 views

### Solar maximum and minimum

What are solar maximum and solar minimum? Is there a relation between sun spots and solar maximum and minimum? Thank you!
27 views

### Does naked eye miss a lot between local stars and distant milkiness?

When I look at the night sky I seem to resolve points which are local stars and milkiness at further regions of the galaxy. But what is between? I think there must be a lot of stars which are too ...
27 views

### How are stellar elemental abundances quoted?

Close to the bottom of page 4 of this article (marked as page 164 in the upper left corner) states Values are given in the logarithmic scale usually adopted by astronomers, A$_{e\ell}$ = log ...
56 views

### Is it accurate to say that we have a gravitational attraction towards all objects in the known universe?

Its probably small, but is there a theoretical gravitational attraction between all objects in the universe? Light can move pretty far, so does that mean gravity can as well, and is the gravity ...
36 views

### Is the whole universe is rotating on an axis?

Most of the celestial bodies we know are rotating or spinning on its axis.Is there any chance for the universe to rotate on its axis?
29 views

### What day/night cycles, climate and seasons would experience Alpha Centauri Bb inhabitants?

Alpha Centauri Bb is an exoplanet orbiting Alpha Centauri B. It is asserted that given the close distance to the star the planet should be tidally locked. The orbiting period of the planet is about ...
59 views

### Does the sky get darker faster during the winter?

When one lives away from the equator, say at around 37° latitude, does the sky get darker faster after the sun sets in the winter as compared to the summer? Why is this the case? I believe that if ...
46 views

### Would bacteria on incoming meteors burn before impacting?

I was watching an old Ancient Aliens last night and there was a whole episode dedicated to how the "Gods" (aliens) were spreading disease/plagues. A good portion of the show was dedicated to how ...
45 views

38 views

### how to measure temperature of the distant star [duplicate]

As part of small project i want to measure temperature of the distant star on basis of optical observations. so by what exact method i can do it? which instruments will be necessary? what is the ...
62 views

### Point Spread Function size: Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) vs Sigma

I having been studying some astronomy papers related to galaxy observations and I realized that every time they want to express the size of the Point Spread Function (PSF) of a system which can be ...
24 views

### Sensitivity of calculated orbital elements to observational errors

These days, we have some very precise ways of making measurements, but I'm sure it wasn't so in Kepler's day. So I am wondering how astronomers of that time could make such accurate determinations of ...
36 views

### Can the next possible ice age be projected based upon the Milankovitch cycle?

The Milankovitch cycle describes the collective effects of changes in the Earth's movements upon its climate[.] By this theory, the Earth is now experiencing an interglacial. By the theory, ...
37 views

### Naive star filter visible at night in certain country

I have a HYG catalogue and I'd like to filter out stars visible at night and in Europe. Doesn't have to be exact. I was assuming that it'll be all stars with positive declination, but I wasn't sure ...
51 views

### What is the physics of a gas mass subject to gravity in space?

There are many formulas for atmospheric pressure on earth, but how does gas behave in free space? I am thinking about why stars form. I am guessing that the gas density will influence pressure, as ...
52 views

### Stars in star clusters in SMC and LMC

Is there any catalog or any paper published in any journal that enlists the stars discovered under which ever star-cluster of Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) they belong to? There is one for Large ...
58 views

### Distance of extra-galactic Classical Cepheids

There have been many questions and answers about finding the distance of a star from the earth. But as I did some research on the net, I found that we have specific approaches for finding the ...
38 views

### How might Thales have predicted a solar eclipse?

Thales of Miletus purportedly predicted a solar eclipse (most likely the solar eclipse of May 28, 585 BCE). The historicity of Thales' prediction can't be verified with any certainty given the ...