All Questions

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How far apart is the dust in the Sombrero Galaxy's dust lane?

In his answer to this question, TildalWave made this remark: I think that first, we have to properly appreciate the size of the Sombrero Galaxy. It is roughly 50,000 light years (15 kilo parsecs) ...
797 views

Determine the moons of Jupiter through a telescope

I was doing my own "space exploration" last night with a telescope. Being a space noob I can't visually determine stars or planets (I know the moon, though), but I focused on one particularly bright ...
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On a log-log plot of surface gravity to planet mass, what is the meaning of the y-intercept?

I am playing around with data from exoplanets.org, and am interested in the plot of surface gravity to planet mass. I reproduced this plot after downloading their data and performed a non-linear ...
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What percent of planets are in the position that they could be viewed edge-on from Earth? (and thus able to undergo transits)

Star number 12644769 from the Kepler Input Catalog was identified as an eclipsing binary with a 41-day period, from the detection of its mutual eclipses (9). Eclipses occur because the orbital ...
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How would we detect an Earth doppelganger planet?

With our current technology, or technology available in the near future (up to 2025), how would we detect a planet exactly like our own, and how close would it have to be to be detectable? Which ...
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Can close binaries have a very eccentric orbit?

For example, are there binaries with an orbital period < 5 day and that are very eccentric? What kind of factors could slow down orbital circularisation? Are ...
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Why does the Solar System have no (natural) satellites of satellites?

What are the conditions for a planetary moon to have a satellite of its own? How far do the Solar System's bodies fall from the necessary threshold?
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What are the equations for an orbit with time as parameter?

I am preparing a talk on the Equation of Time, and I want to produce an animation of the movement of the earth around the sun, in an exaggerated ellipse, to illustrate the speeding up and slowing down ...
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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 ...
158 views

Free source of printable star charts in the format of the Millennium Star Atlas?

I've been looking for sources of printable electronic star charts - there seem to be many different ones available, either as part of planetarium software or just plain charting packages. But there's ...
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Nebula and galaxies using 70mm scope

Telescope: Orion 09843 SpaceProbe 3,3 inch aperture(76mm), 700mm focal length, eyepieces - 25mm and 10mm focal lengths. Please tell me whether it is possible to see nebula and galaxies.
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Would dark energy save the earth for a while as the sun heats up?

Would the expansion of space (e.g. dark energy) move the earth further away from the sun over time, possibly saving us for perhaps a few billion years as the sun heats up? Scientists now tend to ...
111 views

How can a supernova affect black hole in a binary system?

Suppose in a binary stars system there is a dying star and a companion black hole as they orbit around each other. My question is what will possibly happen to the black hole if the partner goes ...
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Star versus Black Hole

I'm making a simplified animation for college project on how a star reacts with a black hole. I had known that a black hole sucks in everything and thus should be doing the same for stars. But upon my ...
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Retrograde motion and Kuiper Belt Objects

As seen from Earth, planets such as Mars and Jupiter exhibit retrograde motion when they are near opposition (from Earth). I am wondering how this effect extends to very distant objects, such as ...
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Could our Sun be a companion star of a massive black hole?

Can we track its orbit well now? There is any study that may indicate our sun may be a companion of a big black hole? What is the current constrain about its orbit now? There is a 1000 solar mass ...
102 views

How to read 5 degree data of green line intensity

When I open the 5 degree data of Green Coronal Emission line from this, I get a weird table which is not simple like the one for Coronal Index. I am only providing the table for 1939. http://www.ngdc....
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How to orient ESO's Milky Way Panorama in a 3D model

I have been trying hard to find the star "Polaris" in the following image from ESO and Serge Brunier: From peering at other maps and simulation apps, I think it should be in the top-left quarter, ...
575 views

Enhanced Star-Gazing with Special Glasses

I watched a video yesterday on how telescopes not only magnify images but also increase the amount of light entering into your eye, allowing you to see things not normally visible with naked eye. ...
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Were magnetic monopoles created before, during or after inflation?

In the case that magnetic monopoles exist, when were they created? I thought that all particles were created after inflation, but I've read some comments recently that hint at a pre-inflationary ...
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What decided how the Kepler space telescope was pointed?

I suppose that the Kepler field was well chosen. It is rich in stars and has minimal background light since it is pointing out from the disc. But other things could have been considered. For example, ...
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How strong does a light source on the Moon have to be to be visible from Earth?

Flashes from some meteoroid impacts on the Moon can be seen with the naked eye. How much light must a future lunar base emit in order to be visible as a dot in the lunar night (like the flag of ...
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Is there a theory / equation showing whether or not two passing bodies will go into orbit around each other?

I am looking for a theory that shows whether or not two passing celestial bodies will go into orbit. I assume there would have to be a critical point where the gravitational attraction is stronger ...
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PowerSeeker 114Q

I just purchased a powerseeker 114q by Celestron. This is my very first telescope. I believe I assembled it correctly however I can't see anything out of it. Well I can see a small corner of an image. ...
169 views

Is the North star going to stay in the North sky?

Considering how the our solar system, and how every other star in the galaxy is traveling through the cosmos, it seems like it's a miracle that the stars and constellations in the sky stay as constant ...
123 views

How to tell a nebula from a galaxy?

Not all galaxies are spiral in shape[1][2], some nebulae are huge[3] and nebula are the nursery of stars[4]. How to tell them apart? Note I have already compare the contents for galaxy and a nebula, ...
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Habitable Planet around Red Dwarf

Is there the possibility for a habitable Planet around a red dwarf? It is not required that the whole surface is habitable, but it shouldn't be a tiny spot. After reading a bit I assume the planet ...
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Can asteroids contain atmosphere?

Gas is abundance in the universe, can a massive asteroid draws in these gas forming a thin atmosphere?
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Would a human body float in the dense atmosphere of Venus?

To survive high in the atmosphere of Venus, all you would nead to wear is suit that protects you from the sulfuric acid vapors in the air and a supply of breathable air. Assuming (for simplicity) that ...
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X-ray flare questions

I search the reference papers about flare, but nobody said something about below clearly. Could anyone give some help? If a single X-ray decay without eclipse or other irrelevant factors is not able ...
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When the universe expands does it create new space, matter, or something else?

I am wondering what exactly is meant when it is said the universe expands. Does it simply create new space for matter to fill, does it also create new matter/dark matter to fill that space, or am I ...
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which or what kind of star has a very stable luminosity?

I mean those kind of stars should be very stable and barely have activity. Their light curves should be very very flat. Our sun, as a G type star, are not so stable. At lest there are lots of ...
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How deep and shaped is the depth of a black hole?

A common representation of a black hole is a black circle which if I'm correct, indicates its breadth. This representation depicts it as a 'plate', so a really small depth compared to its breadth. ...