# All Questions

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### Multiple apparent lunar eclipses last night

I saw something very strange last night that I'm hoping someone can help me explain. I was sitting on my roof with a night-cap at about 3am last night. The moon, about the last quarter, was low in the ...
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### What type of energy is escaping from black-hole's poles?

Following this article, it is stated that: As a star drifts too close to a supermassive black hole, intense tidal stresses rip the star to shreds. As this happens, the shredded material will ...
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### What is the secret behind the existence of gravitational force? [on hold]

Why does the gravitational force exist? What is the reason behind it? Does it exist due to mass? What do you mean by tidal frictional interaction?
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### Why don't planets give off their own light? [on hold]

Why don't the planets glow like stars, even though they consist of hydrogen and helium. For example, Mercury is 75% hydrogen and 25% helium.
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### Why aren't there galaxy-sized balls of iron out there?

Since we know that stars burn out, collapse, or blow up when too many of their atoms fuse inti iron, then how come, with all the ancient galaxies we've been observing, there isn't one galaxy whose ...
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### Why do some celestial bodies have atmospheres, and not others?

Question is rather self-explanatory. An answer touching upon how/why atmospheres are formed in the first place would be ideal as well. An example of such astral bodies would be The Earth and it's ...
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### How was an infrared picture of the entire universe taken?

(click to enlarge) How was this picture of the supposed entire universe taken in infrared? Also, why does it seem as though almost all of the matter is in a line formation over the center? It makes ...
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### the length of second, minute or hour, what defines the time of exo planetary bodies

we measure time based on earth and earth mass\gravity plays a role in the measurement ? so how and what would be time if not earth time on other exo planets since they will be having different ...
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### The face of the moon at moonset

It appears that the face of the moon "rotates" clockwise from the time the moon rises to the time it sets. Tycho's crater seems more to the left and the "Rabbits head" looks like it's facing down ...
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### Is Rosetta changing the theory of comets?

Rosetta is now arriving at Comet 67P. Other comets have been analyzed to some degree (Giotto, Deep Space 1, Deep Impact, etc.) So my question is... where I can study the up-to-date theory of ...
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### Original Hubble diagram units incorrect?

Figure 1 from Hubble 1929 has velocity with units of km. Is this just a typo or was there a reason the plot is printed this way?
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### Problem with Python [migrated]

I'm using Python 2.7.3 on my Debian server. Here is the input code: import aplpy import pyfits from numpy import * import matplotlib as plt import montage as montage_wrapper import PIL ...
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### Contradiction between Theory of Relativity and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation?

Newton's Law of Universal Gravity states that an object will accelerate constantly as it falls. Let's assume an object falling into a black hole. According to Newton's Law, when it reaches the event ...
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### What is star composition after formation

Most descriptions of star ignition go something like... The star reaches a critical mass and ignites, blowing away the surrounding material. The most obvious question would be "Why are stars not all ...
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### Can we conclude with reasonable certainty that there is/are no Type 3 Civilizations in our galaxy?

As per the Kardashev Scale, type-3 civilizations are defined as "civilization(s) in possession of energy on the scale of its own galaxy, with energy consumption at ~ 4 x 10^44 erg/sec". Considering ...
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### Starting out in practical astronomy [closed]

I want to start observing the night sky, what advice would you give to get started?
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### How is space-time bent by black holes?

I just read When a star becomes a black hole, does its gravitational power become stronger? and it confused me a bit; I always thought black holes are supermassive and that is why they bend ...
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### Telescope on polluted environment

this one bothering me,to buy a telescope. I live in a city,unfortunately with dust and polluted air, is there any affect in viewing a nice capture of our galaxy? Or i need to buy a special telescope?
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### Infinite universe? How? [duplicate]

So it seems the overall thought is that the universe is infinite. I don't get how. Most depictions I read mention something to the effect of "at 1^-20 seconds the universe was the size of _". ...
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### Potential Re-Capture of Rogue Planets

Rogue planets can be designated as rogue planets due to one of two possible scenarios: 1) the "rogue planet" formed as a sub-brown dwarf, or 2) the planet was ejected from its home star system. I want ...
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### Beta profile fit of Virgo cluster gas?

I'm looking for the parameters $r_c$, $\rho_0$ and $\beta$ in a $\beta$-profile fit of the Virgo cluster's ICM density. I just can't find a reference for it. Unlike for Coma (Abell 1656) where it's in ...
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### Weight of a celestial body

How do astronomers find out the correct weight of a planet tough there isn't any direct means to weigh them?What technique do they use?Just curious!
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### Data for red-shifting

I am looking for basic data regarding red-shifting that comes with reliable measure of distance of the emitting star.
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### How to polar align an equatorial mounted telescope when you are close to the equator?

I recently moved to southern Mexico (16 degrees N) and I wonder what would be the best way to align my EQ telescope when the polar star is not visible?
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### Electron Degeneracy Pressure and the Pauli Exclusion Principle

I have read that what keeps white dwarfs from gravitational collapse is electron degeneracy pressure. How does this pressure prevent further collapse, and how is it related to the Pauli Exclusion ...
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### Under Earth's gravitational pull, how dense would an object have to be to reach its Schwarzschild Radius?

The Schwarzschild Radius is a theoretical radius, that if the mass of the object was compressed into that certain radius, the escape speed from the surface of the compressed object would equal the ...
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### Name of area close to Local Bubble?

The following image is a map of the area surrounding the Local Bubble. One side of the image is 1700 lightyears. From the Sun to the Hyades (immediately below the sun) it is 150 lightyears. The local ...
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### fit sine wave to data [migrated]

I have some astronomical data which I know has a sinusoidal component to it of the form y = Asin(Ωt+Φ). The period of the sinusoid is equal to a sidereal day. So ...
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### Why do astronomers like Green Laser Pointers?

When I've been to Astronomy-nights for the public at the local observatory, they always use green lasers to point things out. Why is there such a preference for green lasers? What's wrong with red ...
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### Why are explosions always used to represent the Big Bang?

In documentaries the Big Bang is often represented as blackness followed by a big explosion with loud noises. This always feels cheap and falling short of explaining the origin of the Universe. Is ...
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### Do we expect life to develop only in certain regions of the galaxy?

If I understand correctly, the Earth lies in an area of the galaxy - the "local bubble" - that is relatively free of dust and gases and where no new stars are being born. What is the current theory ...
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### Difference between quasar and Active Galactic Nuclei?

Are there any differences between quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN)? As I understand it, they are both caused by extremely luminous electromagnetic emission from material accreting onto a ...
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### Estimating the tangential and cross component of the galaxy's shear using Gnomonic projection

I would like to know how I can estimate the tangential and cross component of the galaxy's shear using Gnomonic projection of the right ascension and declination ...
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### Python troubles [migrated]

I've been trying to throw together a python program that will align, crop and create an RGB image from HST and VLA .fits data. Unfortunately I've run into a bit of a problem with it continually ...
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### Is a white dwarf hotter than a Red Giant?

From what I've read, white stars are hotter than red ones. But a white dwarf would have just heavy elements to fuse, so shouldn't it be less bright?
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### Are multiple satellites required to handle geostationary orbits?

Do geostationary satellites need to have the equator as the plane of rotation, and the earth's centre to be the centre of rotation? Can it rotate over, say, the Tropic of Cancer, focusing on a single ...
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### Going from the second moments of an object to its ellipticities and half-light-radius

I am studying ellipticity distributions of galaxies and am having trouble moving from the second central moment matrix (covariance matrix) to properties for an object such as its half-light radius. I ...
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### What are Flamsteed numbers?

Can you tell me about Flamsteed numbers? I just know that it is a specific number used for identification of stars. But what is the theory behind it? In what way is the number given to stars?
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### Collimator for Dobsonian, same as Newtonian?

I have been looking on line for Collimator for my Meade Dobsonian. The only Collimators I can find are made for Newtonian Lenses. It's a 8" mirror with a 1.25" lens. Will this work for my telescope?
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### Why do the rings around the Gas Giants get their 'ring' shape?

In our Solar System, all the gas giants have ring systems. However, why do these rings form rings and not a cloud of debris around the planet?
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### Is it possible for a person to not see the new moon at different places on earth?

It is known that theoretically we see the same moon phase everywhere on the earth, but practically I see that people are unable to observe the 0.8% waxing crescent at different places on earth. This ...
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### Birth and Evolution of Millisecond Pulsars

How are millisecond pulsars formed, and what is the evolutionary track of a millisecond pulsar?
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### Observational Evidence for the Existence of Black Holes

What is the direct observational evidence that black holes exist? I have read that black holes have been detected through X-ray emission. What is some other observational evidence for black holes?
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### how does Kepler stop exposure after a 5 minuate or 30 minute cadence time?

There are two kinds of cadence time for Kepler, 5 minutes and 30 minutes. I just know there is no shutter and the CCDs of Kepler can be locked after exposure. handbook But how to realize that? ...
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### Gallery of 'actual images' from space?

where can a gallery of actual unaltered photographic images taken in (or of) space be found? Specifically ones that are untouched, not colorized (not necessarily black and white), and taken by natural ...
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### Infinite number of universes? Black holes are guilty?

I was thinking, if the space is infinite, what if there are infinite number of spaces, inside our universe? I mean, everyone knows that black holes exist, but nobody knows what happens when you get ...
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### What would the effects be on Earth if Jupiter was turned into a star?

In Clarke's book 2010, the monolith and its brethren turned Jupiter into the small star nicknamed Lucifer. Ignoring the reality that we won't have any magical ...
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### How did the Hulse-Taylor Pulsar Provide Confirming Evidence of General Relativity?

What measurements and observations of the Hulse-Taylor Pulsar agreed precisely with the predictions of general relativity, and how did these measurements support the theory?