# All Questions

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### Alignment of Semi-Major Axis of Orbits

So I'd like to ask whether the semi-major axis of planetary orbits are aligned? Logically, they shouldn't be, but many websites act as if they are. If they're not aligned, what's the angle between the ...
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### Software to convert RA and DEC into ALT and AZ

I have implemented the formulas to convert AR and Dec into altitude and Azimuth in C++ following the book Practical Astronomy with your Calculator or Spreadsheet 4th Edition. In the book there is an ...
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### How (un)stable are the Lagrangian points 1, 2 and 3?

A couple questions, please: I know that the Lagrangian points 1, 2 and 3 are unstable and special Lissajous orbits plus some station-keeping are required to place a spacecraft around them. But I was ...
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### A star a black hole and planets around them

Imagine we have a black hole and a star. There are very close to each other so black hole slowly consumes the star. It is possible to have planets in this system, and for them not to be consumed by ...
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### When do Mercury/Venus reach greatest elevation at sunset/twilight for a given location?

On what day does Mercury reach its greatest elevation (in degrees from the horizon) at sunset a given location? The obvious answer is the day of Mercury's greatest elongation from the Sun, but, ...
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### Standard conditions for a heliacal rising

I imagine there are several possible conditions for determining the time of a helical rising of a star, the elevation of the star at sunrise, the latitude of the observer, and the azimuth of the star. ...
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### The Earth based Space/Zero Gravity/Vacuum Chamber invention is way overdue.WHY? [on hold]

I ponder why this invention replicating a vacuum of open space where Zero gravity can be experienced here on Earth in a chamber of some sort has not been created yet.My only speculation of why this ...
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### Are high-speed galactic collisions survivable?

This is a hypothetical question, but it really is meant as a vivid way of asking about the affects of high-speed galactic collisions. The November 27 APOD showed the Cheshire Cat galaxy group, and the ...
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### What was the largest telescope ever fitted with an eyepiece

Serious modern telescopes use CCDs to capture the results. This makes it convenient to process or display the results halfway around the world. However, there is something visceral about looking ...
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### What is the scale of things you can see with gravitational lensing?

I'm trying to understand the examples of gravity lensing (using the general relativity property of large masses to bend light like a lens). Most of the examples I see are of some galaxy (presumably ...
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### Can an SMBH recycle dark matter into energy?

I just had a conceptual question, hopefully it makes for some really interesting answers. I was wondering, as most galaxies have an SMBH at their centre (see Kormandy & Richstone 1995; Richstone ...
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### How can one explain the apparent motion of the Sun from a heliocentric point of view?

From a horizontal frame of reference, the path of the Sun looks like a part of a circle in a tilted plane, as shown in this picture: ...
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### Calculation of hour angle

I need to determine Right Ascension and Declination from Azimuth and Altitude, working in C#. The problem is that the formula for calculating hour angle, for some reason, doesn't work. Here's the ...
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### How can we focus radio telescopes on a star when the earth is spinning?

Reading about the Star KIC 8462852, it has been said that the SETI project turned its radio telescopes towards the star to search for extra terrestrial radio signals as the star had strange ...
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### Sun spot or Brown Dwarf seen transcending past the sun with the naked eye

I seen with my naked eye in mid 2014 from Ca. right after sunrise a black spot in front of the Sun.I observed it for about a hour with my naked eye. Here is a picture that closely resembles what I ...
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### Does matter accumulate just outside the event horizon of a black hole?

My understanding is that time slows and approaches stopping when approaching the event horizon of a black hole. I have seen this explained several places, including a brief explanation in the last ...
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### Plausible? Brown Dwarfs are rogue celestial bodies because they absorb all light due to their thick layer of matte black soot [on hold]

My theory of why Brown Dwarfs are the rogue celestial bodies that travel through galaxies without a set course. My first theory would be their matte black in color due to a layer of soot.Light does ...
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### A black hole that doesn't take in matter?

According to List of Common Misconceptions by Wikipedia, under the heading of astronomy, this line can be found: A black hole can act like a "cosmic vacuum cleaner" and pull a substantial ...
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### How are the gaps filled in images captured by CCD arrays?

Large telescopes don't use a single CCD; they use arrays of them. Since CCDs can't be seamlessly joined, this means that every captured image must have gaps. But, the resulting images almost never ...
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### Are meteors and meteorites considered “Small Solar System Bodies”?

The difference between meteorites, meteors, and meteoroids is one of altitude relative to a celestial surface: in space, it's a meteoroid; in the atmosphere, it's a meteor; and on the surface, it's a ...
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### Is there a photo provided by nasa that shows a iron Meteor or Asteroid in space in raw form having no lays of fusion crust?

A raw iron meteor or asteroid in outer space should be in its raw form having no signs of fusion crust from the friction of atmospheric entry and show distinctive signs of the posted image.
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### Why is the Color scheme of natural satellites in our solar system based of light shades of grey?

What is the explanation of the color similarity that the majority of natural satellites obtain?
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### Would a satellite in geosynchronous orbit between the earth and moon track across the sky together?

On Nov. 25 at 2:30a.m. from southern California while viewing the moon with a 70mm D x 400mm F telescope a point of light was seen at about the 7 o'clock position below the moon. As viewed the point ...
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### Inclination in Kepler's laws

So, you can determine the location of an object in an orbit at any given time via Kepler's laws, but how do you determine the orbital inclination at any given point in time?
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### Does all of time exist and if so where is it?

I've recently learned about the theory of relativity and time. I'm trying to understand it more. My (basic) understanding is that there is no distinction between past present and future and that ...
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### Venus transending behind the Earths moon December 7, 2015

Observing from Earth what are the odds thats Venus does not line up in conjunction with earths moon and does not transend behind the moon but slightly below or above with a complete visual of venus ...
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### Ejected planets during the early stages of the formation of a solar system?

This is similar to a previously asked question, but I am just asking about theory rather than observational evidence. Assuming there were a much larger number of protoplanets in the early solar ...
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### Why do spectroscopic binaries have approximate circular orbits?

So for an assignment I have to answer the question what I can conclude concerning the shape of the orbit, knowing that it is both an eclipsing and spectroscopic binary. Now, I think the answer I ...
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### Gas halo of our Milky Way Galaxy

This question relates to a diffuse hot gas halo of our Milky Galaxy. I've read that there is a hot diffuse halo of gas surrounding our Galaxy (NED, Caltech) I was wondering why such a halo can exist? ...
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### If any object could become a black hole, could any object become a neutron star?

A black hole doesn't necessarily need to form from a star; theoretically, it could form from any extremely dense object. In fact, many astronomers differentiate certain black holes, like supermassive ...
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### How were the orbits of planets first mapped out?

I'd like to know how the orbits of planets were first 'mapped out' and to understand the maths behind it. e.g. How do we know what position in space a planet will be at certain time so that spacecraft ...
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### If there are neutron stars, would most stars be considered “proton stars”?

For example, the Sun is a giant sphere of positively charged plasma. About 72% of the elements in it are protium. This means that these protium atoms would have had to lose their electrons, right? If ...
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### When was the term “orbit” (in the modern sense) first used and by whom?

Wikipedia coyly suggests that some notions and views kept circulating (apparently since Adam and Eve) until finally Kepler, of all people, ... etc. I find this hard to believe. Please elucidate.
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### How can I determine line luminosities from equivalent width measurements?

I have a set of equivalent width measurements for different emission lines. How can I use them in order to determine the corresponding line luminosities?
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### What would the cost be of visiting an asteroid?

I'm trying to think through what the cost would be of an unmanned mission to a nearby asteroid. To me it seems like the high-level costs would be the fixed cost of the "spaceship" itself (including ...
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### Why does hydrogen ionization happen in HII regions?

Why does hydrogen ionization happen in HII regions? Why is the hydrogen there ionized?
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### How to calculate the mean molecular weight of the Sun

I have a homework question in which I need to estimate a parameter known as $\beta_{P}$ and also the core temperature, both for the Sun. However, prior to doing this I need to know the mean molecular ...
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### Volcano activity on moon

Are the dark grey areas on the moon formed from the last lava flows from volcanoes? And that is why there are hardly any craters in those dark grey areas because the lava has covered the old ...
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### Does this black hole magnetohydrodynamics equation even superficially make sense?

My question is about the journal paper mentioned in an Academia Stack Exchange post. Please understand that this paper has never been posted on arXiv, and I can provide only a link whose content is ...
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### Looking back in time by looking further away

I have been pondering the question of how we can look back to the state of the early universe for some time. So I came here and found, to my delight, that several such questions have been asked, such ...
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### Is extraterrestrial mining more difficult for bodies without plate tectonics?

This article talks about the possibility of mining Uranium on the moon. Since the Moon lacks the geological forces that have created veins of concentrated minerals on Earth, would extraterrestrial ...
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### Does Dark Matter affect the motion of the Solar System?

Would dark matter have a similar effect on the Solar System as it does on the Milky Way? I'd imagine it could help hold together some of the Solar System bodies or at least affect their motion, right? ...
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### Does the mass of the Earth change?

Every day, babies are born and people grow, which makes their respective masses greater. However, this change in mass (should) come out of the food that they consume - it is used as energy and thus ...
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### Need help with the math in Python program to flag Jovian radio emissions

A few days ago I decided to take on the little project of converting a Qbasic program into Python (as a side project to my Radio Jove project), and I've managed to get it to run, but the math is ...
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### Why does a planet rotate and revolve?

Why do planets rotate and revolve in the universe?
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### Orion Constellation request

This isn't a question so much as a request. I'm looking for an image of the Orion constalletion I could use, but I would like to have a very high resolution HD image, whereby a lot of the deep sky ...
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### Was that actually a shooting star during the supermoon eclipse on September 27th 2015?

During the super-moon total lunar eclipse on September 27th a meteor-like streak passed very close within view of the event. It appeared to happen at the very middle, the maximum eclipse. ...
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### Annual path polar chart for a star

I've often come across sun path charts like this (Wikimedia Commons) that show the position of the sun at any point of the year, at any time of day, for a specific location (or a set of locations), on ...