Unanswered Questions
469 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
12
votes
0answers
332 views
Terrestrial Exoplanet Skies – I've Built a Visual Sky Chart. Is it Accurate?
I'm an artist (and science enthusiast) and I've been trying to find a comprehensive resource that would help me clearly identify likely sky colors (as perceived by human vision) for exoplanets that ...
11
votes
1answer
305 views
The battle over Gliese 581 and Gliese 667C?
In 2014, Robertson et al. made a case that stellar activity is masquerading as planets (here and here) for these well-known systems. In both cases, they claim that the only real planets discovered so ...
10
votes
0answers
317 views
Is it “weird” that all disc galaxies rotate once every billion years?
In a recent paper (Cosmic clocks: A Tight Radius - Velocity Relationship for
HI-Selected Galaxies by Meurer, et al.), it was noted in the conclusion that:
[This] implies a constant orbital time of ∼...
8
votes
0answers
410 views
How to determine scalar-to-tensor ratio r from CMB polarization spectrum?
CMB polarization spectrum can tell us about the primordial scalar and tensor perturbation. By analyze B and E mode angular spectrum power spectrum and temperature power spectrum we can determine the ...
7
votes
2answers
197 views
Why the track of the subgiant stage is almost horizontal on the HR diagram?
It is stated that:
After the main sequence, as fusion weakens or stops in the core, outward radiation weakens. The helium core contracts and heats up. Gravitational energy is converted to thermal ...
7
votes
0answers
83 views
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 ...
6
votes
0answers
88 views
What fraction of a star's hydrogen store will be fused over its lifespan?
A main sequence star will fuse some of its hydrogen, but not all. In massive stars ($>1.5M_\odot$) the core is convective but the rest of the atmosphere radiative and hence does not mix much: as it ...
6
votes
2answers
84 views
Are red moons possible without eclipses or smoke from fires?
This morning I was on the bus and as I looked out of the window I saw that the moon was larger than usual and red. I live in eastern Norway and it was about -20ºF / 30ºC outside. There's no forest ...
6
votes
0answers
161 views
What is the limiting abundances of elements at the end of the stelliferous era?
Is there any reputable published source on expected elemental abundances at the end of the era of stellar fusion? I am here interested in the contents of galaxies; much of intergalactic gas will be ...
6
votes
0answers
74 views
Error propagation methods for orbit parameters
Recently I've encountered an article in our local astronomical popularization magazine. It is about a well known task of Sgr A*-black hole's mass estimation. The article is written as a step by step ...
6
votes
0answers
137 views
Planning to revisit Arthur Eddington's experiment from 1919
As the fateful day draws closer, the United States will host a celestial event that comes once in three generations. I plan to witness this first hand at the exact center of greatest eclipse.
In the ...
6
votes
0answers
58 views
How can maser emission be unpolarized?
I was reading that:
However, unlike Galactic sources such as W3(OH), the emission is unpolarized and the 1667 MHz line is stronger than the 1665 MHz line.
but how is this possible? Does not the ...
6
votes
0answers
361 views
Horseshoe orbits and integration in C
I'm studying a particular case of the restricted three-body problem. It's been found that some objects follow a horseshoe orbit pattern, and I'm trying to sort out something through an integration ...
6
votes
0answers
49 views
Has the Kepler data been examined for light curves due to phase changes of non-transitting hot Jupiters and other?
I found this article http://www.epj-conferences.org/articles/epjconf/pdf/2011/01/epjconf_ohp2010_03005.pdf from 2011 announcing that two dozen secondary eclipses of "hot Jupters" have been seen in ...
5
votes
0answers
63 views
Can the period of the planet transit across the sun be calculated in the same way the eclipse year is?
I read from Wikipedia$-$Eclipse cycle that the eclipse year, which is the period of Earth's hitting a certain node of its orbit around the sun, that is, the ecliptic, and the moon's orbit around Earth,...
