Rotating Question Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer

Previously answered questions by Karen Masters

(in order of times viewed)

  1. What's going to happen on December 21st 2012?
  2. What is the largest star?
  3. What is a white hole?
  4. Is Pluto a planet?
  5. What is the largest galaxy?
  6. Why are there both high and low tides?
  7. How many known galaxies are there?
  8. What was there before the Big Bang and what is there outside of our universe?
  9. Is the Sun expanding? Will it ever explode?
  10. When is the next comet due to arrive?
  11. How many Earths fit into the Sun?
  12. What would happen if we did not have a Moon?
  13. How does the position of Moonrise and Moonset change?
  14. What will happen to life on Earth when the Sun becomes a red giant?
  15. How do stars move in the Galaxy?
  16. Who has landed on the moon?
  17. Why is a day divided into 24 hours?
  18. Does the Sun move around the Milky Way?
  19. How can I find the star I have "bought"?
  20. What are the "dog days of summer"?
  21. How much money do astronomers make?
  22. Where does the name "Milky Way" come from?
  23. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a telescope in space?
  24. How are black holes made? Could one be made close to us?
  25. Why do airplanes take longer to fly West than East?
  26. When can I see the Moon through the hole in the Pantheon?
  27. How much money is spent on space exploration?
  28. Does your weight change between the poles and the equator?
  29. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
  30. What would you see from inside a black hole?
  31. What is the significance of the Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle?
  32. How often does the Sun pass through a spiral arm in the Milky Way?
  33. How did the stars get named?
  34. If the universe is infinite does that mean there is an infinite number of "me"s?
  35. Why isn't the summer solstice the hottest day of the year?
  36. How can I find the distance to the Sun on any given day?
  37. Are there any asteroids on a collision course with Earth?
  38. What are black holes made of?
  39. Where does the name "Moon" come from?
  40. Was the Sun made in a supernova?
  41. Where, in relation to the entire universe, is the Milky Way located?
  42. Where is the nearest black hole?
  43. Why does the Moon look big on the horizon?
  44. How is astronomy impacted by trigonometry?
  45. Why does the Earth tilt back and forward once a year?
  46. Can I buy land on the Moon?
  47. What is the origin of spiral structure in galaxies?
  48. How do rockets move in space?
  49. Does Mt. Everest cast a shadow on the moon?
  50. Would your weight change as you go underground?
  51. What is the most distant known galaxy?
  52. How do galaxies collide in an expanding universe?
  53. Can any galaxies be seen with the naked eye?
  54. What would happen to the Earth if an asteroid hit the Moon?
  55. What is the speed of gravity?
  56. Why is looking out the same as looking back in time?
  57. How many stars can I see?
  58. Which constellation does our Sun belong to?
  59. Why are there stars?
  60. Does quantum entanglement imply faster than light communication?
  61. What is the typical size of a visible shooting star?
  62. How can I find my age on another planet?
  63. Is the Earth slowly getting larger?
  64. What is Earthrise over the Moon?
  65. How does night and day work?
  66. Is the Moon hollow?
  67. Is there really a 10th planet?
  68. How can we estimate the number of Earth-like planets in the Galaxy?
  69. What is the evidence supporting the nebula theory of Solar System formation?
  70. How long does the supernova stage of a star last?
  71. Does the Mediterranean sea have tides?
  72. Why don't astronomers use everyday units to measure distances (what is an AU or a pc)?
  73. How close was the Moon to the Earth when it formed?
  74. How would the weather on Earth be different if it were a cube?
  75. What are the closest and/or brightest stars?
  76. Is there any limitation to what a black hole can "suck" in?
  77. Can a person go into a black hole and come out alive?
  78. How is the time of sunrise calculated?
  79. What are the requirements for being a planet?
  80. Can a lunar and a solar eclipse happen in the same month? When will this happen next?
  81. Could an astronaut or satellite fall into a black hole that we didn't know about?
  82. Why do people draw stars with five points?
  83. How will the two black holes that are going to collide affect Earth?
  84. Did the speed of light change over the history of the universe?
  85. What are the facts about the Star of Bethlehem?
  86. How are galaxies named?
  87. Are Kuiper Belt Objects asteroids? Are large Kuiper Belt Objects planets?
  88. Was I hit by a meteorite?
  89. What are quasars made of?
  90. Who came up with the name "black hole"?
  91. What is dark matter?
  92. What would happen if two stars collided?
  93. How do the astronauts communicate in space if sound cannot travel in a vacuum?
  94. Can "tired light theory" explain the observed redshifts of galaxies?
  95. Wouldn't the Big Bang theory be considered a hypothesis and not a theory?
  96. Do we know everything about the Sun?
  97. How much can the location of sunset differ from due West?
  98. Did I see the Aurora Borealis as a child?
  99. Is infinite temperature possible?
  100. How does Astronomy involve Chemistry?
  101. Does the Sun have an iron surface?
  102. How many Astronauts have been in space?
  103. What's so exciting about the new planet around 55 Cancri?
  104. What type of energy does a black hole have?
  105. Was Stonehenge built to mark solar phenomena?
  106. What supernova created the Crab nebula?
  107. How can we know that there are other galaxies if we cannot leave ours?
  108. Is there a project I can do on black holes?
  109. Why do we study black holes?
  110. Why is the shadow on the Moon the shape it is?
  111. What is the solar cycle?
  112. What happens to the material that has been sucked into a black hole?
  113. Why is the Hubble Space Telescope in space?
  114. How do I explain to my children why the Moon has phases?
  115. If we invented special suits could we ever go to the sun?
  116. How different would the night sky have looked in 40,000 B.C.?
  117. As the universe expands, why don't galaxies get stretched out?
  118. What month was it when Odysseus saw Orion in 1000BC?
  119. How many sunspots can the Sun have at once?
  120. Can any comparison be made between spiral galaxies and hurricanes?
  121. How do I become an astronomical artist?
  122. How are supernovae discovered?
  123. Will we discover an 11th planet? What would it be called?
  124. What is the difference between homogeneity and isotropy?
  125. What class of spiral galaxy is the Milky Way?
  126. How hot is each one of the layers of the sun?
  127. Could you tell me about the life cycle of galaxies?
  128. Why don't astronauts sublimate in space?
  129. What happened to the girl who named Pluto?
  130. How do astronomers come up with their facts?
  131. Where can I find information on the moons of other planets?
  132. Do galaxies orbit around anything?
  133. How are astronomy and poetry linked?
  134. What's new with the Big Bang?
  135. Why are telescopes kept in cold conditions?
  136. Could photons be dark matter?
  137. Why can't relative velocities add up to more than the speed of light?
  138. How do bars form in spiral galaxies?
  139. How do we find out about the star formation histories of galaxies?
  140. How do you classify galaxies?
  141. Did the Sumerians measure precession?
  142. How does interferometry work?
  143. Could we send a manned mission to the outer planets?
  144. Why can we have solar eclipses?
  145. What is the best way to see the Milky Way?
  146. How can I watch the Perseid meteor shower?
  147. Is cosmic expansion happening on microscopic scales?
  148. Where can I see Newton's original reflecting telescope?
  149. How can I find out if the new moon has been sighted?
  150. Is light blueshifted when it is gravitationally lensed?
  151. How can the universe be "flat"? We're 3D!
  152. Why was Mir burnt up in the atmosphere?
  153. Do constellations looks the same from space?
  154. Is it a coincidence that we can have total solar eclipses? Are there other planets which also have them?

URL: http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/authorlist.php?number=5
This page has been accessed 507396 times since September 25, 2002.
Last modified: November 19, 2007 11:28:35 AM

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