Ask an Astronomer Team

Christopher Springob

Chris studies the large scale structure of the universe using the peculiar velocities of galaxies.  He got his PhD from Cornell in 2005, and is now a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Western Australia.

Display # 
Title Created Date Hits
Did a giant impact cause the Dark Ages? (Beginner) Feb 11 68882
Which way does the sun travel in the southern hemisphere? (Beginner) Apr 05 108259
How can observations of the distant universe prove that the expansion is accelerating *now*? (Advanced) Dec 04 40634
Traveling at light speed, how long would it take to get to the nearest galaxy? (Beginner) Nov 04 226563
Is there a list of the sizes of different kinds of stars? (Beginner) Sep 04 79542
Are the planes of solar systems aligned with the plane of the Galaxy? (Intermediate) Jul 04 175809
Does Cerenkov radiation travel faster than light? (Intermediate) Jun 04 55302
What is the hottest time of day? (Beginner) Jun 04 176353
Why doesn't light from distant galaxies reach us instantaneously? (Intermediate) Mar 04 58025
Does the Sun rotate? (Intermediate) Mar 04 133862
Why is it easier to see a star if you look slightly to the side? (Intermediate) Feb 04 72813
When will Halley's Comet return? (Intermediate) Jan 04 531164
Is the Great Wall the largest galaxy cluster? (Advanced) Jan 04 70004
Why is the WMAP picture of the CMB an ellipse? (Intermediate) Jan 04 55395
Why can we see the sun's image before sunrise and after sunset? (Beginner) Dec 03 162418
Could someone travel the universe in his or her own lifetime? (Beginner) Dec 03 81693
Has anyone made a map of the Milky Way? (Beginner) Nov 03 54699
Did time go slower just after the Big Bang? (Advanced) Oct 03 57471
How long would it take for a mini-black hole to eat the Earth? (Advanced) Sep 03 81468
Does a photon observe other photons moving past it at the speed of light? (Intermediate) Sep 03 55197
Is there a "South Star"? (Intermediate) Sep 03 97941
Could a different theory of gravity explain the dark matter mystery? (Intermediate) Sep 03 51383
Could you escape from a black hole if you were able to go faster than the speed of light? (Intermediate) Aug 03 69949
Do unmanned spacecraft like Voyager travel in straight lines? (Intermediate) Jul 03 60604
How do we know that superclusters are the largest structures in the universe? (Advanced) Jun 03 56614
Why does the apparent density of galaxies drop off at larger distances? (Advanced) Jun 03 54521
Could matter-anti-matter repulsion power the expansion of the universe? (Intermediate) May 03 47275
Can I listen to the SETI@home radio signal? (Beginner) May 03 58908
No matter how fast the universe is expanding, shouldn't gravity eventually make it recollapse? (Intermediate) May 03 41012
Why do so many of the world's UFO sightings happen in America? (Beginner) Apr 03 75920
Can you use an infinite line of reflectors to send light to the edge of the Universe? (Intermediate) Apr 03 64514
How long does it take the Big Dipper to move in the sky? (Intermediate) Mar 03 75472
What would an "open geometry" for the universe look like? (Advanced) Mar 03 59421
What would happen if a supermassive black hole came close to the Earth? (Advanced) Mar 03 123056
How is it that we see farther out in space (farther back in time) than in the past? (Beginner) Mar 03 64276
How can the Sun have such a strong gravitational field if it's made of gases? (Beginner) Mar 03 76377
If the universe is "bounded" today, could it one day become "unbounded"? (Advanced) Mar 03 47721
Don't tachyons travel faster than light? (Intermediate) Mar 03 53589
Do stars' orbits in galaxies obey Kepler's Laws? (Intermediate) Mar 03 53018
Which American colleges teach astronomy? (Beginner) Jan 03 68786
Why do we assume that the universe is homogeneous? (Intermediate) Jan 03 63326
How do astronomers observe the Sun's interior? (Intermediate) Dec 02 59932
How does the Earth compare in size to the entire universe at the present epoch? (Intermediate) Dec 02 53892
Does the Sun have any heavy elements? (Beginner) Dec 02 59718
Is the Sun always up for exactly 12 hours at the equator? (Beginner) Dec 02 194665
What are collections of galaxies called? (Intermediate) Nov 02 79183
How does the Sun compare to other stars? (Beginner) Nov 02 212128
Do stars move in the sky? (Beginner) Nov 02 327227
Which planet is most similar to Earth? (Intermediate) Nov 02 268811
Why do supernova remnants look like rings rather than spheres? (Intermediate) Nov 02 45647
What percent of the time can astronomers observe without interference from the Moon? (Beginner) Oct 02 44741
What would the Big Crunch look like to an observer on Earth? (Advanced) Oct 02 53047
What kind of interference must astronomers contend with when observing? (Beginner) Oct 02 42390
Why does the Sun's apparent path through the sky change throughout the year? (Beginner) Oct 02 150520
Would a planet near the galactic center have a brighter night sky? (Intermediate) Oct 02 86433
Can two lunar eclipses occur in the same month? (Advanced) Oct 02 70449
Is the distance from the Earth to the Sun changing? (Advanced) Oct 02 389479
What is the approximate GPA needed in High School in Math and Science to be an astronomer? (Beginner) Oct 02 79746
Could our position in the universe affect our perceptions of the expansion? (Intermediate) Sep 02 55933

Random Question

Most Recent

Editor's Pick

Most Popular


Our Reddit AMAs

AMA = Ask Me (Us) Anything

Q&A Categories