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 66967
Which way does the sun travel in the southern hemisphere? (Beginner) Apr 05 104396
How can observations of the distant universe prove that the expansion is accelerating *now*? (Advanced) Dec 04 39587
Traveling at light speed, how long would it take to get to the nearest galaxy? (Beginner) Nov 04 219917
Is there a list of the sizes of different kinds of stars? (Beginner) Sep 04 77970
Are the planes of solar systems aligned with the plane of the Galaxy? (Intermediate) Jul 04 171294
Does Cerenkov radiation travel faster than light? (Intermediate) Jun 04 53834
What is the hottest time of day? (Beginner) Jun 04 173484
Why doesn't light from distant galaxies reach us instantaneously? (Intermediate) Mar 04 56511
Does the Sun rotate? (Intermediate) Mar 04 132573
Why is it easier to see a star if you look slightly to the side? (Intermediate) Feb 04 70176
When will Halley's Comet return? (Intermediate) Jan 04 529695
Is the Great Wall the largest galaxy cluster? (Advanced) Jan 04 68723
Why is the WMAP picture of the CMB an ellipse? (Intermediate) Jan 04 53943
Why can we see the sun's image before sunrise and after sunset? (Beginner) Dec 03 157177
Could someone travel the universe in his or her own lifetime? (Beginner) Dec 03 79718
Has anyone made a map of the Milky Way? (Beginner) Nov 03 53721
Did time go slower just after the Big Bang? (Advanced) Oct 03 56000
How long would it take for a mini-black hole to eat the Earth? (Advanced) Sep 03 79165
Does a photon observe other photons moving past it at the speed of light? (Intermediate) Sep 03 53740
Is there a "South Star"? (Intermediate) Sep 03 95338
Could a different theory of gravity explain the dark matter mystery? (Intermediate) Sep 03 50298
Could you escape from a black hole if you were able to go faster than the speed of light? (Intermediate) Aug 03 68109
Do unmanned spacecraft like Voyager travel in straight lines? (Intermediate) Jul 03 58710
How do we know that superclusters are the largest structures in the universe? (Advanced) Jun 03 55266
Why does the apparent density of galaxies drop off at larger distances? (Advanced) Jun 03 52981
Could matter-anti-matter repulsion power the expansion of the universe? (Intermediate) May 03 45976
Can I listen to the SETI@home radio signal? (Beginner) May 03 57262
No matter how fast the universe is expanding, shouldn't gravity eventually make it recollapse? (Intermediate) May 03 39917
Why do so many of the world's UFO sightings happen in America? (Beginner) Apr 03 73120
Can you use an infinite line of reflectors to send light to the edge of the Universe? (Intermediate) Apr 03 63013
How long does it take the Big Dipper to move in the sky? (Intermediate) Mar 03 73781
What would an "open geometry" for the universe look like? (Advanced) Mar 03 58151
What would happen if a supermassive black hole came close to the Earth? (Advanced) Mar 03 121105
How is it that we see farther out in space (farther back in time) than in the past? (Beginner) Mar 03 62984
How can the Sun have such a strong gravitational field if it's made of gases? (Beginner) Mar 03 74052
If the universe is "bounded" today, could it one day become "unbounded"? (Advanced) Mar 03 46474
Don't tachyons travel faster than light? (Intermediate) Mar 03 52462
Do stars' orbits in galaxies obey Kepler's Laws? (Intermediate) Mar 03 51858
Which American colleges teach astronomy? (Beginner) Jan 03 67144
Why do we assume that the universe is homogeneous? (Intermediate) Jan 03 61631
How do astronomers observe the Sun's interior? (Intermediate) Dec 02 58505
How does the Earth compare in size to the entire universe at the present epoch? (Intermediate) Dec 02 52569
Does the Sun have any heavy elements? (Beginner) Dec 02 58264
Is the Sun always up for exactly 12 hours at the equator? (Beginner) Dec 02 189533
What are collections of galaxies called? (Intermediate) Nov 02 77023
How does the Sun compare to other stars? (Beginner) Nov 02 209305
Do stars move in the sky? (Beginner) Nov 02 320840
Which planet is most similar to Earth? (Intermediate) Nov 02 261603
Why do supernova remnants look like rings rather than spheres? (Intermediate) Nov 02 44601
What percent of the time can astronomers observe without interference from the Moon? (Beginner) Oct 02 43451
What would the Big Crunch look like to an observer on Earth? (Advanced) Oct 02 51616
What kind of interference must astronomers contend with when observing? (Beginner) Oct 02 41400
Why does the Sun's apparent path through the sky change throughout the year? (Beginner) Oct 02 146661
Would a planet near the galactic center have a brighter night sky? (Intermediate) Oct 02 84983
Can two lunar eclipses occur in the same month? (Advanced) Oct 02 68518
Is the distance from the Earth to the Sun changing? (Advanced) Oct 02 372295
What is the approximate GPA needed in High School in Math and Science to be an astronomer? (Beginner) Oct 02 78057
Could our position in the universe affect our perceptions of the expansion? (Intermediate) Sep 02 54456

Random Question

Most Recent

Editor's Pick

Most Popular


Our Reddit AMAs

AMA = Ask Me (Us) Anything

Q&A Categories