Ask an Astronomer Team

Britt Scharringhausen

Britt studies the rings of Saturn. She got her PhD from Cornell in 2006 and is now a Professor at Beloit College in Wisconson.

Display # 
Title Created Date Hits
The Moon slows the Earth's rotation, but how fast was it spinning billions of years ago? (Intermediate) May 06 129894
Where do planetary rings come from, and what are they made of? (Beginner) Aug 05 95128
Is there oxygen in the atmospheres of other planets? (Intermediate) Aug 05 145234
Does the Moon rotate? (Beginner) Aug 04 97170
How can we tell what the interiors of planets are like? (Advanced) Jun 04 91622
How long has there been water on Earth? (Intermediate) Apr 04 101667
How fast does the Earth go at perihelion and aphelion? (Intermediate) Mar 04 159538
How do unmanned space probes avoid running into things? (Beginner) Nov 03 84922
Why did the Pioneer and Voyager take only 2 years to reach Jupiter, while Galileo and Cassini took more than 5 years? (Intermediate) Nov 03 87966
Why doesn't the hydrogen on Jupiter explode? (Intermediate) Sep 03 70412
What do astronauts eat in space? Can they grow food? (Beginner) Feb 03 266976
Why do spacecraft need heat shields coming back to Earth but not leaving? (Intermediate) Jan 03 76952
Why are Saturn's rings flat? (Intermediate) Dec 02 104184
How big a change in the Earth's orbit would be required to destroy all life? (Intermediate) Nov 02 119888
Will the Leonid meteor shower go away? (Beginner) Nov 02 65824
A line drawn perpendicular to a line through the tips of the horns of the crescent moon doesn't point to the Sun! Why not? (Advanced) Nov 02 75084
What are the names of the earth, moon, sun, and solar system? (Beginner) Oct 02 584803
What's that dark spot on the Sun? (Beginner) Aug 02 71205
How can I calculate the position or path of the Sun for a given time and location? (Intermediate) Aug 02 136577
Does the Moon rotate? Are there other moons that always keep one face toward their planet? (Intermediate) Jul 02 500670
What would happen if an asteroid 10 kilometers across hit the Earth? (Beginner) Jul 02 375510
Can astronauts produce water in space? (Intermediate) Jun 02 80554
Did life originate on Earth, or did it come from somewhere else? (Intermediate) May 02 89625
Is the Moon moving away from the Earth? When was this discovered? (Intermediate) May 02 1051153
Why are the compositions of comets and asteroids different? (Intermediate) May 02 74968
Who discovered each planet? (Intermediate) May 02 217227
How do we feel heat? (Intermediate) May 02 121976
How was the starting point for the Julian Date system chosen? (Advanced) May 02 82688
Why is it called astronomy when all the other sciences end in -ology? (Beginner) May 02 64300
How does libration allow us to see more than 50% of the Moon? (Advanced) Apr 02 63478
Why are stars and planets round? (Beginner) Feb 02 189890
Did astronauts really go to the Moon, or is it a hoax? (Beginner) Feb 02 138028
How much time do astronomers spend looking through telescopes? (Beginner) Jan 02 76431
How much money do astronomers make? (Intermediate) Jan 02 186043
What's the best college for astronomy? (Intermediate) Jan 02 116849
What kind of schooling is necessary to become an astronomer? (Intermediate) Jan 02 176351
What skills do astronomers need? (Beginner) Jan 02 129692
What's the best thing about being an astronomer? (Beginner) Jan 02 72051
What do I need to do to become an astronomer? (Beginner) Jan 02 222237
What kinds of jobs do astronomers do? (Intermediate) Jan 02 101428
What's the difference between astronomy and astrology? (Beginner) Jan 02 314074
What's the difference between astronomy and astrophysics? (Intermediate) Jan 02 154059

Random Question

Most Recent

Editor's Pick

Most Popular


Our Reddit AMAs

AMA = Ask Me (Us) Anything

Q&A Categories