A light year is a standard of measurement used by astronomers to describe huge distances in the Universe. The nearest star is 4.22 light years away. The center of the Milky Way is about 26,000 light years away. But how far is 1 light year? A light year is the distance that light travels in …...
The Moon is a rounded astronomical body that orbits the Earth as its only natural satellite. It has a rocky silicate composition and is of planetary mass but has no significant atmosphere, hydrosphere or magnetic field. Its surface gravity is 0.1654 g, about one-sixth of Earth's. The Moon's average orbital distance from Earth is 384,402 km (238,856 mi) or 1.28 light-seconds.
Neutron stars that can be observed are very hot and typically have a surface temperature of around 600000 K. They are so dense that a normal-sized matchbox containing neutron-star material would have a weight of approximately 3 billion tonnes, the same weight as a 0.5 cubic kilometre chunk of the Earth (a cube with edges of about 800 metres) from Earth's surface. Their magnetic fields are between 108 and 1015 (100 million to 1 quadrillion) times stronger than Earth's magnetic field.
Orcus, 90482 Orcus, provisional designation 2004 DW, is a trans-Neptunian object with a large moon, Vanth. With a diameter of 910 km (570 mi), it is a possible dwarf planet. The surface of Orcus is relatively bright with albedo reaching 23 percent, neutral in color and rich in water ice.
Why do professional astronomers speak of distances in the universe not in terms of light-years, but in terms of parsecs, a distance of 3.26 light-years? Explanation here.
Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics that describes the rules that govern the universe on the microscopic scale. It tries to explain how subatomic particles can behave as both particles and as waves. It also offers an explanation about why particles appear to exist in multiple positions at the same time.
87 Sylvia , is the 8th-largest asteroid in the asteroid belt. It is the parent body of the Sylvia family and member of Cybele group located beyond the main asteroid belt (see minor-planet groups). Sylvia was the first asteroid known to possess more than one moon.
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and is Earth's closest neighbor in the solar system. Although similar in size, Venus has a thick, hot atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid which makes the planet completely inhospitable to life! Learn about the interior and surface of Venus, its role in our history and culture, mythology and more.
The sun has large explosions that release so much energy, which can cause a worldwide interruptions of radio communication. It can also produce ongoing radiation storms. This explosion is called a solar flare.
Solar flares are classified in three categories. They are the X-class, M-class and C-class flares. X-class flares are the largest flares and they can stop radio communication all over the world. M-class flares are smaller than the X-class flares and can cause short radio blackouts. C-class flares are the smallest ones and do not have much effect to the planet.
Zenith Hourly Rate, When you see a series of lighted objects falling from the sky, this may be a meteor shower. These lighted objects are meteors or cosmic debris radiating from the night sky and rapidly and speedily entering the earth’s atmosphere. You do not need to worry about it since a meteor will turn to the size of a grain of sand that before they touch earth’s surface they have crumbled. A forceful and bizarre meteor shower is termed as either a meteor storm or meter outburst. During these extraordinary events, more than a thousand meteors appear hourly.
The Zenith Hourly Rate is the number of meteors you will see in an hour.
If you want to see violence in space, you may want start learning about blazars. A blazar is a compact energy source fueled by supermassive black holes. They are considered one of the most dangerous phenomena in space.