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I have always wanted to ask a question about the moon, why does it show diffrent shapes such as full moon or half moon always been curious of this. |
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The Moon shows phases because it is in orbit around the Earth. Over a period of a month, it moves from a position where it is fully illuminated by the Sun (full moon) to half Illuminated (quarter moon) to invisible when it is in the direction of the Sun and the part of the Moon facing the Earth is d... Click here for more.
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Fear over the new planet (orbiting Alpha Centauri B) really isn't all the public's fault. I saw a headline that read "new planet discovered just outside solar system" and it's only when you read the article that u realize the planet is around a whole other star. People just looking at the headline would think the plant was right beside Pluto! |
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Thank you for this information. People should know that newspaper headlines, like the titles of YT videos, are often misleading. In most newspapers, the headlines are not even written by the journalist who wrote the article. But I am curious what the motivation would be for describing this new plane... Click here for more.
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You are probably aware of the Aurora Borealis being visible in the majority of the UK over the past few nights. Will these events be visible again next year near solar max? |
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Solar outbursts and geomagnetic storms (which is what generates bright aurora) are not predictable more than a few days in advance, if at all. To predict, we would have to figure out when a coronal mass ejection (CME) eruption will take place, and then we would need to look at the exact geometry to ... Click here for more.
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I have heard about the possibility about our solar system to be part of a binary one - being the second star a brown dwarf. Is there any scientific facts that may confirm such possibility?
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No, the Sun is not part of a binary star system. There has never been any evidence to suggest a companion. The idea has been disproved by several infrared sky surveys, most recently the WISE mission. If there were a brown dwarf companion, these sensitive infrared telescopes would have detected it.
... Click here for more.
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Regarding the newly discovered comet c/2012 there are inevitably going to be many questions submitted about any potential risk to earth. There is a claim on the Internet that there may be a disruption to the orbit of the comet when it passes close to Mars. Unfortunately this is the Internet and there are people who will take advantage of vague comments in order to scare others. Anything that you may be able to clear up will be much appreciated. |
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Comet 2012 S-1 ISON (discovered only a week ago) is a long-period comet that may become very bright in early 2014, although it is always difficult to make predictions about the brightness of a new comet. Its orbit, however, is already well understood by astronomers. Wikipedia Click here for more.
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Recently NASA announced that they have discovered evidence for water on Mars. Where is the water now? Also I think it would be a good idea to infest Mars with earth microbes to see how they would cope on Mars when extensive work has been done to certify if life ever existed there. |
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We have known about H2O on Mars for nearly 50 years, ever since NASA spacecraft showed that the north polar cap was made of H2O ice. Scientists also regularly monitor water vapor in the atmosphere. The Viking 2 lander photographed winter frost on the surface in the 1970s, and the Phoenix lander foun... Click here for more.
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Why does the moon come up while the sun is still setting? |
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The time of moonrise depends on the lunar phase http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_phase. The moon rises about sunset when it is near full phase, and it rises about noon when it is at first quarter phase. More generally, moonrise can occur at an... Click here for more.
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I read your replies to the latest series of questions about NIbiru and the question about the sun and moon lining up on December 21. The sun and the moon and the earth will of course line up on November 14, 2012, when there is a total solar eclipse. There are eclipses every year, and none of them cause the kinds of ridiculous things that people think will happen with an "alignment". These kinds of alignments, i.e., eclipses, should be greeted with awe and appreciation for their beauty and should not be feared. |
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Thanks for your interesting observation about eclipses. You correctly note that the conspiracy and catastrophist websites tend to ignore real astronomical events and focus instead on imaginary ones. Another example is the frequent reference to fictitious “pole shifts” supposedly caused by the gravit... Click here for more.
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In one of your responses, you mentioned that the jovian magnetosphere is extremely hostile to life. Since Earth has a magnetosphere which clearly does not have such a strong effect, why is Jupiter's different? What makes Jupiter's magnetosphere so hostile to life, as opposed to Earth's? |
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Jupiter’s magnetosphere is unfriendly to life on its inner moons. I have never discussed looking for life in/on Jupiter itself. The Earth’s Van Allen Belts are also not a place you would want to stay for long, although they are far less dangerous than the jovian magnetosphere. There are several reas... Click here for more.
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I understand that sometime in the not so distant future, Betelgeuse is likely to become a supernova. How would we preceive that supernova? Would we simply have a very bright star in the sky or would we have some akin to a second source of sunlight at night? |
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The following information on the expected Betelgeuse supernova is taken from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse . This super-massive star is expected to go supernova sometime in the next million years. Such a supernova explosion wo... Click here for more.
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