Why do spacesuits pick up so much static electricity on the Moon? Static electricity builds up on spacesuits for some of the same reasons it builds up on our clothes on Earth. As astronauts walk and move, their suits rub against other materials, allowing electrical charges to build up. However, conditions on the Moon make
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Why do physicists think dark energy exists? Physicists think dark energy exists because something must be overcoming the pull of gravity to be speeding up the expansion of the universe. 13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang happened and the universe began to expand. This is often described as an explosion into space, but it
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What will happen to the Milky Way in 1 trillion years time? Some or perhaps most of the galaxies in the Local Group may have merged by then, although it is no longer certain that even the Milky Way and Andromeda will merge. No stars outside of that galaxy would be visible to any beings
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How were black holes discovered? Black holes were theorized long before they were actually detected or seen. The first theory of a black hole was presented by John Michell in 1783. Black holes were first theorized shortly after Newton introduced his laws of gravity. It was a natural progression from these theories. Newton had proposed
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What are solar prominences? Solar prominence is a large, bright structure of plasma that follows magnetic fields and loops out from the surface of the sun. You may have seen images of solar prominence when you look at pictures of the sun. They are long twisting swirls that loop out from the sun and usually
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Who discovered that the Milky Way isn’t the only galaxy? Edwin Hubble was the first person to discover that there were other galaxies in space. When we are at school we learn that our Milky Way Galaxy is one galaxy in a possible infinite number of galaxies. We learn that the closest large galaxy to
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Why do stars twinkle but planets don’t? Stars twinkle and planets don’t because of how far away they are and the atmosphere. I live in a city and you can’t see that many stars because of light pollution. A while ago I was staying at my brother’s house, and he lives in the countryside. I
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How did we discover Neptune? Neptune is the only planet in the Solar System whose existence was predicted by mathematics before it was observed. Neptune is the furthest planet in our solar system. It has about 17 times the mass of the Earth and is a gas giant. There is a lot of methane in
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What was the brightest supernova? It depends on what we mean by “brightest”. The brightest supernova that records exist for was SN 1006, which was visible from April 30 to May 1, 1006 (hence its name). The SN stands for supernova. There have been far more massive supernova that we couldn’t see from Earth. A
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What are the differences between a brown, red, orange, yellow, blue, white, and black dwarf? The main difference between them is their state of stage of life. Red, orange, and yellow dwarf stars are living stars. Brown dwarfs are failed stars. White and black dwarfs are dead stars. Blue and black dwarfs are theoretical because
