Redshift is an important concept in astronomy that is used to describe the distance of a far away object. As a term in physics, redshift refers to the change in the frequency of a photon from higher to lower energy and accordingly from shorter to longer wavelength. In simple terms though this just means that wavelength of the light is stretched so much that one can observe the light to shift towards the red part of the spectrum, which is [...]

The Poynting-Robertson effect is the radiation pressure produced by the Sun’s rays striking the small particles orbiting it, causing them to slow down and spiral towards the gigantic ball of fire. More specifically, this refers to the Sun’s radiation and gravity working together to form an interstellar giant vacuum that sucks in tons and tons of galactic dust grains daily. It is because of its action that this effect is also sometimes called the Poynting-Robertson drag.

In astronomy, the term occultation means the obscuration or obstruction of light, usually that of a star, by another celestial body that can either be a planet or satellite. This is also defined as the general term for the words eclipse or transits.

There are many terms in astronomy, and there is no doubt about that. One of which is the concept of Obliquity, more commonly known as the axial tilt. The angle between a certain rotational axis of an object and the specific perpendicular line in regards to the object’s orbital plane is better known as its obliquity.

Extrasolar planets are planets outside our Solar System. Astronomers have confirmed 464 extrasolar planets as of 2010, but it is believed that there are billions of extrasolar planets in our galaxy alone. Majority of these planets are detected through radial velocity observations, usually without actual imaging. Most of these planets are giant planets that resemble Jupiter and Neptune.

Most celestial bodies can be observed as entities resembling a definite shape when the proper equipment is used. The Sun, when viewed under a solar filter resembles a great big ball without the harmful rays. Most of the stars can be viewed the same way, where it can be seen as a sphere. However, numerous astronomers have detected that the intensity of the image formed by a star slowly diminishes from the center going to out towards the edge of [...]

Stars are decorative fixtures in the night sky. Constellations make great wallpaper as it resembles an artwork crafted in the vast universe. But within these bodies are revelations of mystery, beauty and creativity. The vast number of stars in the universe, there are binary or multiple systems. These are essential for astronomers to be able to measure the mass of stars.

It was the Astronomer Edwin Hubble that was able to describe in numerical terms at which the rate of the universe is expanding, this is known as the Hubble’s Law. In 1929, he was able to observe that almost all galaxies seemed to be moving away from the Earth. This is illustrated in mathematical terms as:

Libration refers to the movement of orbiting bodies in relation to one another. For instance, the movement of the Moon Relative to the Earth is an example of a Libration. One of the common examples of Libration is Lunar libration. The moon consists of a singular hemisphere, which faces the earth. Over time more of the Moon’s surface more than 50 percent of the surface of the Moon has started to be visible to the earth because of Libration. In [...]

Solar flares are large explosions produced by the Sun emitting x-rays and UV radiation and disrupting long-range radio communications in the process. The correlation of solar flare to the appearance of more sunspots is not clear but scientists have observed that there are more flares when the Sun has more sunspots. A first quarter flare is a solar flare occurring within the first quarter of the Sun’s 11-year cycle (solar cycle). While the solar cycle is mostly irregular (it can [...]