[showauto]
The speed of light is the fastest possible speed by which anything can travel. You cannot go faster than this. Numerically, the speed of light is approximately 186,280 miles per second. Photo by: Brews ohare Creative Commons What makes this quantity important? In astronomy, this is very important as distances are measured in light years. […]
Secondary mirrors are those second focusing or deflecting mirror element in refracting telescopes. The light that is gathered by the primary mirror will be directed to a focal point that is located just past the secondary. It is a small mirror in every refracting telescope where it functions to redirect that light towards various light-sensitive
Transparency is one thing you want to be familiar with when you observe astronomical objects with your telescope. When observing the sky with a telescope, what you will see will depend on viewing conditions, the transparency conditions and of course, the features of the equipment you are using. Viewing conditions are affected by how air
You can find out a lot about certain object by analyzing its light. Breaking down a star’s light into different wavelengths for example, can give you information about its mass, composition and temperature. By doing this, you are actually employing the science of spectroscopy, looking at the interaction of materials and radiated energy.
A terrestrial planet is a planet which has solid surfaces and is primarily composed of silicate racks and/or metals. There are 4 known terrestrial planets in our solar system – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, which are all inner planets and one terrestrial dwarf planet, Ceres, located in the asteroid belt. These planets share similar
Terrestrial Planet Read More »
Photo by: Mbz1 Creative Commons Tides are the periodic fluctuations of large bodies of water. They are caused by the gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon in what is generally called tidal forces. Although tidal changes may occur as a result of other factors like the Moon’s altitude and distance, the positions of
For a period of around 5 to ten minutes, the surface of the sun gets bathed in a burst of energy. These bursts come forth with great consistency and are highly energetic regular fixtures of our Sun. These plasma waves appear as dark tubes on photographs and are known as solar spicules.
A few billion years into the life of a star and its center will run out of fuel to burn. This results in the cooling and contraction of the star that will give rise to the collapse of the core inwards due to gravity. Coincidentally, this collapse results in the fusion of hydrogen to form
If in astronomy, there is what people call the North Celestial Pole, then there is also what stargazers call the South Celestial Pole. Unlike the North Celestial Pole whose reference star is the Polaris, it is harder to look for this pole, due to circumstances that there is no reference star to look for in
South Celestial Pole Read More »
In science, Nuclear Fusion is defined as the combination or fusion of 2 atomic nuclei to form a new compound and also creating a heavier nucleus. In astronomy however, this is not only what is considered as fusion. It is also defined as the atomic reaction that pumps out stars, giving these celestial bodies the
