Astronomy
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The Starlight We Can’t See
Find yourself a dark, unpolluted night sky on a clear night free of clouds, and you are very likely to look up into the heavens and see a sight quite like this. It’s what we see of the Milky Way,…
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What Causes the Lunar Phases?
We see it almost every night of our lives. For thousands of years, the greatest philosophers and astronomers alike have watched its face change and wondered why. Step outside and observe the moon every day for a month and you…
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What is Gravity, Anyway?
Q: What is gravity? (asked by Simon) Wow…great question. This is a question the greatest scientific minds have asked and tried to answer for centuries. It’s a question not even Stephen Hawking, the scientific genius of the century, has fully…
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The True Brightness of Stars
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and noticed that while relatively bright stars outline the constellations, there are numerous other stars that are almost too faint to see with the naked eye? If you ever noticed this,…
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Stars and Proper Motion
Recognize this constellation? Well, at the time stamp of about 2000 AD (CE), I think you will. It’s one of the most famous constellations in the night sky. Well, technically, it’s not a constellation at all. It’s an asterism — a…
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Distances Between Stars
When you look up into the sky on a clear night away from the glare of the city, you see trillions upon trillions of stars. Thousands of years ago, the classical astronomers saw the same thing you do today — except…
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Solar Weather
When you hear the word “weather,” you probably think of clouds and lightning bolts and rainstorms. Maybe, if you live in particularly high elevation or latitude, you think snowstorms or even blizzards. We humans are used to these weather patterns.…
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The Sun’s Magnetic Show
Do you recognize the name Galileo Galilei? Galileo was the classical astronomer who made the drawing above. I have little idea what his writing actually says — it’s in Latin — but it’s clear enough what this early diagram is…
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Spots on the Sun
Have you ever looked at the sun, and seen something like this? Now, before you decide to look at it right now and see what you see, it’s my responsibility as an amateur astronomer to remind you of the safety…
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The Solar Neutrino
Ever heard of a neutrino? Well, I guess now you have. But what exactly is a neutrino? Don’t worry, they’re not harmful. They’re passing through you this very second and you’ll never notice them, not in your whole life. They’ll never…
