density
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What Keeps a Star Stable?
All life as we know it has to maintain homeostasis — that is, keep internal goings-on regulated. Body temperature is just one example. Mammals can maintain a stable body temperature with no trouble. Reptiles have to bask in the sun…
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What are Molecular Clouds?
Meet the Pillars of Creation, a photograph taken by the Hubble Telescope in 1995. These apparent “pillars” of dust and gas are what we call molecular clouds. And this region of clouds in space is aptly named: it’s where stars are…
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What is a Nebula Made of?
What you see here is the Trifid Nebula, a vast cloud of gas and dust in space. In my last post, we explored why it looks the way it does. We discovered that the pink hues of emission nebulae are caused…
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Star Mass and Density
What makes a star shine bright? Much earlier on — probably months ago now — I explained how something called the proton-proton chain generates massive amounts of energy within stars, and enables them to fuel whole solar systems. That’s the battery…
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What Matters?
The simplest approach to chemistry is to start basic. Not basic as in acids and bases, ha-ha…sorry, bad chemistry joke. I mean basic as in, what the heck even is chemistry? I admit that I’m better versed in astronomy than…
