Milky Way Galaxy
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How Big is the Milky Way?
How big is our galaxy, anyway? And more than that — how do we know? Consider that we can’t really take a photo like this of our galaxy. We’re inside it, and space travel has not advanced to the point…
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Discovery of the Milky Way
Ever seen this before? It’s not a sight that most of the developed world gets to see — at least not all the time. Light pollution from major cities completely obscures this view. Even in the suburbs where I live,…
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How are Stars Born?
Astronomers have discovered that the clouds of gas and dust — the interstellar medium (ISM) — found between the stars are made of the same materials as the stars themselves. In fact, hydrogen is the most common element in both…
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Radiation from Interstellar Dust
Does this sight look familiar? If you’ve had the opportunity to observe the night sky from a dark place, far away from the light pollution of the city, on a clear night, you might have seen this before. It’s the…
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Einstein: Special Relativity
Albert Einstein’s name literally sends shivers down my spine. This is the man who discovered physics as we know it. This is the man who filled in the gaps where even Newton’s laws of motion went wrong and expanded our…
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Where Are We?
In the 4th century B. C. E. (Before Common Era), scientists believed the Earth was the center of the universe. Before that, they were convinced the Earth was flat. Now, most of us know that the Earth is not the…

