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Unanswered Questions

154 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
12 votes
0 answers
220 views

Estimating the tangential and cross component of the galaxy's shear using Gnomonic projection

I would like to know how I can estimate the tangential and cross component of the galaxy's shear using Gnomonic projection of the right ascension and declination the galaxies relate to the center of ...
10 votes
0 answers
214 views

How well conserved is etendue in extreme gravitational lensing scenarios?

This excellent answer to Could dark matter exist in the Universe in the form of sufficiently dense objects? includes the following image and description: Light from the background galaxy circles a ...
7 votes
0 answers
256 views

Get the expression of probed volume between 2 redshifts

1) I can't manage to find/justify the relation (1) below, from the common relation (2) of a volume. 2) It seems the variable r is actually the comoving distance and not comoving coordinates (with ...
6 votes
0 answers
127 views

Would it be possible to create a telescope from a hanging reflective cloth?

A chain suspended on two points hanging under gravity forms a curve called a Catenary, which can look pretty similar to a parabola. I'm not sure if this generalizes to the two dimensional case where ...
5 votes
0 answers
70 views

Do all the accretion disks around a compact object (black hole or neutron star) emit astrophysical jet outflow?

Do all the accretion disks around a compact object (black hole or neutron star) emit astrophysical jet outflow? I mean is it mandatory for a jet to be emitted from an accretion disk? If so, then why? ...
5 votes
0 answers
36 views

How to model the kinematics of gases expelled from comets and planetary atmospheres?

Once the ices of comets sublimate, where do they move to, and with which equations do you describe their motion in the interplanetary medium? Similarly, where do the gases that are stripped from the ...
5 votes
0 answers
79 views

How did pressure evolve in the (early) universe?

I am trying to derive how the cosmological pressure $p(t)$ evolved over time in the universe, especially in the radiation and matter dominated epochs. There are some very nice explanations how $H(t)$ ...
5 votes
0 answers
186 views

What are some good books/online resources for astronomy problem sets?

I am currently studying for the international olympiad for astronomy and astrophysics (the syllabus can be found here: https://www.ioaastrophysics.org/syllabus/). I am currently using Carroll Ostlie's ...
5 votes
0 answers
62 views

Strength of core-envelope coupling in stars

For a star with a given Zero-Age Main Sequence (ZAMS) mass, as a function of metallicity how strongly is the star's core coupled to its envelope? I understand that the core-envelope boundary is only (...
4 votes
0 answers
60 views

Explanation for Planck 2018 temperature fluctuations strongest peaks

As it can be seen from Plank 2018 Cosmic Microwave Background temperature fluctuations data- There are 3 sharp peaks at multipole expansions $\ell \approx 250, 550, 800 $. Also as multipole expansion ...
4 votes
0 answers
39 views

Total scattered flux and polarization for a ring of dust particles close to a star

I have an important problem and maybe some of you can help me with the following question: I have a mathematical expression for the total scattered flux in Jansky and the total linear polarized flux (...
4 votes
0 answers
113 views

How much more mass would Mars need to currently have enough pressure for liquid water and oxygen?

My question is whether Mars just about failed to meet the threshold or missed it by a lot. It's been dry for 3 billion years. How much bigger would it have needed to be to buy it that extra time? Let'...
4 votes
0 answers
113 views

Secular parallax calculation in Binney and Merrifield

I am now reading Galactic Astronomy (1998) by Binney and Merrifield. In this book at p. 44 there is this formula for calculating proper motion vector: $$\boldsymbol\mu_i = \frac{(\mathbf u_i \times\...
4 votes
0 answers
101 views

Cosmology : Formula for the bias of galaxies

first I have posted originally on the physics stackexchange but I have not had answers about my question, so I try my luck on this specific forum (if forums leaders want to delete the original post on ...
4 votes
0 answers
101 views

On the geodesics of the metric $ds^2=-\rho^2d\alpha^2+d\rho^2$ and the constant $l=\rho^2\frac{d\alpha}{d\tau}$

In my assignment I have to deal with the 2D spacetime metric $$ds^2=-\rho^2d\alpha^2+d\rho^2.$$ During this assignment we have shown that the constant $$l=\rho^2\frac{d\alpha}{d\tau}$$ is a constant ...
4 votes
0 answers
269 views

Why the Hubble constant is so inconsistent?

Having a look on Wikipedia I noticed the following values (of the last 6 years) for the Hubble constant: 67.6±0.7 SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey 73.00±1.75 Hubble Space ...
3 votes
0 answers
41 views

Why MIT's Benjamin Rackham says "nearby ultracool dwarf SPECULOOS-3" would look "purplish-red, spotted, and flaring" from an airless orbiting planet?

May 15, 2024 MIT News article Newly discovered Earth-sized planet may lack an atmosphere includes the following: “We can say from our spectra and other observations that the star has a temperature of ...
3 votes
0 answers
107 views

Kepler to Cartesian and Cartesian to Kepler inaccuracies

I am programming a computer simulation set in a star system. I've used Rene Schwarz's wonderfully concise memorandi explaining converting from Kepler orbital elements into cartesian coordinates and ...
3 votes
0 answers
68 views

Gravitational recoil with stars/planets...?

When two black holes are merging, the resulting merge can be ejected if one of the black holes had less mass than the other one, so the gravitational waves emitted by both of them is unbalanced, and ...
3 votes
0 answers
56 views

Potential energy in an expanding universe

A question you wonderful geniuses can hopefully answer. Imagine a piece of string drawn between two galaxies. Space between the galaxies is expanding. What force is being applied to the string? Where ...
3 votes
0 answers
79 views

Deviations of conservation laws in the context of cosmological evolution?

If energy is "not conserved" in General Relativity (or at least, it is difficult to define it) in the context of an accelerating expanding spacetime (like it happens in our Universe), are ...
3 votes
0 answers
84 views

Cosmic microwave background the same as the first visible light at 379,000 yrs after the Big Bang? How do these measure the age of the universe?

Was the CMB emitted at the same time as visible light at 379,000 yrs after the BB ? Was this a one time event ? If headed away from us, how does it measure the age of the universe?
3 votes
0 answers
48 views

How can a busy high school student get into learning Astronomy?

I'm a high school student that has loved physics for quite some time, but have only started dabbling with the more complex things. I know a fair bit about quantum mechanics and such as I like it, but ...
3 votes
0 answers
77 views

What is the main difference between cyclotron, synchrotron, and gyrosynchrotron radiation?

How are these various types of radiation generated? What is the main difference between them? Can someone suggest a book related to these radiations?
3 votes
0 answers
65 views

Why are CMB peak heights sensitive to the physical densities

A very simple question: why should it be that the CMB power spectrum allows constraints to be placed on the combination of parameters $$\omega_c = \Omega_c h^2$$ $$\omega_b = \Omega_b h^2$$ as opposed ...
3 votes
0 answers
47 views

Heat map of portion of the sky visible for a given observatory on Earth?

Reading Calculating area of visible sky I started wondering which portion of the sky one could observe how long given the 3D coordinates of an observatory, and two points in time. In other words, I ...
3 votes
0 answers
48 views

Classical Mechanics : Interaction Sun Radiation Pressure - Gravitation

I have a theoretical problem that merges the effects of a gravitational field and the Sun radiation pressure. The problem goes as follows: A spacecraft orbits the Sun in absence of any other body ...
3 votes
0 answers
119 views

Gravity on Mercury's highest elevation?

This post answers what is Mars' gravity at its highest point (Olympus Mons) compared to the Earth's and Mars' standard, it's 0.3736 g (Mars standard is 0.3794 g). This also seems to be the lowest ...
3 votes
0 answers
47 views

Superconducting space dust; what transient fields could induce persistent current loops?

Science Alert's Superconductivity Has Been Discovered in Meteorites For The First Time quotes from Superconductivity found in meteorites (Wampler et al. PNAS March 23, 2020) The paper describes the ...
3 votes
0 answers
122 views

Information on Planetary nebula formed from the death of our star the 'Sun'!

I want to know the expansion rate, composition, mass and density of hydrogen present of a Planetary nebula similar to that which will be formed after the death of our star the sun. Knowing these ...

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