Unanswered Questions
180 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
10
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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
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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
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0
answers
130
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Kepler ellipse orbit fit issues
I am helping my high schooler with a research paper that uses PyAstronomy to fit the orbit of stars around Sag A. It isn't working because the angles (parameters Omega, omega, and i) seem to have a ...
6
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0
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170
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Are there any planetary ring system other than "Phoebe ring" not aligned to the equatorial plane?
Continuation of: Is it possible for planetary rings to be perpendicular (or near perpendicular) to the planet's orbit around the host star?
The answers discussed about Uranian ring system and how ...
6
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0
answers
219
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Kepler - Creating the Ellipse (Astronomia Nova)
In Chapter 58 in Astronomia Nova, Kepler made his final step to finally create the ellipse (for the orbit of planets)
http://science.larouchepac.com/kepler/newastronomy/part4/58/index.html
In the ...
6
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0
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150
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Semimajor axis variations in co-orbital moons
I've been playing with simulations of co-orbital bodies similar to Saturn's moons Janus & Epimetheus- horseshoe orbits where the two bodies are of comparable mass- and I'm seeing some very odd ...
5
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0
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180
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Why does the tropical year have a ~161 years cycle?
Using PyEphem, I calculated the time difference between consecutive summer solstices in the south hemisphere for the last 4000 years, and plotted them in a graph. It seems like random noise around the ...
5
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70
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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
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186
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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
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62
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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
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0
answers
60
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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
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67
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What's the angle between the sun's galactic speed and the ecliptic?
I know the sun wobbles up and down the galactic plane around 35myr. I don't mind about that component.
I'd like the know the angle between the linear speed of sun around the Milky Way (just the ...
4
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0
answers
113
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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
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0
answers
99
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Gravitational Slingshot
If a spacecraft slingshots around a planet P (with escape velocity V) at an angle $\theta$, I understand that the resulting velocity is $${ v }_{ 2 }=({ v }_{ 1 }+2u)\sqrt { 1-\frac { 4u{ v }_{ 1 }(1-...
4
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101
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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
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45
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Aaditya L1 mission ISRO
ISRO's next mission to the Sun is Aditya-L1, (also here), which will be placed at the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point L-1.
Why it is not placed near L-4 or L-5, since these are stable equilibrium point ...
4
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269
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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
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0
answers
41
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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
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0
answers
107
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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
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0
answers
68
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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
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0
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56
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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
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0
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79
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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
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84
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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
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48
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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
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0
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77
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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
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144
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What was "wrong" about the motion of Neptune in 1984?
The cover story of the March 1984 issue of RUN, a popular computing magazine, was written by noted astronomer Charles T. Kowal. In the article, he describes how he uses his home computer, a Commodore ...
3
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65
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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
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0
answers
48
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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
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0
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47
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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
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122
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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 ...
3
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0
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168
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Combined mass of binary stars
This is Question 17 from USAAAO Practice Round 2015. The answer is D. It would be best if someone can detail out the workings.
In a nearby star system, two stars are seen to orbit each other every
...
3
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0
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106
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Can "rock stars" form from interstellar dust?
Imagine a large and massive dust cloud made of solid phase micrometeoroids, asteroids and larger planetoids, all material in it is in solid phase, and contains no hydrogen or other volatiles in gas ...
3
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0
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89
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What maintains the high orbital eccentricity of many exo-planets near their sun?
Over the last decade we've discovered that many exoplanets not only have highly eccentric orbits, but also orbit very close to their sun. This is true of many classes of stars.
I definitely have a ...
3
votes
1
answer
318
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Mass of the universe
How do we calculate the mass of the universe taking into consideration dark matter?
Mass of visible matter can be computed by stellar method, but how do we calculate mass of dark matter which we don'...
3
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0
answers
324
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Total number density of galaxies and problematic expression in practise
This post comes from physics exchange forum, I have transfered it here, maybe I will be luckier since I have not received answers on the other forum.
Here is the issue :
I am asked to give the ...
3
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0
answers
115
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Average effect of a planet on a comet
I'm considering a problem involving star S, planet A, and a comet B. The orbits of the planet and comet are eccentric, with eccentricities $e_A$ and $e_B$. I'm trying to calculate the average change ...
3
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0
answers
188
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What is the spectral power output of a typical galaxy?
I'm looking for a function which gives the typical isotropic spectral power of light emitted by an entire galaxy on the whole electromagnetic spectrum (in watts per frequency unit), as a function of ...
3
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0
answers
2k
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What is meant by ionization states?
I am going through the theory of Saha equation but I am not able to understand the concept of ionisation state? What are ionization states actually?
3
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0
answers
60
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Linear motion in the equatorial frame
I would like to calculate how the RA/Dec changes when an object has an apparent linear motionin the equatorial sphere. For example, more or less what an artificial satellite would do in a circular ...
3
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0
answers
333
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Angular momentum in planetary disk formation
Reading about the formation of planetary disks, one of the major problems, it seems like, is the evacuation of angular momentum. Aparently planets can't form with the amount o angular momentum the ...
2
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0
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84
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Would we know if the universe was rotating?
I was wondering what we would observe if the universe had a small rotation. My conclusion was that galaxies on the equatorial plane of the universe would be slightly more redshifted than galaxies than ...
2
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0
answers
102
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What would the Big Crunch theoretically look/feel like?
In the Big Crunch theory, the expansion of the universe reverses, resulting in all matter contracting into a single point. Imagine you are alive at the time of this event. What would the sky look like?...
2
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0
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34
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Local anisotropies in the expansion of the universe and tidal forces...?
In the context of the large-scale structure of the universe, there can be local anisotropies (https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2021/05/aa40296-21/aa40296-21.html).
I understand from this ...
2
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0
answers
80
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Understanding laplace plane (satellite) orbits
Working on a little project (with vex+python in houdini) to calculate the planet and satellite positions using the keplerian formulae and a database of orbital elements and progressions. Primarily ...
2
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0
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70
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How is an index of n=0 possible for the Lane-Emden equation?
I was recently showing that an index of $n=0$ for the Lane-Emden equation results in constant density throughout the star. However, in my calculations I had to use the constant $\alpha$ which can be ...
2
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0
answers
60
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What could these LMC objects in this color-color diagram be?
I have performed a color-color and colour-magnitude plot of various sources detected in an LMC image (JWST NIRCAM F200W, F150W and F115W filters). I then also queried SIMBAD to collect relevant ...
2
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0
answers
34
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Could rogue planets with cold nucleus have winds or water currents/waves due to the planet's rotation?
Are there any types of wind or waves caused and produced only and exclusively by a planet's rotation? Not influenced by the planet's rotation, but produced solely by it?
In the case of waves, are ...
2
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0
answers
49
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Satellite angular velocity at an angle
Suppose I am observing a satellite that is not at my zenith. I know the altitude(α) and azimuth(γ) of my telescope and I was able to get a relative angular velocity of the satellite.
Based on this ...
2
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0
answers
61
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Is there an equation that can give position of a satellite around a parent body as a function of time?
I’ve been looking into this lately, and most sources I have used solve this problem numerically. I was thus wondering if there is a proper equation to solve for position without numerical, especially ...
2
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0
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101
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Conversion of 1D plot in 3D plot gives different physics
I am to track the path of a particle due to Lorentz force of the planet magnetic field, assuming there is no gravitational force on it.
The equation of motion due to Lorentz force in rotating ...