Questions tagged [astronomy]
Questions more about celestial bodies themselves than exploration of them.
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Which satellite is this very bright object? - part 2
A few weeks ago, I asked the same question about a bright object that I observed, initially thinking it wasn't Venus, but was told that it actually was Venus. Oops, fair enough. Here's another bright ...
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Would we be able to tell if another civilisation built a Dyson sphere (or similar) around a distant star if we were looking for it?
A list of my thoughts/assumptions
we have a good understanding of how stars live and die, so a "healthy" star (I assume you would only build a Dyson sphere around a star that's going to ...
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A black cube 1 mile per side appears in geosynchronous orbit around the earth. Who would spot it and how would they do it? How easy would it be?
This is not intended to be a math question, so much as an understanding of how the current technology and techniques would view this problem.
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What's the orange star I can see in the sky right now? [closed]
Directly above the left shoulder of Orion, as I hold my closed fist maybe eight or ten inches in front of my face the distance between them is approximately from my knuckle to my wrist.
A very bright ...
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What is the provenance of the nucleosynthesized material in our solar system? [closed]
Check me on this premise - eventing heavier than hydrogen was formed at the heart of another star that exploded.
If so, where was that star, and what remains of it (other than us)? What is the ...
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What will happen to JWST after its 10 year mission?
JWST launched recently.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope#Orbit
JWST needs to use propellant to maintain its halo orbit around L2, which provides an upper limit to its designed ...
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Why is JWST parked in sunlight, rather than using a nuclear battery?
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is in a halo orbit around L2, at a sufficient radius around the Lagrange point that it is in perpetual sunlight. That allows it to have predictable solar power, ...
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Can we infer things beyond the observable universe? [closed]
Is it possible to infer information about the structure of the universe beyond the observable one, by observing its effects on the parts we can see? Can for example gravity from sources we cannot see ...
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What qualifications and requirements do you need to go to the moon?
I've dreamed of shooting for the moon, but I'm not sure how, if any former NASA Recruitments or scientists see this, please tell me what I need to do.
Question:
What were the qualifications to be ...
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Did Skylab astronauts really "go outside" to look at comet Kohoutek? If so, why?
Today in The BBC's Skylab: The myth of the mutiny in space it says:
The Skylab space station was a research platform in orbit where astronauts helped scientists to study the human body's response to ...
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Masters in Space sciences after Aerospace Engineering [closed]
I'm currently in my first year of Aerospace Engineering and wish to pursue space sciences after graduation. Will I need some extra study in Physics other than my course to be able to successfully ...
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How do you calculate the length of a planets shadow?
Given the diameter of the sun, the diameter of a planet, and the distance between them, how do you calculate the length of the planets shadow?
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Did Starlink's experimental Darksat help reduce brightness? [duplicate]
Did Darksat's visor like coverings to its parabolic antennas reduce the brightness or was it a failure.
Or is SpaceX devoleping any other mechanisms or manuveres to counter this problem?
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What observatories provide data similar to USNO? [closed]
USNO(the United States Naval Observatory) generates positions for the celestial bodies(planets, moons,stars) and provide in a form of .bsp files and their ...
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Speed at aphelion is decreasing for Parker Solar Probe with each new orbit despite being closer to the Sun
Sorry for the really bad picture
I am looking at some data from the Parker Solar Probe mission and I was looking at the speeds of PSP at perihelion and aphelion at each new, different, orbit (the ...