What Does Space Really Look Like?
When you see the beautiful pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope, you’re looking at a lie. They’re specially colored images, done for science. But what does space really look like? (...)Read the...
View ArticleWhy Is Space Black?
Since there are stars and galaxies in all directions, why is space black? Shouldn’t there be a star in every direction we look? (...)Read the rest of Why Is Space Black? (691 words) © Fraser for...
View ArticleWhy Is Venus So Horrible?
Venus really sucks. It’s as hot as an oven with a dense, poisonous atmosphere. But how did it get that way? (...)Read the rest of Why Is Venus So Horrible? (635 words) © Fraser for Universe Today,...
View ArticleHow Do We Know How Old Everything Is?
We hear that rocks are a certain age, and stars are another age. And the Universe itself is 13.7 billion years old. But how do astronomers figure this out? (...)Read the rest of How Do We Know How Old...
View ArticleHow Many Stars Did It Take To Make Us?
You know the quote, we’re made of stardust. Generation after generation of stars created the materials that make us up. How? And how many stars did it take? (...)Read the rest of How Many Stars Did It...
View ArticleWhat Will We Never See?
Thanks to our powerful telescopes, there are so many places in the Universe we can see. But there are places hidden from us, and places that we’ll never be able to see. (...)Read the rest of What Will...
View ArticleWhat Is The Biggest Thing in The Universe?
Think big. Really big. Like, cosmic big. How big can things in the Universe get? Is a galaxy big? What about a supercluster? What is the biggest thing in the Universe? (...)Read the rest of What Is...
View ArticleHow Much Water Would Extinguish the Sun?
Have you ever wondered how much water it would take to put out the Sun? It turns out, the Sun isn’t on fire. So what would happen if you did try to hit the Sun with a tremendous amount of water?...
View ArticleWill We Mine Asteroids?
It’s been said that a single asteroid might be worth trillions of dollars in precious rare metals. Will we ever reach out and mine these space rocks? How hard could it be? (...)Read the rest of Will...
View ArticleAre Gamma Ray Bursts Dangerous?
Gamma ray bursts are the most energetic explosions in the Universe, outshining the rest of their entire galaxy for a moment. So, it stands to reason you wouldn’t want to be close when one of these...
View ArticleWhat Causes the Northern Lights?
Have you ever seen the beautiful auroral displays in the high latitudes? These are the Northern and Southern Lights. But what dark physics wizardry is going on to make this happen? (...)Read the rest...
View ArticleAre Aliens Watching Old TV Shows?
You’ve probably heard the trope about how aliens have been watching old episodes of “I Love Lucy” and might think these are our “historical documents”. How far have our signals reached? (...)Read the...
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Why Is Andromeda Coming Towards Us?
This is actually a video, you should watch it. (...)Read the rest of Why Is Andromeda Coming Towards Us? (894 words) © Fraser for Universe Today, 2015. | Permalink | 12 comments | Post tags:...
View ArticleHow Do Planets Go Rogue?
Some times planets just head off into the mysterious Universe all on their own, without a star to orbit. How and why do planets go rogue like this? (...)Read the rest of How Do Planets Go Rogue? (789...
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What’s Happening in the Universe Right Now?
If Dr. Who has taught us anything, it’s that time is kind of crazy. And we’re not just talking about time travel here, we’re talking about regular old “now”. Well, what “now” means depends on where...
View ArticleIs Everything Actually Shrinking?
Whoa, here’s something to think about. Maybe the Universe isn’t expanding at all. Maybe everything is actually just shrinking, so it looks like it’s expanding. Turns out, scientists have thought of...
View ArticleWhat is Gravitational Lensing?
Gravity’s a funny thing. Not only does it tug away at you, me, planets, moons and stars, but it can even bend light itself. And once you’re bending light, well, you’ve got yourself a telescope....
View ArticleHow Fast is the Universe Expanding?
The Universe is expanding, but how quickly is it expanding? How far away is everything getting from everything else? And how do we know any of this anyway? (...)Read the rest of How Fast is the...
View ArticleWhere Did the Big Bang Happen?
Imagine the Big Bang, and you’re imagining an explosion. There must be come place we could travel in the Universe and see the wreckage left over from the Big Bang. So, where is it? (...)Read the rest...
View ArticleAre Astronauts Really Weightless?
Look at those astronauts, flying through space without a care in the world. But how can they be floating when there’s gravity pulling at them in every direction? (...)Read the rest of Are Astronauts...
View ArticleWhy Does The Moon Look So Big Tonight?
Look at the Moon. Have you ever noticed the Moon looks so big when it’s down on the horizon, but way smaller when it’s nearly overhead? What’s going on here? Turns out, you fell for the oldest trick...
View ArticleCould There Be Another Planet Behind the Sun?
If you’ve read your share of sci-fi, and I know you have, you’ve read stories about another Earth-sized planet orbiting on the other side of the Solar System, blocked by the Sun. Could it really be...
View ArticleCould the Milky Way Become a Quasar?
There’s a supermassive black hole in the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Could this black hole become a Quasar? (...)Read the rest of Could the Milky Way Become a Quasar? (720 words) © Fraser for...
View ArticleWhy Don’t We Search for Different Life?
If we really want to find life on other worlds, why do we keep looking for life based on carbon and water? Why don’t we look for the stuff that’s really different? (...)Read the rest of Why Don’t We...
View ArticleHow Far Back Are We Looking in Time?
When we look out into space, we’re also looking back into time. Just how far back can we see? (...)Read the rest of How Far Back Are We Looking in Time? (767 words) © Fraser for Universe Today, 2015....
View ArticleHow Long Does It Take to Get to Pluto?
It’s a long way out to the dwarf planet Pluto. So, just how fast could we get there? (...)Read the rest of How Long Does It Take to Get to Pluto? (626 words) © Fraser for Universe Today, 2015. |...
View ArticleHow Do We Know Dark Matter Exists?
Dark matter can’t be seen or detected by any of our instruments, so how do we know it really exists? (...)Read the rest of How Do We Know Dark Matter Exists? (708 words) © Fraser for Universe Today,...
View ArticleHow Do We Know Dark Energy Exists?
We have no idea what it dark energy is, so how are we pretty sure it exists? (...)Read the rest of How Do We Know Dark Energy Exists? (672 words) © Fraser for Universe Today, 2015. | Permalink | 12...
View ArticleCould the Death Star Destroy a Planet?
In the movie Star Wars, the Darth Vader’s Death Star destroyed a planet. Could this really happen? (...)Read the rest of Could the Death Star Destroy a Planet? (908 words) © Fraser for Universe Today,...
View ArticleHow Could You Capture an Asteroid?
We can’t just go into space with a big butterfly net or catcher’s mitt, so how in the world could we capture an asteroid? (...)Read the rest of How Could You Capture an Asteroid? (844 words) © Fraser...
View ArticleIs the Universe Finite or Infinite?
Two possiblities exist: either the Universe is finite and has a size, or it’s infinite and goes on forever. Both possibilities have mind-bending implications. (...)Read the rest of Is the Universe...
View ArticleWill the Universe Run Out Of Energy?
It seems like the good times will go on forever, so feel free to keep on wasting energy. But entropy is patient, and eventually, it’ll make sure there’s no usable energy left in the Universe....
View ArticleHow Dense is the Asteroid Belt?
We’ve seen way too many science fiction episodes that show asteroid belts as dense fields of tumbling boulders. How dense is the asteroid belt, and how to spacecraft survive getting through them?...
View ArticleHow Can Black Holes Shine?
We hear that black holes absorb all the light that falls into them. And yet, we hear of black holes shining so brightly we can see them halfway across the Universe. What’s going on? Which is it?...
View ArticleHow Quickly Does a Supernova Happen?
When a massive star reaches the end of its life, it can explode as a supernova. How quickly does this process happen? (...)Read the rest of How Quickly Does a Supernova Happen? (755 words) © Fraser...
View ArticleHow Do Black Holes Evaporate?
Nothing lasts forever, not even black holes. According to Stephen Hawking, black holes will evaporate over vast periods of time. But how, exactly, does this happen? (...)Read the rest of How Do Black...
View ArticleDoes the Solar System Line Up with the Milky Way?
Have you ever wondered if the Solar System and the Milky Way line up perfectly, like plates spinning within plates? This is something you can test out for yourself. (...)Read the rest of Does the...
View ArticleIs There a Mirror Universe?
Could there be a mirror universe, where everything is backwards – and everybody has goatees? How badly do you need to bend the laws of physics to make this happen? (...)Read the rest of Is There a...
View ArticleAm I Being Watched From Space?
Look up, way up. It’s entirely possible that you’re looking right at a satellite, which is watching you right back. What kind of Earth Observation technology is possible? (...)Read the rest of Am I...
View ArticleDo Astronauts Drink their Pee?
In order to fly in space, astronauts need to make a few sacrifices, like drink their own urine. Yuck? Don’t worry, it’s totally safe. (...)Read the rest of Do Astronauts Drink their Pee? (683 words) ©...
View ArticleWhy Can’t We See the Center of the Milky Way?
Shouldn’t there be a great big glowing ball at the center of the galaxy? Why can’t we see it in the night sky? (...)Read the rest of Why Can’t We See the Center of the Milky Way? (769 words) © Fraser...
View ArticleWhat Animals Have Been to Space?
When we think of astronauts, we think of humans. But there have been plenty of animals who have traveled in space as well. (...)Read the rest of What Animals Have Been to Space? (891 words) © Fraser...
View ArticleWhat is the Moon’s Real Name?
We call it the Moon, but… what’s its real name? You know, the name that scientists call the Moon. (...)Read the rest of What is the Moon’s Real Name? (689 words) © Fraser for Universe Today, 2015. |...
View ArticleWhat Shape is the Universe?
It’s a reasonable question to wonder what the shape of the Universe is. Is it a sphere? A torus? Is it open or closed, or flat? And what does that all mean anyway? (...)Read the rest of What Shape is...
View ArticleCould We Live on Jupiter?
When humans finally travel into space, where will we live? Will we ever be able to colonize gas giants like Jupiter? (...)Read the rest of Could We Live on Jupiter? (718 words) © Fraser for Universe...
View ArticleHow Bad Can Solar Storms Get?
Our Sun regularly pelts the Earth with all kinds of radiation and charged particles. Just how bad can these solar storms get? (...)Read the rest of How Bad Can Solar Storms Get? (974 words) © Fraser...
View ArticleHow Long Will Our Spacecraft Survive?
There are many hazards out there, eager to disrupt and dismantle the mighty machines we send out into space. How long can they survive to perform their important missions? (...)Read the rest of How...
View ArticleWhat Was Here Before the Solar System?
The Solar System is 4.5 billion years old, but the Universe is much older. What was here before our Solar System formed? (...)Read the rest of What Was Here Before the Solar System? (640 words) ©...
View ArticleHow Can We Live on Mars?
Why live on Earth when you can live on Mars? Well, strictly speaking, you can’t. Mars is a completely hostile environment to human life, combining extreme cold with an unbreathable atmosphere and...
View ArticleWhat Is The Kuiper Belt?
Dr. Mike Brown is a professor of planetary astronomy at Caltech. He’s best known as the man who killed Pluto, thanks to his team’s discovery of Eris and other Kuiper Belt Objects. We asked him to help...
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