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1500 questions
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If Venus and Mars changed places, would we then have 3 habitable planets?
This is the supposition:
Venus is too hot, Mars is too cold. If they switched places then Solar energy would change to make both more Earth-like. We might as well have had three instead of just one "Earth" in the solar system if the roulette of…
LocalFluff
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Conventional matter to dark matter ratio, outside of galaxies
Consider say this outstanding diagram from another question,
To begin with galaxies have a typical density D. Intergalactic space has a much lower density d.
As we know: in galaxies (with density D) most of the stuff is dark matter. Let's say for…
Fattie
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What is the most extreme weather found on another planet?
On Venus, there is really inhospitable weather, as well as within the gas giants in our solar system. Are there examples of even more extreme weather on planets found in other solar systems than ours?
bogen
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What would the night sky look like if the Milky Way were the only galaxy in the universe?
I'm curious to know what the sky would look like without any other galaxies out there. How much do other galaxies factor into the stars we see? Does the Milky Way account for most of them? Would the night sky look normal? Or would it be very empty?
J.Todd
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Is the Earth going to evolve towards Mars' fate or Venus' fate?
Upon reading on this site (and many others), one can think that Mars might have supported life in a distant past (discovery of liquid water, valleys, mountains...).
On the other hand, Venus is the perfect example of the consequences of the…
Nico
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How many planets have we discovered that can support human life?
I have heard a lot of buzz about distant planets that could potentially be second homes for human existence, but what is that approximate number?
nipponese
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19
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Does any iron fuse in stars before they go supernova?
I understand that iron and all heavier elements consume more energy to produce than they make, and that is what eventually leads to a supernova. I also understand that a lot of the heavier elements are produced during that supernova. However, what…
caffein
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What do we know about the lifecycle of the Milky Way (or any other spiral galaxy)?
I know that the Milky Way will collide with Andromeda in the distant future but my knowledge about the lifecycle of a galaxy is very lacking.
I was surprised that Wikipedia is so sparse on information in this topic. So how can I visualize its…
Adam Arold
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Will Neptune be visible with the naked eye if I am standing on its satellite
Assume that I am standing on one of the many satellites of Neptune. Will I be able to see the planet with my naked eyes (without any sort of visual aid).
If I was to stand on Moon I would be able to see the Earth because the light from Sun is…
Rahul Kadukar
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What is the naming convention for newly discovered objects?
Often, a newly discovered star is identified by a seemingly random string of letters and numbers. I'm sure that there is some order to it, though. What is the naming convention for newly discovered astronomical objects?
I'm sure NASA doesn't ask the…
user19
18
votes
2 answers
Will Earth lose the Moon before the Sun goes into supernova?
I've read that the Moon is moving away from the Earth by 1-3cm per year.
Is this enough to make the Earth lose the Moon before the Sun goes supernova?
I'm asking because I would like to do the calculations for Earth's magnetic pull on this subject.…
hawaii
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What is the current accepted theory for Neptune's immense wind speed?
According to "Neptune: The Other Blue Planet in Our Solar System" (Choi, 2010), Neptune, despite its great distance from the sun, is the windiest planet in the solar system, with winds reaching 2000km/h (1500 mph) as detected by the Voyager 2 probe…
user8
18
votes
4 answers
If Jupiter is a gas-giant then why don't its features change?
A naive question. When we look at Jupiter, we see that its features didn't change largely over many years, for instance, the red-spot. If it is composed of gases and liquids, then why aren't the effects of mixing of these fluids visible?
My…
kaka
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Do we get any benefit from being in a galaxy?
If our solar system were to somehow be created outside of a galaxy as a single star in the vast nothingness between galaxies, would life on Earth change any?
Does being a member of a galaxy actually provide some kind of benefit to our solar system…
Scottie
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Which came first: black holes or galaxies?
In other terms, did galaxies grow around black holes at their center?
Kyriakos Kyritsis
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