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Is Earth getting farther from the sun?
The universe might be expanding, our galaxy is getting farther from other galaxies. But our sun, our Earth and its family of nine planets is not expanding.
October 29, 2009
How do we know the shape of our galaxy?
The answer is ... we don't. But astronomers make educated guesses about the shape of our galaxy, in part by looking into space at other galaxies.
October 29, 2009
The infamous Heene hoax was a stunt
The Heene hoax shows us humans tend to favor initial impressions. If the first impression you get of something is that it is an alien spacecraft, it sticks.
October 22, 2009
Is it a coincidence that moon keeps one face to Earth?
The moon spins once for each of its orbits around Earth - and that's why the moon always keeps a single face turned our way.
October 19, 2009
Why is Jupiter called a failed star?
Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system, but it isn't massive enough to be a star. Stars require a certain amount of mass to spark thermonuclear fusion - in other words, to shine.
October 9, 2009
Gravity, does it have a specific speed?
Today's scientists theorize that gravity might travel in space at light speed, as a massless particle called a "graviton."
October 9, 2009
What makes the night sky dark?
On any clear evening, you can see the curved line of Earth's shadow ascending in the eastern sky. Earth's own shadow makes the night sky dark.
October 9, 2009
NASA mission that bombarded the moon
The goal of the NASA LCROSS mission was to explore a source of hydrogen at a crater at the moon's south pole, where scientists suspected the water ice.
October 9, 2009
Saturn has solar system’s biggest ring around it
The ring has a diameter equivalent to 300 Saturns lined up side to side. It’s also thick - some Saturn could fit into its vertical height 20 times.
October 7, 2009
Mars and Europa best suited for microbial life
Mars and Europa appear to be best suited for life. Will greater understanding of what makes planets habitable by microbes lead to the discovery of life on other worlds?
October 5, 2009
