Facts, Guides, Information and Did You know » Space

What is a Solar Eclipse?

admin — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:18:52 +0000

A solar eclipse is an amazing natural phenomenon that is rare and exciting. the moon orbits the earth and the earth orbits the sun. Occasionally during these orbits the moon blocks out part of the sun causing a “solar eclipse”. If the sun is not completely blocked it is called a partial eclipse. Sometimes the sun is almost completely covered, leaving only a ring called an annulus around the edge. This is called an annualar eclipse. If the sun is completely blocked it is called a total eclipse. In ancient times people believed an eclipse was a sign from the gods that they were angry with the people. Ever year there are 2 solar eclipses but only parts of the earth can see them. It is possible for there to be 5 eclipses in 1 year. the longest solar eclipse was 7.5 minutes.

The Measurement of Distances Between Stars Using Light Years

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:05:56 +0000

If the distance between stars and planets or stars and stars were measured in miles the numbers would be so large we would not be able to contain them on one page. Astronomers use light-years to make these measurements so they numbers are less overwhelming. A light year is the distance that light travels in 1 year. Light travels at 186,282 miles in one second! A light year is 5.88 million million miles or 5,880,000,000,000 miles. The nearest star, excluding the sun, to earth in Alpha Centauri which is 4.3 light-years away or the equivalent of 25 million million miles from earth. It would take 8.5 years for us to send a message and get a response from this star. Stars in the Milky way can stretch up to 80,000 light-years away from earth.

The Causes of Sunspots

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:08:34 +0000

Sunspots are cool dark splotches on the suns surface. These areas are much cooler than the rest of the sun, the sun is 11,000 degrees and the spots may be 7,200 degrees. Sunspots are the result of magnetic fields in the sun that give gas particles that give off extra energy, shooting out of the surface. When they particles rise they cool slightly making a dark spot. The spots are often found in pairs because they come in plus and negative charges (North and South Pole magnets). The positively charged spots are believed to be when the magnetic lines leave the sun and the negatively charged spots where they return. A sun spot can by 185,000 miles long.

Movement of the Sun

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:07:15 +0000

It was once believed that the sun moved across the sky instead of the earth moving. Scientist later discovered the real way the planets travel but they also discovered the sun does move. The sun is a large star in the Milky Way galaxy, the galaxy spins around like a record. The sun moves around the center of the galaxy at approximately 481,000 mph. The sun goes around the center of the Milky Way once in ever 225 million years. The galaxy itself also spins and grouped galaxies also move in the universe. The sun is probably moving in many directions at once. The stars are moving very quickly but we cannot tell because of their distance.

How Does the Sun Burn with No Air

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:03:43 +0000

On earth, oxygen is required for things to burn. Burning is a chemical reaction when some of the atoms in oxygen coming with carbon atoms in a fuel that is being burned. This creates carbon dioxide, heat and light. So how does the sun burn? The sun isn’t actually burning, it is similar to a hydrogen bomb. Hydrogen is turned into helium but some is turned into energy allowing this process to continue without oxygen.

How Many Stars are in the Universe

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:59:28 +0000

We live in the Milky Way galaxy which is a grouping of stays. There are probably about 1 billion to 1 trillion stars in out galaxy alone. There are around 10 billion galaxies in the universe making it possible for their to be 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the entire universe!

Star Magnitude and Brightness

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:53:37 +0000

When we look up we feel like we see millions of stars but only about 6,000 of the billions of stars can be seen without a telescope. 1/4th of these 6,000 stars can been seen from north of the equator. Some stars look brighter then others because they have a brighter magnitude. Stars with a 1 magnitude at 2 times as bright as 2 magnitude-2 stars and so on. Magnitude-6 or more requires a telescope to be seen. A telescope can see stars with a magnitude-21. A magnitude 1 star is 1,000,000 times brighter than the magnitude 21 star. There are only 22 stars with a magnitude 1.