Category Archives: Questions and Answers

Most people have many questions about astronomy, and aren’t happy with the standard answers. Here are some articles trying to change this. If you have any questions you would like to see answered, ask me in an email to the address below, and I will answer your question in an article on this list

How do you define astronomy?

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In an earlier article, I dealt with one of the most annoying questions that astronomers seem to get asked routinely:  “What’s your sign?”  But even more frequent and way more annoying, is being described as an astrologer by people who don’t seem to know the difference between astronomy and astrology!  To help those people, I’m going to answer the question that they never seem to ask, and really should: What is Astronomy? Well, astronomy is a science.  It deals with the … Continue reading →

Why don’t scientists believe in UFO’s?

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A lack of any convincing evidence, mainly.  There have been countless thousands of reports of UFO’s over the last century, but most can be easily explained by natural phenomena or known human activity.  For example, the sighting of a mysterious spinning spiral in the sky above Norway turned out to be a malfunctioning rocket spinning out of control.  Other cases turn out to be the planet Venus (“There’s something hovering above the horizon, as bright as an aeroplane’s landing lights”), … Continue reading →

What is gravity?

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Gravity is the force that attracts objects with mass towards each other.  On Earth, it is what brings us back to the ground if we jump upwards.  In space, it is what makes the Moon orbit the Earth, what makes the Earth and other planets orbit the Sun, and what makes the Sun and stars orbit the centre of the galaxy.  According to physicists, there are only four forces in the universe, and gravity is the weakest by a ridiculously … Continue reading →

What is a supernova?

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  A supernova explosion is one of the most powerful releases of energy in the universe.  When the largest stars run out of fuel and collapse, the implosion of their core rebounds with such power that the resulting explosion outshines entire galaxies for several weeks.  All that remains is a tiny dense neutron star, surrounded by an expanding cloud of ultra-hot glowing gas which we see as a beautiful nebula.  If the star was particularly massive, then the remains of … Continue reading →

What is the Hubble Telescope?

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Dear Urban Astronomer, I am embarrassed to admit that although I have heard a lot about the Hubble Telescope, I’m still not actually that sure about its purpose. Does it belong to NASA or just the world in general? Is it just a telescope that sends back picures or is it looking for extra-terrestrial life? How big is it? Is it a satellite or does it just travel for eternity into space? Is it solar powered or will it eventually … Continue reading →