Category Archives: Astronomy

All about astronomy: What it is, how the Solar System works, famous astronomers and more

Reversal of the Poles

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There are a lot of theories as to just how the world will end on 21 December 2012, from a Mystery Planet, various ways the earth will align with different things, to the Sun going crazy.  My personal favourite, however, is that the Earth’s poles will reverse, with total chaos resulting.  As usual with all these theories, every lunatic and crackpot has their own interpretation of what exactly this means and claims that theirs is the only Truth.  While researching … Continue reading →

Galactic Alignment

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A popular claim amongst 2012 doomsday merchants is that the Earth will be aligned with the centre of the galaxy, and then Bad Things Will Happen (In fairness, many believers in galactic alignment are teaching New Age ideas, and are keeping themselves apart from the hysteria.  Good for them!).  An alternative idea is that the earth will pass through the centre of the galaxy itself, with horrific consequences.  Unlike many other aspects of 2012 mythology, this class of ideas is … Continue reading →

Killer Comet

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In December 2010, a Russian astronomer named Leonid Elenin had the good fortune to discover a comet.  Following the usual practice, it was officially named Comet Elenin, after its discoverer.  Once its orbit had been figured out, it caused some excitement amongst the astronomical community because it would pass unusually close to Earth (about 35 million kilometres, or a little less than ten times the distance to the Moon) and therefore had the potential to put on a very good … Continue reading →

Nearby Supernova

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The story goes like this:     A nearby star, Betelgeuse, is nearing the final stages of its life.  It is already a hugely swollen Red Giant and has started acting strangely.  It’s brightness is flickering, and Astronomers have seen that it is forming bumps and dark patches.  Within the next few years, it is going to go supernova and our Solar System will be caught up in the blast.  The government (for in stories like this, the convoluted structures … Continue reading →

Degenerate Matter

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To understand degenerate matter, we’ve got to step back and look at regular normal matter first.  If you’ve had even a rudimentary physics education (high-school level or higher), you’ll be aware of the gas laws.  Pressure and volume are proportional to temperature, so that if you increase the temperature, the gas will try to expand (and if it is prevented by expanding by being sealed in a container, the pressure rises).  These principles explain how a hot air balloon flies, … Continue reading →