Tag Archives: Q&A

Podcast #5: Mercury

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

Welcome to the 5th episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! We’re well on our way in the grand experiment of deciding how exactly to format the show, and today we’re trying yet another combination! We’ll start off by answering the question first asked in a classic Urban Astronomer article, one originally written back in 2010 and that’s been consistently popular with our readers:  Will an astronaut explode if they take off their helmet? Our feature item introduces my new co-host, and … Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:27 — 12.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | Email | Deezer | RSS | More

Will Mars look as big as the Moon in August?

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

Dear Urban Astronomer   I recently received this presentation in an email.  Apparently, Mars will look as big as the Moon on 27 August, because it will be closer to us than ever before in recorded history and will look as big as the Moon in the sky.  Is this true? I was tempted to simply dismiss this as a joke.  After all, it’s not like anybody still falls for this, right?  Surely people remember seeing the same hoax this time … Continue reading →

Where is the centre of the Universe?

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

Would finding the centre of the Universe help us understand our place in the Cosmos?  In a previous article, I talked about the problem of trying to measure speeds in space.  Because there are no fixed positions in the universe, there can be no such thing as an absolute, “real” speed.  Even the ground beneath your feet is attached to a planet hurtling through space!.  The very idea of speed simply means “The distance traveled, divided by the time it took … Continue reading →

What do astronauts eat in space?

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

Apparently the two most popular questions people like to ask astronauts are how the toilet works in zero gravity, and what the food is like.  The answer to the first question is “reasonably well”, but the second deserves a little more time.  Happily, this infographic recently landed in my mailbox from the good folks at Labely.com which looks at the evolution of food in space from Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering first orbit up till the modern meals served on the International Space … Continue reading →

Are we really headed for a collision with Andromeda?

Urban Astronomer avatarPosted on by

Dear Urban Astronomer I recently read that the andromeda system is our closest neighbour. Apparently, our galaxy is on a crash course with the andromeda system. They make it sound like its going to happen in the next few decades. I was just curious how much bigger is andromeda? How close is it to us? And how close are we to impact. Thanks in advance, Drew Dear Drew First thing first, we are indeed on a collision course with the Andromeda … Continue reading →