Archives for September 2011
Why some moons rotate differently than other moons.
Published on 18 Sep 2011 at 12:00 am.
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Many celestial bodies, including moons, are known to rotate, or spin on an axis. Different moons rotate in different directions and at different rates. The reason for these differences is that different forces are acting, and have acted in the past, on the different moons. Usually, properties of the planet that a moon orbits around [...]
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Top three best times to watch meteorites.
Published on 17 Sep 2011 at 12:00 am.
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Meteorites are actually meteors, or shooting stars, that have fallen to earth. The best time to watch meteors are during a moonless night where there-s very little light pollution. The observer will probably see a meteor streak across the sky every ten minutes. It-s best to watch with the naked eye, as binoculars or telescopes [...]
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Can comets actually cause gravitational pull on planets?
Published on 14 Sep 2011 at 12:00 am.
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What happens when a comet passes close to a planet? Can it exert a gravitational pull on that planet? We would hope not, because there are over four thousand known comets, and over a trillion comet like bodies in the solar system. Comets are of such insignificant size and mass that they cannot pull a [...]
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Reasons why sun spots are so interesting to watch.
Published on 11 Sep 2011 at 12:00 am.
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Sunspots are interesting to watch because they only come around every eleven years or so. Why eleven years? No one really knows. A sunspot is found on the surface of the sun, or the photosphere. They-re dark because they-re cooler than the area around them. Their magnetic field is also extremely strong, about 3,000 times [...]