How did chemists save astronomy? What’s so important about the spectrum, and how are they made? How can we tell what things in space are made out of?
Oct 15th: How did Spectroscopy Revolutionize Astronomy?
Tag: Ask A Spaceman
Oct 1st: Is the James Webb Space Telescope worth the wait?
Why is infrared astronomy so hard? How do we fit giant telescopes into tiny rockets? What will the James Webb uncover?
Sep 17th: Why can’t I quantum tunnel myself?
Where does the quantum world begin? Why do we have a hard time fundamentally understanding quantum systems? What connects quantum and classical physics?
Sep 3rd: What’s it like to fall into a black hole? (redux)
What’s it like to fall into a black hole (again)? What does the outside universe look like?
Aug 20th: Is the universe really predictable?
What is chaos theory? How can something be both deterministic and unpredictable?
Aug 6th: What are the mysterious cosmic strings?
How do cracks appear in spacetime? What does it have to do with symmetry?
Jul 16th: What do we learn from eclipses?
Why is it so hard to predict solar eclipses? How did Newton and Halley team up to solve it? What have we learned from solar eclipses since then?
Jul 2nd: Is Interstellar Travel Possible?
How hard is interstellar travel? What are the possible ways to achieve the required energy?
Jun 18th: How Do We Measure The Expansion Of The Universe?
What’s the deal with redshift? How can we actually interpret velocities when it comes to cosmic expansion?
Jun 4th: Is everything a wave or a particle, and why does my head hurt?
Is light made of waves or particles? Is matter made of waves or particles? What does it mean for matter to “wave”, anyway?