Got a Question?
I love answering astro questions. I don’t guarantee I always already know the answer, and I don’t guarantee I’ll be able to find it, but I’ll certainly do my best to give you a reliable reply.
Go ahead and leave your question in a comment below, and I’ll get to it at some point!
-Alice
Dear Alice
Recently a friend of mine told me that her friends from India insist that the moon in Seattle is bigger than the moon they see back home. Could this be true?
I’ve often wondered why the moon appears larger near the horizon and why I can’t capture that huge moon in a photograph but it has never occurred to me that the moon might appear larger or smaller from different places on the planet. What’s with that?
Thank you for any insight you might have.
-Terry
Hello:
As you probably know, several of us from Pacific Science Center, went to a NASA Forum at the Museum of Flight on January 25, 2008. NASA officials talked about a very complicated plan for a manned-Mars mission some time this century, using a permanent Moo base as a starting point. Have you heard anything more about this possible reality?
Thank you.
–RW
Rob, check out the latest post: http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2009/03/nasa-update/ for your answer.
Terry, I haven’t forgotten about you!
-Alice
Terry,
Here’s what I’ve got for you:
http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2009/03/american-moon-illusion/
Hi Alice,
Thanks for all the information. I was just wondering, If we are trying to get to Mars, why is a moon base better than an orbiting station like the ISS? A friend and I were were batting around ideas, but we were really just guessing, so I decided to turn to an authority with a blog.
-Austin
Alice,
How close could we send a satellite to the Sun before it burns up?
-Matt
Alice,
How many GPS satellites are there?
What kind of orbit are they in?
How many can you “see” at once?
What is the “resolution” of GPS? How close can in pinpoint your location?
-Jonas
Alice,
I heard that Vega will be our new North Star in many thousands of years. Can you tell me more about that?
-Emily
Jonas,
Look at this: http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2009/04/gps-satellites/
-Alice
Austin:
Here’s what I think.
1) Going to the Moon is practice for going to Mars, but it’s safer and less intense.
2) Building a Moon base is practice for building a Mars base.
3) We likely wouldn’t launch from the Moon to Mars – it makes more sense to just launch once from the Earth, or have a second stage launch from orbit. (This I got from the folks at http://martianchronicles.wordpress.com/ )
-Alice
IS BOTH THE PARKS YOU RECOMMENDED FOR STAR GAZING OPEN ALL HOURS? SO I COULD GO THERE ON MY OWN OR WITH FRIENDS?
Katherine,
I responded over on the Seattle Stargazing page, but in short, Greenlake is open 24 hours, but Paramount Park is not.
-Alice
I heard that Mars is going to come close enough to look as large as the moon. Where and when can I see it?
Ron,
Unfortunately that e-mail is a misunderstanding. You can read my whole post about it here:
http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2009/06/mars-moon-2009-edition-still-not-true/
-Alice!
Alice,
I am wondering if you might be able to tell me what constellations would have been brightest in Seattle’s skies in late October of 1985, or if you aren’t able to advise, would you be able to refer me to the appropriate resource?
- Jason
Jason,
It depends on what time of night – but in the early evening you can easily see the Summer Triangle (Aquila, Lyra, and Cygnus) and the Big Dipper. Around midnight Orion and Gemini rise, with the bright star Sirius following around 2am and Leo later just before sunrise.
I’d download Stellarium and type in your date and location. Then you can look at any time of night you like.
I also sometimes use Heavens Above (click on “Whole sky chart”), but it isn’t as pretty or as easy to see.
-Alice
When will the next meteor shower be? Will there be anything going on in the sky during the month of September 2009?
Will there be anything going on in the sky during the month of September to be seen in Chattanooga TN?
Flo,
Check out this post on my site. You can see all of this from Tennessee.
The next meteor shower is the Draconids which peak on October 9th. You can find a full calendar at Meteor Showers Online.
-Alice
Hi Alice!!
I’m new to your website. I was wondering if you knew any really good, and easy to get to star gazing places. Preferably not observitorys. I have a telescope, if knowing thjat helps.. Well, I would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks!!,
ryan.
Ryan,
Check this out: http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/seattle-stargazing/
If that doesn’t help, comment again.
-Alice
Hi,
I see most of my constellations in the AM, around 6. I have noticed a shift as we go into fall. Now Orion is back in the sky.
I wonder if you can tell me what I see to the North of Orion at that time. It looks like a Y with the split towards the North. Thanks!!
For 6am this time of year you might try looking at my November-December starmap from last year – or if that isn’t right try January-February.
Based on your description I would guess that you’re seeing the Hyades – a cluster of stars that make up the face (or “V”) of Taurus the bull. Check the starmaps above and if that doesn’t look right to you, then perhaps you’re seeing part of Gemini.
And thanks for your suggestion of the Kitsap Peninsula – I agree, farther from the cities is WAY better for stargazing!
-Alice
Hello Again,
I’m finding all sorts of great info on your site. Nice work!
One of the best places I have been stargazing is out on the Hood Canal. Many places on the Kitsap Peninsula as well, there aren’t many big towns and so light pollution is not much of a problem.
Hi Alice! I thought you might like to know that Astronomy Reading Challenge has new address:
http://classical-bookworm.blogspot.com/2009/01/international-year-of-astronomy-reading_3763.html
Happy reading!
Can anybody advsie if binoculars always have a tripod fixing facility please?
sean,
I think that often Binoculars do have a place to affix a tripod, but not always. Two of the three pairs I own do NOT have a place to fix a tripod to. You can check out the article on making a mount for binoculars that don’t have a built-in attachment point here.
http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2009/10/binocular-mount/
Dear alice,
my friends are telling me that us senetors are making underground cites to prepare for the 2012 I am really scared sorry for bringing this up again and also scientist are supposed to keep their mouth shut about the 2012 truth.
thank you,
Anthony
dear alice,
that question about the scientist was a typo what i realy meant that is it true about scientist keeping their mouth shut and lie about the 2012 truth
Anthony,
Don’t worry. 2012 is a hoax. We do not need to prepare for extra disasters in 2012. Scientists are not keeping secrets from us about 2012.
In general you should be prepared for the regular disasters that strike where you live, and you should be prepared for those at all times, not just in 2012. For instance, here in Seattle one should have an earthquake kit and a plan for what to do in case of an earthquake. We have earthquakes here, it is just how this part of the geology here. 2012 will not be any different. In Florida and the Southeast of the United States you should be prepared for hurricanes – every year. In the midwest of the US people know what to do in case of tornadoes. It has nothing to do with 2012.
In short – you do not need to be scared, you do not need an underground city, you don’t need to change your lifestyle or plans. 2012 will be no more of a disaster than any other year.
-Alice
dear alice,
when I want to grow up I want to be a scientist do you have any tips.
Anthony-
1. Learn to think on your own. This is sometimes called “critical thinking” – develop your skills at thinking critically and creatively. Your teachers can help you with this, and can give you problems that stretch your brain.
2. Learn to write, and to speak dynamically in front of groups (in other words, be an interesting person to listen to).
3. Learn to make computers do whatever you want them to.
4. Ace your science classes.
5. Work hard at math.
6. Get an interesting job as soon as you can – like about when you turn 16, and start volunteering before that. Job skills (which you can get while volunteering) are critical to moving forward with your life in any direction.
Then, get into a good college and apply for a job doing research during your freshman year. If you can get a chance to do research while you’re in high school, so much the better. The sooner you can try research the sooner you’ll know if it is what you want to do.
I’ll think for a while if I have more ideas.
Alice,
While looking at the sky tonight (12/27/2009), we saw Sirius, the dog star, flashing to different colors like red, blue, and white. What does this mean? Thanks!
Ryan
Ryan,
Believe it or not, that was just Sirius twinkling. Stars twinkle because you’re looking at them through a lot of atmosphere and all that atmosphere, all that air, is wiggling and moving and blowing around. It’s very much like looking across a hot grill or a hot sidewalk – you know how looking through the air over a hot surface makes everything on the other side look all bendy and wiggly? It is JUST like that.
Now, Sirius being the brightest star has some of the most amazing twinkling action in the sky. It twinkles so much it looks like it is flashing different colors. I’m not entirely certain of the mechanism behind this, but I’d be willing to bet it has to do with the same reason we get rainbows – different colors of light bend in slightly different ways. So red bends a little, orange a little more, yellow a little more, and blue/purple bend the most – which is why we can get full rainbows from the white light of our Sun. Sirius is also mostly white, so its light contains all the colors of the rainbow (that’s what white light is – a mix of all colors) so we’re seeing the red light from Sirius more at some times than at others.
Did that help, or did it just bring up more questions? Post back if it brought up more questions I can smooth out that explanation a bit I think.
-Alice
dear alice,
i saw the video of science cafe i dont get it about the solar flare will it kill us. when u said changes in 2012 what do you mean by that.
Anthony,
Sorry about that. No, the solar flares won’t kill us. There will be more solar flares and more solar activity in 2012 than this year – but it will be very much like the solar activity in 2001. Did you notice anything in 2001? Did we all die in 2001? Nope.
Every 11 years the sun gets more active – this will happen in 2012 or 2013 because it happened in 2001. Won’t kill us – you will barely notice. Perhaps the television satellites will be disrupted once or twice for an hour or so. The Sun has been doing this about every 11 years as far back as we can measure. It will not be an apocalypse. It will not change your life.
Hey Alice,
Ive been watching the history channel and i know your probably tired of hearing about this. But do you think that the History Channel could be misleading about the mysterious 2012. Lately i have been seeing it on the History Channel and its suppose to be aired on TruTv with the Conspiracy Theroy about how the government is planning on building a underground bunker. I want to know what you think about all of this.
John,
Sorry it took me a week to reply. I did look into your comment a little – and I found out the History Channel is going to be airing a show about 2012 called “Apocalypse Island.” I don’t know much about the show itself, but if it even hints that there might be an apocalypse in 2012 (which from what I can tell it looks like it does) then you’re entirely correct: it is misleading drivel pandering to the doom criers.
In terms of truTV … I don’t know it, but I would be skeptical of “truth” as advertised by a company that spells true “tru.” Also, their tagline is “real-life stories told from an exciting and dramatic first-person perspective and features high-stakes, action-packed originals that give viewers access to places and situations they can’t normally experience.” That sounds like spin, and making things more dramatic than they are …
The most dramatic stories about 2012 are either made up, or stories about people doing drastic things based on this false myth.
I hesitate to put this in writing, because I can easily see someone taking it out of context, but here goes. This is only a valid statement if taken as a complete sentence. I’ll bet you the government is building underground bunkers, but not for any reason related to 2012. Underground bunkers are useful for all sorts of things, and I certainly hope the government has several in case of all kinds of scenarios that might actually happen: assassination attempts on the president, research stations for creating cures for the next pandemic (there will always be a next pandemic, H1N1 was one, we’ll have another), storage of irreplaceable artifacts, centers of operation in case of other disasters, etc. Solar flares are not one of the reasons we need bunkers. Neither is 2012.
the solar flare in 2012 is it going to kill us to make it clear.
Anthony.
Solar flares in 2012 will not kill us.
in science today we were talking about stars and about the sun becoming a red giant in 5 billion years and will engulf mecury and venus then what will happen our science class was shorten sadly and that was the final chapter but doesnt explane more i m really intrested in this. :)
Anthony -
Here are some good links about the fate of the Sun:
Windows to the Universe: Fate of the Sun
Windows to the Universe: the Sun
and my favorite: Nine Planets: the Sun which also has a number of good links at the bottom.
-Alice
Has NASA found anything out recently about the snow falling on Mars? Will we ever be able to travel to Mars ourselves, rather than rovers and probes? Does NASA want to keep sending probes and rovers to Mars to explore more since snow fell on Mars? I’m in 5th grade and I’m doing a research project on Mars.
Hi Alice I’m new and want to ask you some questions for an interview project about Mars
! Does NASA want to keep sending probes to mars because snow fell there? Do you think we can live on Mars because we found substances on mars that we have on
Earth? Lastly, Do you think some kind of thing/person used to be on Mars because of life?
Olivia,
I think NASA wants to keep sending probes to Mars because it is a fascinating planet and we might learn a lot about ourselves and our planet by comparing Earth to a neighbor. It is also a planet full of mysteries, and it isn’t too hard to send missions to when compared with other planets nearby.
I think we have found only some of what we need to live on Mars. If we took a good amount of equipment there, and continued to live inside the ship, and wore space suits while wandering around the planet, then I think we could live there for a while. We would have to work hard to create enough oxygen and water out of what Mars has though.
I think it is possible that some bacteria once lived on Mars but I am not sure.
-Alice
Why are not stars visible in the photographs taken on the moon? The sky only appears black, but no stars.
The Moon is so much brighter than the stars that you tend to be able to get only one or the other in the picture. It might be possible to get both by using a method called “high dynamic range” – but it is likely the Moon will be too bright and will likely be so overexposed that it will wash out any stars nearby.
Here is a more detailed answer – along with a digitally manipulated photo. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010906.html
Here’s a photo that does show both – but it makes the Moon look like the Sun: http://www.astronet.ru/db/xware/msg/1199835
-Alice!
doyou guy’s have info on eyjafjallajkull volcano?
kody,
http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2010/04/iceland-volcano-eyjafjoll-april-14-2010/
-Alice
Hi Alice! This is Brandy from the Astronomy 101 class at SSCC last year. I just wanted to say thank you again for the great class and also for your fantastically informative page here! I am the chief science officer for a local club and I am constantly gleaning information from your page or following your links to learn more about what is going on in the world of astronomy. I just really wanted to say thanks for keep up the fantastic work!
I hope you are having a fantastic spring quarter!
Brandy
Thanks Brandy!!
Alice:
Two questions, both sun-related. For years I have been comparing USNO sunset times to determine when we start visibly returning to “The Great Dark” (I am a Mark Twain fan). For years that I researched it, the latest time cited for a Solstice sunset was 9:13 PM. So much so that I memorized it–in fact the 9:13 sunset stretched for another week or so. In your blog, you cite a Sunset of 9:11 today (which may be theoretical given the residual murk). Given that I thought 9:13 PM was a given, why would it be two minutes earlier in your estimate?
Second, from Seattle, the angle of inclination is such that the sun rises at an very shallow angle in mid-winter, and even now at the solstice, the sun only gets to an angle of 71 degrees. That being so, what about in the Southern Hemisphere? I can never figure out if: 1) the sun appears inclined to the south in mid-winter, but flipped over in mid-summer or 2) it looks like our sun in terms of inclination, but only lessened by the lower latitude. My gut argues for #2, but I cannot resolve it.
-
I will leave the mystery of how water in a toilet swirls in the Southern Hemisphere for another day (though I swear the Coriolis effect does not extend to very small bodies of water).
Thanks for your time – JayDee
JayDee – sorry to keep you waiting.
First, and least useful, is the fact that I got my times from the USNO also.
In answer to question 1: the date of latest sunset is not the same as the longest day, though they’re close. Not intuitive, is it? Start with my post entitled “Dark Days of Winter” and the USNO’s page of the same title. Although these are about the winter solstice, the same holds true for the summer solstice. Hopefully those will make you think and start to clear up some of the question. Either that or they’ll raise more questions, which I hope you post.
In answer to question 2: So let me differentiate between two angles to make sure you and I are talking about the same thing.
-The angle at which the sun rises to me means the angle between the Sun’s path and the horizon. For any given location on Earth this angle will remain constant throughout the year. For Seattle this angle is 42.5.
-The maximum altitude to which the Sun gets on any day varies with the season. This is the angle you mention as 71 degrees on the summer solstice.
Related to your question about the Southern Hemisphere, it is important to note (as you already have) that the Sun’s highest point is always to the south of the zenith.
Here is an explanation of the Sun’s path. It’s thorough, but dense.
What you need to answer your question about the Southern Hemisphere is a celestial sphere. I’d prefer to give you a real sphere, but think through that.
In short though – yup, it is flipped in the Southern Hemisphere but: the Sun always reaches it’s highest point to the North of their Zenith – and the altitude is dependent on the latitude. Ouch, that was also pretty dense, sorry. Look at a celestial sphere and imagine you’re inside it for a while. I can probably write a cleaner explanation if these links don’t help.
In answer to the third question you didn’t really ask: everything I’ve read says you’re right. Coriolis doesn’t affect the toilet – the shape of the toilet bowl, jets, and drain do. It probably spins the same way in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
That should get you started, but holler back if you get stuck.
-Alice
dear alice,
Now there is a solar flare going to hit earth in 2012 the news said it is stronger than a nuclear bomb is the earth going to be okay becaouse i want to finish high school alive not dead and i know the satilites are going to go down and i also want to know during solar flare do you hve to stay inside your house becouse of the radiation. and also the solar flare after that will it get stronger than before.
-ant
ant,
No. It is a hoax. There is no such thing as a solar flare that will hit the Earth in 2012 with the strength of a nuclear bomb. You will finish high school alive and go on to live the rest of your life just like your grandparents, great-grandparents, and all your ancestors.
Please read these articles that I have written:
2012 Hoax – http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2009/11/2012/
You can watch me give a lecture about 2012 – http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2009/11/video-2012-and-lecture-the-moon/
And I write about the movie of the same name – http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2009/11/2012-the-2009-movie/
More information from an astronomy expert friend of mine: http://www.2012hoax.org/
Yes, there will be a little more solar activity in 2012 and 2013. I doubt you will even notice, and it will not disrupt your life. You will not have to stay inside your house from the radiation – the Earth’s magnetic field protects all of us 100% of the time. There are some satellites that are less protected and every once in a while one of them breaks from the radiation – so it is slightly possible that you won’t have cable TV or your GPS device might not work for a couple hours sometime in the next few years because of that. The astronauts do have to shelter from flares, but this is standard procedure for them because they are less protected by the magnetic field while they’re in space.
YOU WILL BE OKAY. There is no disaster coming in 2012 from the Sun or from within the Earth. 2012 will be just as safe and just as dangerous as any other year, there isn’t anything special about it.
-Alice
isnt the norhtern lights supposed to be in the north not hte south.
Interesting question ant.
Indeed, the northern lights (the aurora borealis) happen in the northern latitudes, but there are also the southern lights which are called the aurora australis, and those happen in the southern hemisphere, nearer to the south pole – just like the northern lights happen near the north pole.
There are some good movies about how the auroras happen at the same time at both poles: http://eiger.physics.uiowa.edu/~vis/conjugate_aurora/
also something about a ufo do thoes exist
ant,
Let me point you to an article I wrote a couple years ago: http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/2008/12/aliens-yes-ufos-no/
Here I’ll just say – “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” A quote from Carl Sagan.
-Alice
what is the best season to view sagittarius from Seattle?
Dick,
Summer is the best time to see Sagittarius from Seattle! :)
You’ll look straight south, just above the horizon. Here are two starmaps:
http://www.pacsci.org/planetarium/Starmaps.html
http://www.heavens-above.com/skychart.aspx?SL=1&SN=1&lat=47.606&lng=-122.331&loc=Seattle&alt=60&tz=PST
-Alice
Hello,
Where is the best place to go in Seattle if I’m thinking of buying a telescope? I know there’s a company up in Anacortes, but is there a decent store for telescopes in Seattle itself?
Thanks,
John
Hi John,
I buy most of my telescopes online. I got one from Edmund Scientific (now Scientifics Online: http://scientificsonline.com ), one from Astro-Tech (http://www.astronomytechnologies.com/ ), and several from Galileoscope (https://www.galileoscope.org/ ).
There are three scope stores I know of in Seattle:
Aurora Astro (but the physical store closed earlier this year) – http://www.auroraastro.com/
Captain’s Nautical (I’ve been here several times, they’re fairly knowledgeable) – http://www.captainsnautical.com/ 2500 15th Ave West, Seattle – just south of the Ballard Bridge
Close Scientific Instruments (I haven’t been in, but called them once) – http://www.closeinstrumentrepair.com/ 2316 4th Ave, Seattle
I’m also going to point this comment out to my friend Greg, who might have more suggestions.
Hope that helps!
-Alice
John,
Like Alice, I do my telescope shopping on-line, and typically with Orion (http://www.telescope.com/). I lament the closure of the physical store for Aurora Astro that Alice noted (my article on the closure is at http://www.examiner.com/astronomy-in-seattle/aurora-astro-products-closing); he’s still open on-line but appears to be out of telescopes, though he may be able to special order. I’m not familiar with the others Alice mentioned. Sometimes higher-end camera stores will have telescopes, but not much selection and even less expertise to help you make a good choice.
Without knowing about Captain’s or Close, I’d say Anacortes is the best bet for an in-store shopping experience. And it’s a nice trip up there!
–Greg
Alice and Greg,
That was very helpful. Thanks!
John