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72 Example Questions

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up vote 21 down vote
What happens if two black holes collide?
added by Ashu May 16 '12 at 15:20
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Note that votes above 10 do not help a proposal definition, so many consider every vote above 10 as a wasted vote. It is far more useful to use your vote to approve of a question with fewer than 10 votes. Also, if a question you have already voted on now has more than 10 votes, remember that you can remove your up vote and put it on another suitable question. These two tips will help get this proposal get through the definition phase more quickly. – Mark Booth Oct 2 '12 at 10:33
up vote 16 down vote
For observing planets what kind of telescope offers the best view?
added by Ashu May 24 '12 at 14:02
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up vote 14 down vote
Why do sunspots appear dark?
added by anonymous May 15 '12 at 6:01
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because you're only looking in the human visible range? – Joe Oct 20 '12 at 2:40
up vote 12 down vote
Does the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) prove the Big Bang?
added by anonymous, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jun 25 '12 at 18:01
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up vote 12 down vote
How are extrasolar planets detected?
added by David Gorsline May 21 '12 at 21:05
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up vote 11 down vote
If the center of the Milky Way galaxy is home to a supermassive black hole, why do so many pictures of the Milky Way galaxy show a white center?
added by Calculator May 21 '12 at 22:14
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up vote 11 down vote
Why can't light escape from a black hole?
added by Calculator May 21 '12 at 22:20
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up vote 10 down vote
What's the different between a partial and total lunar eclipse?
added by anonymous May 15 '12 at 6:05
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up vote 10 down vote
Why don't solar or lunar eclipses occur every full or new moon?
added by anonymous May 15 '12 at 6:10
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Should basic geometry questions be allowed? – Alexander Kosubek Sep 25 '12 at 6:08
up vote 10 down vote
How do I begin updating the positions of celestial objects in an n-body gravitational problem?
added by Paul May 17 '12 at 3:27
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up vote 10 down vote
Where can I find information on the calibration of [SDO/AIA]?
added by Joe May 18 '12 at 15:02
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up vote 10 down vote
How is the composition of a planet (or a satellite) and its atmosphere (if any) determined?
added by David Gorsline May 21 '12 at 21:06
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up vote 10 down vote
How is the intrinsic brightness of a galaxy determined, and hence its distance and redshift?
added by David Gorsline May 21 '12 at 21:08
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up vote 10 down vote
How does the Moon affect the Earth's tides?
added by Calculator May 21 '12 at 22:17
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up vote 10 down vote
Is the Moon gradually moving away from the Earth?
added by Calculator May 21 '12 at 22:25
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up vote 10 down vote
Does the planet Jupiter have a surface?
added by Calculator May 21 '12 at 22:28
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up vote 10 down vote
Why are intermediate mass black holes so difficult to find?
added by Guillochon May 24 '12 at 11:19
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up vote 10 down vote
What type of telescope (indeed is it possible) to buy an ammeter telescope that would enable me to see any of the moon landing sites?
added by cmilhench May 24 '12 at 13:05
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I would like to see this question reworded. Perhaps to "Is it possible to see any of the moon landing sites with an entry level telescope for an amateur astronomer? If so, what specs would the telescope need? – Lorraine W Sep 20 '12 at 14:39
up vote 10 down vote
Multiple radio telescopes separated by thousands of kilometers can be used for interferometry; why is the same not true in the optical?
added by John Forbes May 31 '12 at 3:39
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up vote 10 down vote
Does it take infinite time from observer's point of view for star to actually collapse to gravitational singularity?
added by FolksLord Jun 14 '12 at 21:40
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up vote 10 down vote
What are the Lagrangian (libration) points? What natural satellites can be found there?
added by David Gorsline Jul 13 '12 at 19:09
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up vote 10 down vote
In an N-body simulation, does it matter if gravity has infinite speed (Newton) or finite speed (Einstein)?
added by Rody Oldenhuis Jul 28 '12 at 9:19
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up vote 10 down vote
Is there a maximum size a star can have? Is the size limit affected by the star's rate of rotation?
added by Rody Oldenhuis Jul 28 '12 at 9:23
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up vote 10 down vote
What is the frequency of the sun spot cycle? What is the reason for this cycle?
added by Ruchit Rami, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 24 '12 at 19:49
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up vote 10 down vote
How did the modern 88 constellations come to be standardized by the IAU?
added by David Gorsline Aug 13 '12 at 13:28
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up vote 10 down vote
What is dark energy, and how was it discovered?
added by PearsonArtPhoto, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 24 '12 at 19:48
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up vote 10 down vote
How is the fusion process different for a brown dwarf than a larger star?
added by PearsonArtPhoto, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 24 '12 at 19:48
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up vote 10 down vote
When will the tidal effects make the Earth always show the same side to the Moon?
added by Juanlu001 Aug 16 '12 at 14:11
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up vote 10 down vote
Does the apparent location of the surface of the Sun depend on the part of the spectrum in which you're looking at it?
added by Rody Oldenhuis Aug 18 '12 at 9:39
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up vote 10 down vote
Does supernovae create enough pressure so as to nuclear-synthesize uranium (before the solar system birth)? Wouldn't it be a stronger phenomenon?
added by Stephane Rolland, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 27 '12 at 19:35
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up vote 10 down vote
Can we see any other galaxies except the Milky Way from Earth?
added by Edward Ruchevits Aug 28 '12 at 18:04
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up vote 10 down vote
Is the Big Bang still the best universe origin theory?
added by joseme, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 10 '12 at 19:28
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up vote 10 down vote
How can I calculate the relative times for both Earth and a spaceship, given the acceleration, distance, and flight time of the ship?
added by brentonstrine Oct 10 '12 at 22:14
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up vote 10 down vote
Why don't the arms of spiral galaxies lose their shapes, getting thinner as the galaxy rotates?
added by By137 Oct 15 '12 at 8:01
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up vote 10 down vote
How could James Webb Space telescope (to be launched in 2018) "stay" in an elliptical orbit around Lagrange point L2 which is declared as "unstable"?
added by Waffle's Crazy Peanut Nov 3 '12 at 8:34
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This would be a great question for the space.se proposal... – PearsonArtPhoto Nov 9 '12 at 12:01
up vote 10 down vote
Why has the rate of discovery of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) declined recently?
added by gerrit, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 22 '12 at 20:16
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up vote 9 down vote
If time-dilation is infinite at a black hole's event horizon, how can the black hole be formed at all?
added by Rody Oldenhuis Jul 28 '12 at 9:21
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up vote 9 down vote
How does supersymmetry explain dark matter? How about dark energy?
added by Rody Oldenhuis Jul 28 '12 at 9:25
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downvoted: this is two questions. DM and DE are separate issues (as far as human science knows) with (probably) very different explanations. – DarenW Sep 19 '12 at 20:59
@DarenW It's one theory which can explain both phenomena. The explanations might be different, but to split it up into two separate questions is unnecessary IMHO. – Rody Oldenhuis Sep 20 '12 at 4:24
up vote 9 down vote
What guidelines should I follow to start doing amateur astrophotography?
added by Claudix Aug 3 '12 at 15:24
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some questions very similar to this one are asked in the photography stackexchange site... – woliveirajr Sep 6 '12 at 14:27
This is probably best covered at photography.se - the question needs photographic experts, not astronomical experts to answer. – berry120 Sep 12 '12 at 23:27
Well, I meant astrophotography in the whole sense. Astrophotography does not only involve enjoying the Universe's beauty but also studying it. Asteroids, for example, are often detected by comparing snapshots of a same region of the sky. Astrophotography also allows computing sizes of nearby objects by means of their angular sizes. And finally, astrophotography also involves a deep knowledge of how astronomical coordinates systems work. – Claudix Sep 13 '12 at 15:10
up vote 8 down vote
Are there any publicly accessible repositories of data from the Kronos solar observatory?
added by Joe May 16 '12 at 1:21
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