Archive for April, 2008
« Previous EntriesHow big is the Earth?
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008There are several things in our solar system bigger than the Earth; the Sun and all the gas giants like Jupiter. But of the four terrestrial planets - the rocky worlds you could actually walk on if appropriately attired (Venus has a strict jacket and tie requirement) - the Earth is the largest. You have […]
How far away is the Earth from the Sun?
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008The Earth circles peacefully around the Sun at about 149 million kilometers or 92.75 million miles on average. Our orbit is slightly elliptical so our distance swings from anywhere as far as 94.5 million miles and as close as 91 million miles. There are a lot of interesting facts about the Earth I’ll save for […]
How can I save money?
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008Just a quick intermission from the space stuff - We’re living in tight times. Gas prices are rising, housing values are falling and it’s harder than ever to get a loan these days. But don’t despair; there is some good news in all of this mess. For one thing, look at a recession as a […]
What is a planet?
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008Our solar system has an interesting and diverse cast of characters. We even have a black sheep in our solar family in the form of Pluto and at the center of all the recent controversy about its status has been one surprisingly difficult question to answer - what is a planet?
You’d think that pretty much any […]
How many times would the Earth fit in the Sun?
Monday, April 28th, 2008I considered answering this in my previous post - How big is the Sun - but found the question so well answered elsewhere that I’ll give it its own post. The short answer is - 1 million. As explained by Ask an Astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center - Imagine the Universe, it helps […]
How big is the Sun?
Monday, April 28th, 2008The Sun is about 1,392,000 kilometers or 875,000 miles across. If you wanted to put a belt on the sun to hold up its pants you would want to know its circumference and for that you just apply a little math. The circumference of a sphere is determined by multiplying 2 times pi (3.14) times […]
How old is the Sun and how long will it live?
Monday, April 28th, 2008The Sun is about 4.57 billion years into its main-sequence stage and when we think of its age, that’s the number generally agreed on. You can think of this as the relatively stable period in a star’s life after it forms and during which it converts Hydrogen into Helium in a process known as nuclear […]
What is the Sun and what is it made of?
Monday, April 28th, 2008If you’re ever away from the glare of city lights on a cloudless night, take a look up into the sky and marvel at the countless thousands of sparkling stars you see up there. Pick one you like and point your finger at it. Now imagine that maybe, just maybe, the star you’ve picked has […]
Smart Kid Inspires Posts!
Sunday, April 27th, 2008My apologies for the dearth of posts last week; it was crunch time at the office. I did manage to get a few in about dolphin sleep, Apollo 11 and the Moon and hope you enjoyed them. This week I hope to stick to a specific topic.
I’m the proud uncle of a highly intelligent boy […]
How far away is the Moon?
Thursday, April 24th, 2008Today, the average distance to the moon is 238,856 miles.
There are two interesting things to note in that answer. First, note the word “average.” Remember that the Moon’s orbit is elliptical and not perfectly circular so the distance varies by as much as 26,000+ miles. To put that into perspective, the distance of the Moon […]