Ask An Astronomer Answer Archive

  1. Can you tell me about recent advances in the search for extraterrestrial life?
  2. How does the moon affect the growth of plants?
  3. Is there significance to the alignment of the galactic equator and the winter solstice?
  4. What is dark matter?
  5. Why is the sky blue?

  6. How can I compute the number of daylight hours for a given date at a given location?
  7. What is the "black moon"?
  8. What would a list of astronomical objects in order of increasing size look like?
  9. How do astronomers measure the distances to planets, stars, and galaxies?
  10. What is the difference between apparent and absolute magnitudes?

  11. What was the gamma ray burst on January 23?
  12. My second-grader needs to make a 3-D model of the solar system. Any suggestions?
  13. How do you find a job as an astronomer?
  14. How old do you have to be to be an astronomer?
  15. Are astronomers hired for specific projects, or do they have steady employment?

  16. What hours do astronomers work?
  17. What are the requirements to be a professional astronomer?
  18. If I want to become an astronomer, should I take astronomy classes in high school or college?
  19. What are the working conditions for astronomers?
  20. Is Lick Observatory open for tour groups? Do they sponsor science contests?

  21. Is there a way to refer to the position of objects that is not Earth-centered?
  22. How do I become an astronomer or an astronaut?
  23. How do I calculate the difference between ephemeris time and universal time?
  24. Where can I find a map of the moon?
  25. How much money do astronomers make?

  26. Where should I go to college to become an astronomer?
  27. Why do the rays of the sun shine through clouds at an angle?
  28. How late does it snow at the Lick Observatory?
  29. Where does the sun rise in the morning?
  30. When is the next solar eclipse?

  31. Is the solar system endangered by passing through a spiral arm of the Milky Way?
  32. What is the address of the web site in which one sets his PC to help monitor for extraterrestrials?
  33. How does astronomy help society?
  34. Why is the sky blue?
  35. If water evaporates in space, how could the moon have water at its poles?

  36. What is dark matter? And what is a dwarf?
  37. What is the difference between revolution and rotation?
  38. Can you tell me about airplane contrails? Can you study them at Lick?
  39. What would happen to the planets if the sun were to double in size?
  40. Why is the Earth's rotation slowing, and is there an experiment to show this?
  41. Before 2000, when was the last solar eclipse visible from North America on December 25?