Astronomy and Cosmology

Hi there. This is my first post on this site and I was hoping somebody could point me in the right direction. I have a theory on the rotation of the Earth and why it is set in motion perpetually. Ive been discussing it with a few close friends who are open minded and Intellectuals and they think its fairly ground breaking and a totally new way of looking at it. I would really like a reputable source to help me publish my theory (if thats the right thing to do) but I have no idea where to start. The problem is I'm a 23 year old with no professional background in this field. I only have the research and time I have devoted to the study of perpetual motion and astronomy.…

http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2008/phot-46-08.html Images and video of nearly 30 stars whose orbit around the Milky Way black hole was tracked for the past 16 years.

I'm as new to the whole astronomy thing as can be. The only experience I have is a college class I'm taking my sophomore year in high school and I would like, perhaps a bit prematurely, to send something - anything - into space. My plan of action is to use a large weather balloon with a small rocket on top of a small platform atop the balloon. The balloon will go as high as it can, being as it is filled with helium. At the precise moment I plan to launch the rocket into space taking a currently-unnamed something with it. I am obviously over-simplifying this by ALOT, but I am determined to do what it takes to succeed in this task. Unfortunately, I know next to nothi…

hi, i'm currently doing research on cosmic strings and i'm using FITS images to do my analysis. however i would like to add lines into the FITS images that i have so as to simulate these lines as cosmic strings in the images. i'm not sure if there's any software that i can use and allows me to add lines to the FITS images that i have. hopefully someone can enlighten me on that, thanks!

Typical, this is just out of shot from my backgarden, but I managed to have a look through the window via my telescope, though this clearly muddies the view a bit. However, if it's a clear night where you are, have a look outside (towards the moon obviously)... http://www.earthsky.org/radioshows/52786/moon-venus-jupiter-on-december-1

I have a question about the big bang... How fast is everything moving? I've heard somewhere that the universe is 40 billion light-years across. If the universe is only 13.7 billion years old, and the big bang took place in what is now the center of the universe, then shouldn't the universe be less than 27.4 billion light years in diameter, assuming nothing can move faster than light? I thought I knew a lot about astronomy, but this one's confusing to me.

I`v had an idea and wondered if it`s Scientifically sound (or not), it`s a little complicated but I`ll try to explain it as well as I can. 1`st my Premise / assumptions: 1) if you throw a clock into a black hole you`ll see it fall and the seconds hand will appear to be going slower and slower and then eventually stop. 2) this clock will also be red shifted. 3) if we look at the EM spectrum you`ll see that below visible light is IR, then microwave then radio, we have instruments that can detect signals at any of these frequencies also. now assuming the above is correct, I postulate that it Should be possible to use instruments to "Tune in" to the past a…

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/11/sugar-molecule.html?npu=1&mbid=yhp They've detected a sugar molecule 26,000 light years away. Cool news for extraterrestrial-life, but how on Earth did they view it? (pun accidental)

Hello, My name is Tom and I am new to this Forum. I am not a physicist but I have an interest in some of the ideas regarding cosmology. I do not pretend to understand all the math and intricacies of cosmic theories. However, I would appreciate any suggestions regarding web sites where a layperson, such as myself, could learn more about worm holes. Thank you Tom C

Out of curiosity IS a black hole literally a hole and there is like a compartment behind it??? And What is behind a black hole considering that the black hole isn't literally a hole?

as some may or may not know, a small but Very expensive toolkit was lost by an astronaut last week, BUT it`s been spotted by an amateur astronomer in Ontario: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081125/tool_bag_081125/20081125?hub=TopStories and the footage: that must be some kinda setup that guy has!

Dear Sir, I wanted to buy the telescope of very good magnification. Can anyone specify the type of telescope which is good. Thanking you,

hello, how many satellites are there for Planet Jupiter.

On November 16th the Leonid meteor shower will peak. It should produce about 15 bright meteorites per hour. Enjoy the show, weather permitting.:-)

I've been on the RSS feed for Universe Today for some time now, but this article in particular caught my eye. Partly because it affects Earth directly, but I found the possible cause of these cosmic rays due to dark matter annihilation more interesting... http://www.universetoday.com/2008/11/19/cosmic-rays-from-mysterious-source-bombarding-earth/ From the article... I realize it's a 'wait and see', to eliminate the latter if such an object is found near our solar system, however although not being an expert on dark matter and how it interacts, I was surprised that this was considered. Are they jumping the gun with putting this explanation for…

The universe is all objects and space. The objects in space move around, but the space can not expand since space does not have shape.

Fafalone and I had a discussion about the uses of gravity, and how gravitational matrices have been discovered that link planets together could be used to save fuel when exploring space. How long do you all believe it will be until we've learned how to travel with gravity, thus making inter-galactic travel possible? Do you think this is even possible?

Hey, Just read this - Hubble Announces A Major Extrasolar Planet Discovery November 7th, 2008 WASHINGTON, (NASA) — NASA will hold a Science Update to report on a significant discovery about planets orbiting other stars at 2:30 p.m. EST, Thursday, Nov. 13, in NASA’s James E. Webb auditorium. This unique discovery, made by the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advance Camera for Surveys instrument, also will be featured in the Nov. 14 issue of the journal Science. --- I've been following the Planet Quest site for over a year now - we're up to 322 exoplanets and it'll likely go up by the time some people read this. I'm curious as to what they've discovered! Its …

It's an exciting question and getting increased attention these days. I'll get some links later to current research. For clarity, what I mean by Big Bang here is simply the beginning of expansion, not any one version. There are lots of different scenarios---all I mean is the generic start to the process of distances increasing that we see going on (possibly including a brief episode of inflation). Many people have views they favor on this issues. Let's discuss our favorite ideas and hunches freely in posts. The poll, however, is about something else. It is intended to help establish what is known. Is there any scientific reason to believe that time started some 13.7…

13 April 2036 is the possible date on which it is expected that an Asteroid named 99942 Apophis is headed our way to strike earth. Question is can our earth be saved from this future catastrophe? Source: http://www.risethemag.com/viewarticles.aspx?catid=36

I am a physicist, but I don’t quite understand the Big Bang theory. Let me tell you why. The Big Bang theory says that the whole universe started from a “singularity” — a single point. The first question then is, a single point where? It is not a single point “in space” because the whole space was a single point. The Discovery channel would put it fancifully that “the whole universe could fit in the palm of your hand,” which of course it could not. Your palm would also be a little palm inside the little universe in that single point. The second question is, if the whole universe was inside one point, what about all the points around it? Physicists would advise you…

This seems like a no-brainer, but does the earth's distance from the sun fluctuate due to the moon's pull? In other words, does the moon completely orbit the earth, or does the earth do a little bit of moving as well? To give an example, if you tie a string between two masses and spin them in the air, the bigger mass will still move around a little bit, even if the other mass is a fraction of the size. If so, how much does the earth's orbit fluctuate?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20081106/sc_space/mysteriousdarkmattermightactuallyglow This caught my eye.

Has anyone heard about the new solar low? I am doing a presentation on it. I guess the sun goes through 11 year cycles (11 of high solar activity and 11 of low) But right now it has reached a new low. So this means the heliosphere, which protects us from interstellar space, does not extend as far as normal. What does this mean for us? The article I'm reading only says that it will make space exploration more dangerous. How? I guess what I'm looking for is a specific reason it would be more dangerous. Thanks!

not water (that would be frozen solid) but a large body of hydrocarbon liquid, like liquid ethane and other stuff desolved in it 7800 squre miles, like one of the north american Great Lakes http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/uoa-cic072908.php Cassini spacecraft flies by Titan from time to time taking pictures. The pictures of the lake were taken on the 38th flyby.