136 FAQs about Astronomy Odds and Ends (The Astronomy Cafe)

1. Why do you use 'cgs' units instead of SI units in all your calculations?
2. What is the difference between theoretical and practical astronomy?
3. Could you define the terms strehl ratio, shack-hartmann mask, fast focus technique and dichroics?
4. Can psychics really tell the future using the stars?
5. What is the 'Albada-Lindblad' anomaly?
6. Where can I find an online glossary of astronomical terms?
7. Which questions at the Cafe have you found the most interesting?
8. Are any scientists researching 'aliens' and the Loch Ness Monster?
9. What are your 10 most favorite astronomy books?
10. Why does air travel westward take less time than eastward?
11. Why are there theories for some things and not others, such as why the speed of light has its particular value?
12. Do any astronomical phenomena occur every 800 years?
13. Is there a good planetarium within 500 miles of New Hampshire?
14. I have trouble in thinking of a light year as a measure of distance not time. What should I do?
15. Does the value of 'pi' ever change?
16. Why are the names of the week ordered the way they are?
17. If life is an accident, why are there so many stars and galaxies in the universe?
18. Is zero times an undefined quantity equal to zero?
19. Was Eratosthenes a more influential astronomer than Aristarchus?
20. How do you build a sundial?
21. When do astronomers say the Age of Aquarius will begin?
22. When did living matter first become aware of itself?
23. Who do I report falling rocket boosters to?
24. What is the longitude and latitude of Louisville, Kentucky and its correction to Universal Time?
25. What else did Clyde Tombaugh do other than discover Pluto?
26. Where is the Point of No Return located?
27. Could humans modify themselves to live on other planets?
28. In mid-late December 1996, I saw an article about the discovery of a low mass object traveling at 1/100 the speed of light. What was it?
29. When is the best time to view the constellation Andromeda?
30. Do you believe in UFOs?
31. Are there any free astronomy magazines on the Internet?
32. In what year did Galileo do most of his work?
33. How would we explain the length of an hour, or the distance to the Sun from Earth to an alien?
34. Where on the Internet can I find introductory material on astronomy?
35. What is it called when both the Sun and the Moon are in the sky at the same time?
36. What will happen on May 5, 2000?
37. How do you explain to 8th grade students the difference between planets, stars and moons?
38. What object is located 5.8 trillion miles from the Earth?
39. Has anyone ever proposed a metric system based on light travel time?
40. Can you make an ion-powered hovercraft?
41. In 'Deep Space 9', what kind of object is it that is shedding particles in the opening credits?
42. Can you give examples of questions that sound plausible, but which have no physical answers?
43. How can science be a sufficient explanation of the world when so many other channels exist for exploring the world such as emotions, intuition and ESP?
44. Which constellations were in the sky on 5/29/1986 as seen from New York city?
45. Did Virgo and Draco line up vertically with the lunar eclipse on September 27, 1996?
46. How useful is the Drake Equation in predicting how much life is 'out there'?
47. If a theory has to be falsifiable, how do you disprove the Copernican model of the solar system?
48. Why are you answering so many questions?
49. Who was M. Woolfson?
50. What is your opinion about the science fiction series 'Babylon 5'?
51. Which magazine do you prefer, Sky and Telescope or Astronomy?
52. Could a distant infrared galaxy be a Dyson Sphere in reality?
53. How do you come up with so many answers about astronomy?
54. How big is one crab unit?
55. What is a Dyson Sphere?
56. What are the locations of some interesting objects in the sky?
57. What is your favorite extra-solar object?
58. Is Sagittarius compatible with Cancer?
59. Will you be creating a book based on the questions in this archive?
60. Did anything interesting happen on April 10, 1996 at 10:00 PM?
61. Has anyone had sex in space yet?
62. If astronomers can see stars as they were thousands of years ago, why can't I see my grandmother or the CIvil War?
63. What does the 'nomy' in astronomy mean?
64. What does the 'Dawning of the Age of Aquarius' mean?
65. How do you calculate the Julian-Gregorian conversion from 4713BC to 16000AD?
66. What stars and galaxies are the farthest from the Earth?
67. What is all this I have read about the 'End of Science'?
68. Is this quote from Monty Python correct?
69. What is the Photon Belt, and will it pass by the Earth in 1996?
70. Do you know any good astronomer jokes?
71. How accurate are your answers to all these questions?
72. About how far away is the new 'dwarf planet'?
73. How do stars and comets get named?
74. Did anything interesting happen on May 1, 1988 in terms of the Moon, planets and stars?
75. Could you define: occultation, transit, ingress and egress?
76. Why was the 'parsec' invented when there are no stars 3.24 light years from Earth?
77. Do a lot of these questions seem pretty strange to an astrophysicist?
78. What major astronomical discoveries have happened in the last 100 years?
79. Why is astronomy important in our lives?
80. If astronomers feel that life can exist elsewhere in the universe, why don't they believe in the possibility that UFOs are from other worlds?
81. Can a convincing argument be made that a transcendent God keeps the universe going?
82. Is it true that consciousness has co-evolved with the universe?
83. I read, once, that our universe is contained in a Purusha Atom. What is that?
84. When were 'nebulae' first discovered?
85. Where can I get information about Hindu astronomy?
86. CNN mentioned something about a 'Blue Beam' 7-8 years ago. What is it?
87. Are the stars in the sky just there, or is there a purpose behind them?
88. Why does an egg stand on its end on the day of the Vernal Equinox?
89. How do I go about writing a paper about religion and astronomy?
90. What are some of the most recent, significant advances in astronomy?
91. How do astronomers recognize new kinds of objects in space?
92. What is the meaning of the phrase 'music of the spheres'?
93. Are any of the star systems in 'Star Trek' real such as 'Veridean' or 'Amagosis'?
94. How did a 'Antikythera Machine' work?
95. Do you know any astronomers in the southern California region that I could interview for a school project?
96. Where can I get an english language resource on chinese constellation names?
97. What was the azimuth and elevation of Gemini on February 29, 1996 at 10PM from Washington D.C?
98. What literature do you know that refers to astronomy in poetry etc?
99. Why are there an infinite number of points between any two points on a line?
100. Could you recommend any K-8 education materials?
101. What is the name of the bright infrared object near the star Albireo?
102. How do you pronounce 'pleiades' and hyades?
103. Is it easier to balance an egg during the Equinoxes?
104. I have an astronomical theory. What do I do with it?
105. How many objects have real names rather than catalog numbers?
106. How many questions do you get every day?
107. Can you tell from space that earth is inhabited by intelligent beings?
108. Where would you go in the Milky Way to get the most spectacular night sky?
109. Do you have any information about a British astronomer by the name of Polin Jenkins?
110. Is there a story about a primitive tribe who discovered a double star before astronomers even knew it existed?
111. Can you explain a few terms for me?
112. Where can I get a laser pointer bright enough to use at night to point to stars?
113. Are there any subjects in astronomy that are considered closed books?
114. As your site grows, will you be offering a search tool?
115. Which five constellations are visible all year?
116. Stars and planets are predictable.Can you eliminate these objects from the sky so that only the unpredictable objects remain?
117. What is your opinion about how life started on the Earth?
118. Will you be answering questions between Christmas and New years?
119. What is a parsec?
120. What is the best way for an 8 year old to get involved with astronomy?
121. What is the difference between astronomy and cosmology?
122. Where can I get information about navigating with the Sun, stars and planets?
123. So what is really going to happen when the calendar changes to the year 2000?
124. Is there a simple way to measure the speed of light?
125. I need the 4 Gigahertz flux for Orion for calibration of INTELSAT tracking antennas, where can I get this information?
126. Do you have any ideas for astronomy-related Christmas gifts?
127. How far is a light year?
128. Could you recommend a dictionary of astronomical and space terms?
129. Is anything happening in the sky on December 5, 1995?
130. Is there any astronomical meaning to the rhyme The Cat and the Fiddle?"
131. Can you explain how astronomers use the Doppler shift to measure speed?
132. Are we alone in the universe?
133. Greek mythology mentions a 100-headed creature called the Tyfon. Is there anything astronomical about such a bizarre creature?
134. Where can I get copies of the images you have in your web site?
135. How is a stellar parallax used to determine the distance to stars?
136. Are there other civilizations 'out there' somewhere?

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