Since there are now over 1500 questions with answers in the Ask the Astronomer area, and growing by about 100 - 150 per month, I decided to look into the statistics of the most frequently visited questions in this archive and tally-up those that had the largest number of hits during the months of January, February, April and May, 1996 just to see what I would get. Here is a list of the 25 least asked questions during this period! To make it into this list, the question must only have been visited less than 5 times in April and May, 1996.

I hope you enjoy this short list. As an astronomer, I found it very surprising.


At what times are the planets closest and farthest from the Sun?

How does NASA decide which programs to support?

How many astronomers are there?

How many hypothetical planets have been searched for in our solar system?

Does the solar wind affect spacecraft the way it affects comets?

Can aircraft be protected from the Sun's harmful electromagnetic rays?

Should I study Law instead of Astronomy?

Do all elementary particles have spin, and where does it come from?

Since energy is quantized, is light also quantized?

What will happen when the calendar changes to the year 2000?

Where can I get information about using the Sun, Moon and stars to navigate?

Does the Sun set in the same place every day?

Where can I find a Web site for Galileo Probe updates?

Where do planetary moons come from?

What are spiral density waves?

What inspired you to become an astronomer?

What kind of equipment do you use every day as an astronomer?

What are the different types of electromagnetic radiation?

What fraction of the interstellar medium is in atomic, molecular and ionized hydrogen?

Is human perception of statistics flawed?

Will NASA be sending a spacecraft to flyby an asteroid?

How much of the solar system has been mapped?

Where do planetary rings come from?

Is our Milky Way a typical shape for galaxies in the universe?


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