View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Milky Way over Straker Lake. Photo © Steven Russell Smith. The Milky Way is a very ordinary-sounding name for an extraordinary subject. It describes the...
The Heavens Declare God’s Glory
Light Sailing
Is it possible to sail on light? This question was asked hundreds of years ago and answered relatively recently.
Hello…Can Anybody Hear?
In 1974, a group of scientists used the Arecibo radio telescope to beam a call to outer space—to no one in particular…
Jupiter is so BIG That…
Jupiter is the biggest planet in the solar system at about 88,800 miles across. That’s big enough to create the amount of gravity needed to clean up many unstable objects that could threaten the Earth.
Cloud Colors
Why is one part of the dust cloud blue while the rest of it is brown?
Pluto – 134340
If there was ever an object in the solar system that had astronomers confused, it was Pluto. At first their consensus was that it was a planet; then they decided it was not. The New Horizons spacecraft was supposed to answer questions and solve mysteries about this mysterious object, but when it flew past Pluto at about 31,000 mph, it uncovered more mysterious things…
A Huge Finger
Even though the largest pillar only looks like a curling finger of dust, it is a gigantic four light-years long from the top to the bottom…
Lunar Rays Raise Questions
At first glance, the Moon looks like a dull gray world, but the closer you look and the longer you observe, the more you’ll notice interesting features…
Atmospheric Optics
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive www.atoptics.co.uk Not everything that looks like a rainbow is called a rainbow. Colorful arcs close to the Sun are in the not-a-rainbow category. You can...
Fun Facts About Gravity
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Gravity seems fairly straightforward and predictable. If you throw a ball up and then catch it, the speed at which it falls back into your hand will be...
A Gravity Lens
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive A magnifying glass does its job by the curvature of its lens. Light passing through a curved lens will be redirected. A magnifying glass can be used to...
The Crescent Nebula
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive One of the first things that grabs your attention when stepping outside after sunset on a late summer evening is the sweeping expanse of the Milky Way. It...
Auroras!
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive The "Superstorm", May 10, 2024 Aurora borealis in Georgia on May 10, 2024. Photo © Morris Yoder. Hundreds of millions of people gawked at the night sky...
Variable Stars
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Betelgeuse, the yellow star in the lower left corner, is a pulsating variable star. Aside from their twinkling, stars seem to always shine at a fixed...
The Ruler of the Night
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive The Moon definitely gets our attention as the ruler of the night. It overrules the dimmer sky objects when it comes out in full brightness. It also rules...