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Science of Astronomy

Articles about the science of astronomy and objects that are visible in the night sky.

Algol, the “Demon Star”

September 26, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

An artist’s conception of an eclipsing binary star.

Algol, the second brightest star in the northern constellation Perseus, is the finest example of an eclipsing variable star in the entire sky. In this compact stellar system, two stars revolve around their common center of mass in a rhythmic and precise gravitational dance, and the resulting eclipse causes the brightness of the star to vary like clockwork to a degree that’s easily perceptible to the human eye. And you can watch it from your backyard. No telescope required [Read more…] about Algol, the “Demon Star”

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Filed Under: Science

Simulating a Supernova in an Aquarium

August 29, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

NOVAE – An aesthetic vision of a supernova from Thomas Vanz on Vimeo.

Astronomers have a reasonably good handle on what happens during a supernova, an immense stellar detonation that occurs when a massive star that’s run out of fuel collapses and explodes with the brightness of 10 billion suns . These events are relatively rare, with just one or two each year, on average, in a galaxy the size of our Milky Way. While the math and physics of a supernova explosion are reasonably well understood, it’s up to visual artists and computer-generated imagery (CGI) experts to help us visualize a supernova explosion in all its glorious violence and complexity [Read more…] about Simulating a Supernova in an Aquarium

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Filed Under: Science supernova, veil nebula, video

The Superman Star

July 19, 2018 by William Paolini Filed Under: Science

Artist’s conception of a cataclysmic variable star (credit: NASA).

When I first learned about the “Superman” star, a type of cataclysmic variable star, I was excited to chase it down with a telescope, and I was also excited about researching the popular and scientific literature of these fascinating stars. The more I investigated, the more I felt like I had stumbled upon a treasure trove of celestial gems to explore.  My reading revealed so many types of cataclysmic variables that I was giddy with excitement about an endless stream of fascinating objects with equally fascinating astrophysics to ignite my imagination. And having the spectacular eruption of one of these intriguing stars possibly being an inspiration behind a popular fictional superhero made the exploration all the more enticing [Read more…] about The Superman Star

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Filed Under: Science dq her, nova, variable star

Find Your Address on Earth, 700 Million Years Ago

July 5, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

The location of the author’s home in Maryland about 250 million years ago.

Like many important theories in science, plate tectonics, the concept that the Earth’s surface is like a cracked eggshell with each piece floating on a convective mantle of molten rock, was once considered a crackpot idea. But sometimes crackpot ideas are right. Plate tectonics now underpins all of geology, much like the Big Bang Theory is the foundation of astronomy and astrophysics.

The theory of plate tectonics was deduced in the mid-20th century by a handful of scientists and cartographers who wondered why, for example, the eastern coast of South America complemented so precisely the shape of the western coast of Africa, and why fossils of long-extinct animals were found scattered on different continents separated by wide oceans, and why volcanoes and earthquakes are far more common in some locations than others, and why fossilized marine creatures are sometimes found at the tops of mountains. Before plate tectonics, these observations were a mystery. After plate tectonics, they all started to make sense. [Read more…] about Find Your Address on Earth, 700 Million Years Ago

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Filed Under: Science earth, planets, plate tectonics, science, solar system

Moving Stars

May 21, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

Like the drift of the continents or the erosion of great mountain ranges on Earth, the motion of the stars across the sky is almost imperceptibly small over the paltry span of a human lifetime. But in this quite astonishing video made with data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Gaia spacecraft, which compresses 5 million years of star motion into a few minutes, you can see more than 2 million stars move across the sky like grains of pollen floating in a breeze. It is mesmerizing (and unexpectedly calming) [Read more…] about Moving Stars

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Filed Under: Science deep sky, milky way, proper motion

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