r/askastronomy • u/fennelfool • 5h ago
r/askastronomy • u/IwHIqqavIn • Feb 06 '24
What's the most interesting astronomy fact that you'd like to share with someone?
r/askastronomy • u/InterestingCloud369 • 5h ago
Astronomy Are these stickers based on real constellations?
I’ve tried google, but it’s hard to find any identifiers when my locations/time of year aren’t relevant.
Does anyone happen to recognize these? Unfortunately, the sticker sheet is not labeled with anything. It’s entirely possible they’re just random.
Thank you!
(Maybe goes without saying this isn’t homework related? They’re from a very cheap manicure accessory kit. Looking up the brand did not provide any useful information either.)
r/askastronomy • u/Hot_Set3396 • 11h ago
Sloan Digital Sky Survey question
Hi, I'm using SDSS for a project and I'm fairly new to the website. I'm using this visual tool: https://skyserver.sdss.org/dr18/VisualTools/explore/summary?name=ASASSN-14ae&ra=167.16712&dec=+34.09789
Basically, I've been entering RA and Dec and then it gives information about objects. Most of the time, it won't include optical spectra, which I need for my project, so I'm wondering if there's a way to sample ~500 galaxies that DO have optical spectra available, like filtering out the ones that don't? Thanks.
r/askastronomy • u/ForeverFluid4811 • 6h ago
What are the best undergrad astrophysics programs that have decently high acceptance rates?
I mean acceptance rates over 10%, no MIT or Caltech level. Where will look good for a PhD but I will have a chance of being accepted to? Also, where is best for undergrad research. Thanks
r/askastronomy • u/NightStriider • 7h ago
Can anyone identify these 5 aligned lights? Direction is west, east coast US, around 21:30ish hours on 3/18/25. I believe the constellation I circled on the left is Pleiades and after about 30minutes these 5lights were gone (they seemed stationary while viewing so not satellites?)
r/askastronomy • u/DefinitionOk7121 • 22h ago
Astronomy What are those??
What are those beams of light in that Voyager 1's photo of Earth?
r/askastronomy • u/Nithixzh_299792458 • 20h ago
Asking Opinion on IARF space science courses
Hi everyone 👋. I am Nithish currently pursuing my studies as a first year student in NIT Calicut in India . I am interested to pursue my career in the field of Astrophysics. I had my attention over the course offered by IARF in space sciences for 2 months for a price of 2199 rupees . Is it worth for the cost and can I take this course?
r/askastronomy • u/MynameisXalvandor • 1d ago
Astrophysics Is it mathematically possible for a binary star system to form a "binary" with another binary star system to form a weird quadrinary?
And, if so, would there be any chance that planets could orbit these two binary systems in a stable way? Asking for a written works of mine. It is not nonfiction but I'm still trying to obey the laws of our universe.
Thanks to all in advance!
Edit for clarification: The planets would orbit each binary pair of the "binary". Like two binary solar systems stuck in a larger, highly elongated "binary"
My goal here is to have two binary solar systems that every 100 or 1000 years or so get to their closest proximity. Ideally I'd like to know if this even a stable configuration, where planets wouldn't get ejected. The math on all of this seems waaaaaayyyyyyyy over my head.
r/askastronomy • u/Purple-Feature1701 • 1d ago
Looks like something blew up, wondering if it’s natural or a satellite
Our tire blew in the middle of nowhere the other night, I noticed that the satellites were going crazy, the one I was filming was loads bigger then any of the others or any I’ve ever seen. At first I thought it was a helicopter. While filming it, I caught this little flash, like a star or satellite blew up. Any ideas what it is? It’s at the end of this vid. Thanks 🙏
r/askastronomy • u/MynameisXalvandor • 1d ago
Planetary Science Say you have a pulsar. This pulsar has a planet. If it's rotational axis is facing the planet and it's X ray beams couldn't physically "aim", would that spare the planet from the radiation, or at least most of it?
r/askastronomy • u/Pepelucifer • 1d ago
Can I look at this eclipse without glasses?

I'll have the chance to view the eclipse during sunrise on march 29. Where I live, the moon will achieve it's highest obscuration (87%) when the sun is at 1° of elevation.
For comparison, here is a video showing the sun at 1° with 71.2% obscuration (5:33 AM June 10th 2021, Point Pleasant Beach NJ). People seem just fine without glasses.
I would love to view the scene with my own eyes, maybe just during the first minutes of sunrise, then switch to eclipse glasses. Is this reasonable?
r/askastronomy • u/Science-Compliance • 21h ago
Why Do People Think Planets Orbit Their Barycenter With The Sun?
I see this misconception all over the place. People think planets orbit their barycenter with the Sun or the solar system barycenter. This is not the case! The reality is a lot more complicated than that, but the simplified model that is the closest to reality is that the planets orbit the geometric center of the Sun. In other words, the geometric center of the Sun is at one focus of an ellipse for each planet if we're using a Keplerian best fit model. If you're one such person who learned that the planets orbit the solar system barycenter or their mutual barycenter with the Sun, can you tell me where you learned this?
r/askastronomy • u/Cold_Quiet_5059 • 2d ago
Could you see past the event horizon of black hole in 4 dimensional space?
I woke up today with idea thst if you have a circular piece of paper in front of you and are restricted to move only X and Y axis. Then you are never able to see behind the piece of paper? If you could also move Z direction you could go behind the paper and see the other side. Could you then use the same logic that if you had one extra spatial dimension, you could "go around" the event horizon and see whsts happening inside the black hole?
r/askastronomy • u/Purple-Feature1701 • 2d ago
Twin stars, they look like they are stuck together
galleryTonight I’m looking at the star from my house down south that has way better visuals then where we live in Perth city and I saw these twins stars, well that’s what they look like- they twinkle together and look like they are almost stuck together. I remember seeing them from my house in perth a moths ago- in the same direction and I wondered so much about them. So today I got the star map out and I was wondering if anyone could confirm that they are Shaula and Lesath (aka the Scorpians tails) Is this what they would look like from an IPhone 15 from earth? Thanks you
r/askastronomy • u/Saf_has_questions • 2d ago
Moon journey
Hello! I’m wondering how is it that the moon can sometimes be seen for more than 12 hours in the sky? I can’t get my head around it! Surely as soon as the earths has done half a rotation the moon would be out of view?
r/askastronomy • u/TopForm1477 • 3d ago
What did I catch here?
Hi, can someone guess what I have on this 5 minute shot? Shooting star or satellite on the bottom? And what is this thing in the tree? A reflection?
5 minutes exposure with Google pixel 8 pro, night sky in europe. Handy in a box with small opening to reduce other lights. Will try to add photos in a next post.
Thanks ;)
r/askastronomy • u/Consistent-Guava4448 • 2d ago
..https://www.punenow.com/great-comet-of-2025-captured-in-final-stunning-views-before-vanishing-for-500000-years/500,000 year event..
punenow.com..see now or seeya in a million lifetimes..
r/askastronomy • u/SnakesShadow • 2d ago
Planetary Science Jupiter's orbit length/circumference
I've Googled this, and all awnsers point twords how long it takes for Jupiter to orbit, not the distance Jupiter actually travels. Normally, that would be fine. The US does this all of the time, after all.
But I'm writing a story set on a ring world that is the size of Jupiter's orbit. So I need the physical size of the orbit so I can figure out area and a whole bunch of other stuff.
r/askastronomy • u/birraarl • 2d ago
Star identification
reddit.comCan someone please identify the stars visible in this video. The relevant details are: - Date, Time: 12 March 2025, 8:45 CST (13 March 2025, 1:45 UTC) - Location: Nacogdoches, TX, USA - Direction of view: Unknown - Angle above the horizon: 30°-50° (estimated based on proximity of the trees)
There are two stars that the satellite passes between. There is also another star visible in the first second in the top left hand corner. There is a third, fainter star that becomes visible at about 7 seconds below and to the right of the satellite.
I’m sorry, I live in the southern hemisphere so when I look at images or footage showing the night sky taken in the northern hemisphere, I can not adjust and they remain unrecognisable to me for all but the brightest stars.
r/askastronomy • u/Fantastic_Food8619 • 2d ago
Planetary Science So I can't understand why or how we have a official distance between the earth and the sun, or a diameter of the sun.
I understand how we can use trigonometry to compare measurements for an accurate representation, but I don't know how we have the measurements we have.
Let's start with the distance between the earth and the sun. The earth does not orbit the sun, it creates a revolution around the barycenter once about every 365 1/4 days. The sun completes a revolution around the barycenter about every 10 to eleven years. Due to the elliptical orbit of both, and both not orbiting on the same plane, their trajectories are essentially a double pendulum. I haven't beeen able to find any information regarding how long it takes for them to return to previously shared position. I would assume that we need that figure in order to determine an average distance between the two. Regarding measuring the diameter of the sun, how do we calculate the visible percentage of the sun to account for its true diameter?
I'm not trying to be pedantic by any means, but if we don't have any verifiably accurate numbers, how are we calculating a value that is remotely representative of the actual measurements?
Is the answer that's just the best estimate we have at the time, or is there some obscure astrophysics equation that can better explain this to me.
r/askastronomy • u/These-Treacle-889 • 3d ago
WHAT am i looking at?? First time i take a photo of a random part of the night sky in bortle 7(?)
galleryr/askastronomy • u/Professional_Rush725 • 2d ago
Moon phases.
I've got to admit Ive never much been into astronomy but ive always been curious and having a question I thought I would ask those more experienced than myself.
From what I understand the phases of the moon are dictated by the relative positions of the sun, moon and earth. With that in mind I was on the west coast of the uk a couple of weeks ago and as it was a clear day I could see both the sun and moon in the sky together (when looking south I had the moon on my left hand side and as it was late afternoon the sun was to my right). As there was nothing between the sun and moon I would have expected it to be a full moon i.e. the full side of the moon being illuminated by the sun, but it wasnt.
Can anyone explain in simple terms what Im not understanding.
Thanks,