From the Earth to the Moon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHQ2wxq98Wg
In this “out of office” vlog I try to clarify some misconceptions about the distance between the Earth and the Moon, using props and a wonderful animation by Digital Welshman.
The Universe in 10 Features: 6. Spiral Galaxies
As we've seen in the previous vlog, spiral Galaxies started forming from the primordial protogalaxies about 11 billion years ago. The formation of spiral galaxies is important because it happened at the peak of population II stars formation and allowed for planets to form.
The Universe in 10 Features: 7. Elliptical Galaxies
Our 7th feature is about elliptical galaxies. Elliptical galaxies are the other main class of galaxies we find in our universe. They have a spherical stellar distribution, meaning simply that their stars' orbits are not in a plane any more, and instead have random orientations.
Pluto? Not a Planet
Pluto is still not officially a planet. No matter what most people think, both scientist and non, until the International Astronomical Union has a vote, Pluto remains a dwarf planet.
According to the IAU a...
The Universe in 10 Features: 9. Protoplanetary disks
Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. In the previous vlog we saw how the cyclical formation and destruction of stars leads to a metal rich Intergalactic Medium, and that the presence of metals in...
Destroying the One Ring in Space
I was asked by Larry, one of my students, about what would be the best place in the solar system to destroy the One Ring. Since the 25th of March is the anniversary of its destruction and the fall of Sauron I thought I’d dedicate this vlog to answering the question as seriously and as accurately as possible.
The Universe in 10 Features: 10. Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYkFoByE2ag&feature=youtu.be
The final feature for this series is Life. The Universe is such mind-boggling huge place that we are most definitely the best that random chances and selfish genes can produce.
NASA defines life as a: “Self-sustaining...
