How About That

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“Everyone always wants to turn the earth in a black hole! Instead, COULD YOU turn it into a neutron star?”

Ooooh! I like this question! Chris is right, black holes hold the fascination of many as the densest objects in the universe, but the “humble” neutron stars shouldn’t be considered the offsprings of a lesser god.

According to the World Health Organization, 360 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss. For the remaining 95% of the population, sound is a cardinal part of our sensory experience. It allows us to communicate easily, and to better experience the natural world. So how terrifying is it for our ableist mind to have one […]

Space images can often be breathtaking and the night sky has often inspired artists to produce incredible masterpieces. Sometimes even the way astronomers represent data can be both scientifically and artistically stunning. Case in point is the polarization map released by the Planck Collaboration, which shows unique views of the universe, and reminds me of […]

Does the specific location of a solar system within a galaxy affect the solar system’s structure? Like does distance from the centre affect how big the star is, or what kind of planets form? Stuart, London Indirectly yes. You have more gas on the outskirts than in the central regions.

Short Answer - the temperature of a black hole is inversely proportional to its mass. For a black hole with the same mass as our Sun the temperature is 60 billionths of a degree kelvin.

Iapetus is the third largest satellite of Saturn, and it is the largest object in the solar system not in hydrostatic equilibrium. Iapetus is a moon of Saturn known for its colour dichotomy. It has a dark side and white side, and it is often called the Yin Yang moon.

Are Mimas and Miranda the smallest known objects in hydrostatic equilibrium? Dan – London This question relates to the shape of astrophysical objects and as we discussed in the past, it’s an important characteristic of stars, and it’s in the definition of “planet”.

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.

Almost 110 years ago our view of time was changed forever. Time wasn’t part of the immutable stage of life but it was an active player. We finally understood how to squeeze time and how to stretch it thanks to a German patent officer named Albert Einstein.

My friend Russell asked me under which condition an object would be able to stand still around the Sun. This is a very interesting question; it probes some fundamental facts about the solar system and its applications are keeping many engineers around the world busy. Planets go around the Sun due to Sun’s gravitational field.

What would a planet orbiting a pulsar look like from the ground? Would it look like a giant disco planet with a constant strobe light? Pulsar form from supernova explosions, and they are neutron stars that spin on their axis thousand time per second.

I know that likelihood of stars colliding is very low, but have there been papers describing the theoretical process of star collision? James, London I think we can divide star-collision into three classes; Stellar Mergers, Binary Collisions and Stellar Collision.

What does it actually look like in the asteroid belt? Is it anything like as dense as is shown in films? Or is it more like you can see one or two rocks in the distance? Contrary to popular belief, the asteroid belt is mostly empty.

If by big we mean physical dimension, the largest known galaxy is most likely IC1101. IC1101 is gargantuan even among galaxies; it’s a super elliptical galaxy with a diffuse stellar halo that to extends to at least 1.4 million light years. The Milky Way’s halo by comparison extends to about 100.000 lights years. In the picture we […]

If the universe continues expanding forever, how long until it’s too diffused to allow star formation? How many generations of stars will that mean the universe has? How will the elemental make-up of these late stars be different and what effects will that have?

If the 1st Law of Thermodynamics is true how could the Universe begin from nothing? To answer this question we need to remember that nothing is a global term and not a local one. 

Assuming that there are other intelligent civilisations out there in the universe, what is the likelihood that we’ll ever be able to communicate? The key to answer this question is to look at the Drake Equation.

Dear Mr Science Guy, How many calories would get in a bottle of antimatter? How long would it take to burn off at the gym if you drank it? Thank you, Rob, age 30 Rob asks a very interesting question which allows me to explain several different concepts. First of all, what is anti-matter?

Last night I had a nightmare that the centre of London was nuked. In my half-sleep state I tried working out if I could survive just by getting under my mattress or if I had to get out of bed to be more proactive for my survival. First, I had to check what kind of […]