http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 21 Dec 2007 04:28:58 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Pioneer 5 - USA Solar Monitor - (March 11, 1959) Space probe is now in a solar orbit. Pioneer 6 - USA Solar Probe - 63.4 kg - (December 16,1965 - Present) The Probe is still transmitting from solar orbit. Pioneer 7 - USA Solar Probe - 63 kg - (August 17, 1966- ?) Solar-orbiting ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/chronology-of-sun-exploration/ Spotting Sunspots Naked eye observations of the Sun will result in blindness. The improper use of telescopes or binoculars will cause blindness much faster. Now, having said that, there are safe and easy ways to safely observe the Sun. Do not hesitate to use them. The Sun and some of its ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/sunspots/ Astronomical Alignments Eclipses have long been a source of mystery and spectacle. These events were viewed with fear and dread in the past and, even today, still thrill. There is a lot of special vocabulary involved in eclipses but there is a way to keep from being confused. The eclipse ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/eclipses/  Image of a simulation of convective penetration in Stellar interiors. The images represent computer-generated models of convection motions occurring in stars like the Sun. The work has been accomplished by Andrea Malagoli and Fausto Cattaneo at the University of Chicago under a NASA/ESS HPCC Grand Challenge Grant. Capturing Convection Sometimes a single ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/solar-convection/ Sun Prominence This image was acquired from NASA's Skylab space station on December 19, 1973. It shows one of the most spectacular solar flares ever recorded, propelled by magnetic forces, lifting off from the Sun. It spans more than 588,000 kilometers of the solar surface. In this photograph, the ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/views-and-movies-of-the-sun/ Characteristic Measurement Mass (kg) 1.989e+30 ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/sun-statistics/ The Sun is the most prominent feature in our solar system. It is the largest object and contains approximately 98% of the total solar system mass. One hundred and nine Earths would be required to fit across the Sun's disk, and its interior could hold over 1.3 million Earths. ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/the-sun-sol/ The following table lists statistical information for the Sun and planets:   Distance (AU) Radius (Earth's) Mass ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/our-solar-system-in-tabular-form/ Nearly all the solar system by volume appears to be an empty void. Far from being nothingness, this vacuum of "space" comprises the interplanetary medium. It includes various forms of energy and at least two material components: interplanetary dust and interplanetary gas. Interplanetary dust consists of microscopic solid particles. ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/interplanetary-space/ The Sun contains 99.85% of all the matter in the Solar System. The planets, which condensed out of the same disk of material that formed the sun, contain only 0.135% of the mass of the solar system. Jupiter contains more than twice the matter of all the other planets ... http://astronomy.frequentlyasked.info/2007/12/20/composition-of-the-solar-system/