Space & Astronomy
Exploring "Why" questions about Space & Astronomy
480 articles
Why hasn’t anyone been to the Moon since 1972?
There's not much left to do there. The US perfected their rocket systems, planted their flag, picked up some rocks, and said "neener-neener-neener" to the USSR, and once that's all done, the moon's re
Why is The universe “flat”
By "flat" do you mean that 3 dimensional space isn't curved in a 4th dimension? Like a piece of paper is flat, but a sphere is curved? There are parts of the universe that are curved due to gravity, b
Why does my nasal sinuses clog up once I lay down to rest?
Nasal sinuses are essentially holes inside your skull that clog up with mucus (snot) when you have a cold. Each of these sinuses have an opening in them which allows the mucus to drain from the sinuse
why does looking at the sun hurt your eyes but indirectly not so much?
Ask your best friend to place their mouth directly in front of your right ear hole and say your name loudly. Then, ask them to place their mouth at your left ear and do the same thing--only this time,
Why does the Sun hurt my eyes, but not a regular fire?
The sun's brighter. Wayyyyyy brighter. Sure, it's less bright than it would be because it's quite far away and going through the atmosphere dims the light slightly.
Why does the space shuttle or the soyuz need special tiles to reenter the atmosphere but spacex falcon does not?
Are you talking about the Falcon 9 first stage, or the actual Dragon capsule? If you're talking about the Falcon 9 first stage, that's because it separates from the rest of the rocket at a relatively
Why are so many people starkly against the idea of climate change?
Because dealing with climate change requires economic sacrifice now in exchange for benefits 'someday'. That's a hard thing to get people to accept.
why do we picture the earth as the northern hemisphere facing upwards rather than downwards?
Generally, the most powerful nations in the world have been in the northern hemisphere. They made the maps so they put themselves at the top.
Why is it that sometimes when you look at the moon it seems so much larger than other times?
There are times in its orbit that the moon is slightly closer to earth. But what you are describing is an optical illusion. When on the horizon your eyes and brain can reference how its size compares
Why are metals with low melting points (eg mercury and lead) more poisons or harmful?
They're unrelated. Gallium, indium, bismuth, sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium are all metals with low melting points that aren't particularly toxic. Gallium melts slightly above room temperatur