Space & Astronomy
Exploring "Why" questions about Space & Astronomy
480 articles
Why do men start balding sooner and at a much faster rate than women?
A product of testosterone called [DHT](_URL_0_) is toxic to hair follicles on the head.
Why aren’t meteorite fragments more valuable and treasured than diamonds and other rare earth minerals?
They're ugly, they're almost impossible to distinguish from regular rocks, and they're far too rare to collect enough to sell regularly.
Why do downloads stop and start?
Web servers process requests, and aim to answer them as quickly as possible. Depending on the server software and config, requests are either handled until finished, or handled round-robin so everyone
Why can’t they keep the ISS orbiting forever?
To be there forever it needs to be boosted into a higher orbit every now and then to prevent it from reentering due to atmospheric drag. It needs to be at an accessible altitude so it has to be rather
Why do random songs that I haven’t heard in years suddenly start playing in my head vividly?
Because your brain didn't want you to forget your keys on the table when you leave that morning.
Why do astronauts never dress comfortably in space?
In 0 gravity astronauts have to be careful about what they have in space [like the corned beef sandwich that almost got everyone killed](_URL_0_). The suits they wear don't have any fluff or other wei
Why can’t you live for ever if you replace organs when they start to fail.
Your body counts on cell replacement. Cell replacement comes from cell division. Cell division counts on DNA replication.
Why is the sun more bright and dangerous to look at directly before (and during) a solar eclipse than at any other moment?
Actually it's always dangerous looking at the sun with the naked eye, it's just that during eclipses we're more tempted to do it.
why are solar powered desalination plants not widely used?
We currently don't have the technology to make desalination plants that are cheap and effective. It takes a lot of energy to treat water, and solar energy isn't quite sufficient yet. We need better so
Why do moon’s orbit not decay like Artificial Satellite’s do?
The moon is far enough away from the earth that the atmospheric friction doesn't affect it the way it does small satellites in the atmosphere.