Space & Astronomy
Exploring "Why" questions about Space & Astronomy
480 articles
Why are Star Wars I-III so unsatisfying?
I believe the general sentiment is that while 4-6 were mainly story driven surrounded by great special effects, 1-3 were based on a very poor story and mainly focused on special effects.
Why has the advancement of research in space halted? How can we get it running swiftly again like in the 60s?
In the 60s, the Space Race was going on. Both the USA and the USSR were competing to be the first to reach the moon. After the US landed on the moon, that sort of ended the competition.
Why is it, that when my face is under a blanket for say 5+ minutes, I start to feel like I’m not getting enough air, however my cat can sleep under the blanket for hours at a time?
They require far less oxygen. The blanket is, obviously, not airtight, so it does allow a small amount of air exchange, which is not enough for you, but might be enough for the cat. Also, get a scarf
WHY doesn’t the African continent have earthquakes?
People mistakenly think there are no earthquakes in Africa. This is due to the continent consisting of one solid tectonic plate , rather than several that may shift against each other which is a cause
Why is there so much mercury in certain types of fish, and why doesn’t this high volume of mercury in them hurt them at all/as much as it hurts us?
Mercury is a substance that does not easily leave living creatures, but instead accumulates. All fish absorb mercury from the environment around them. Larger fish, however, eat a whole lot of smaller
why can humans start sprinting at full speed almost right away, but needs to slow to a stop over time?
Your feet are designed for this. They stick out in front so you can lean forward and maintain balance, necessary if you want to combat the forces pushing you back during forward acceleration. On the o
Why doesn’t pointing a camera at the sun directly damage it, like our eyes get damaged?
Nothing much. Cameras can be damaged by sunlight, they just can take a bit more abuse. But you absolutely can damage your sensor and even melt internal components by pointing a camera at the sun carel
Why is it that restarting a computer fixes the problem most of the time?
A lot of problems are caused by errors with things stored in RAM. Restarting a computer wipes your RAM, and reloads all needed files from the hard drive.
Why do different U.S. states have different start dates for back to school?
It can differ even from school district to school district! Education policies are set at a local and state level, not federal. State sets things like number of days/hours of classroom instruction eac
Why don’t moons have moons?
I recommend you repost this to /r/askscience. It's possible that an actual astrophysicist or someone with similar knowledge will give you a very credible answer there.