Ask Astro | Page 19 of 20 | Astronomy.com

How long does it take for a white dwarf to turn into a black dwarf?

When will search programs find more than 90 percent of near-Earth objects? What scopes monitor skies in the Southern Hemisphere? Who funds the searches?

Full Moon

Observing, The Moon

How often does a Blue Moon occur?

I’m fascinated by Wolf-Rayet stars and want to know more about them. Are some of them observable with a small (4-inch) telescope?

I am obsessed with astronomy and soon will enter college. What are the best areas of study for a career in astronomy?

I recently read about the high wind speeds on Saturn and the other gas-giant planets. What is wind speed on a gas giant measured relative to?

What is the source of the term “right ascension”? Why is it right ascension and not simply ascension, as with declination?

Science, Solar System

Do the giant planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus – have solid cores? If so, what are they made of?

How can CCD images just a few minutes long be combined into one photo that shows details not visible in the originals?

Many articles and books on observing refer to small, medium, and large telescopes, but what are the borderlines in objective size that define small, medium, and large?

I have quickly come to find out that my 3.5-inch refractor is completely useless on faint objects, such as nebulae, galaxies, globular clusters, and comets. Will they be well within my reach with an 8-inch telescope?

I recently found out about a great meteor shower that occurred on November 14, 1833. What actually caused this great event, and is there anything today that compares to it?