Physical Science

Much of the early scientific discoveries made about our solar system came from the great Italian mathematician Galileo Galilei.  This extraordinary figure in the history of astronomy and physics played a vital role in the understanding we currently have of…
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Galaxies are large collections of stars, gas and dust maintained together by the force of gravity. Galaxies contain anywhere from several millions of stars to more than a trillion, and their sizes range from a thousand to several hundred thousand…
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The Milky Way and Andromeda (M31) galaxies made news in May when NASA officials confirmed that the two are headed for a cosmic collision within the next four billion years – an additional two for it to merge and then…
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Many planets making their way through the cosmic void may be orphans.  They do not seem to be attached to any identifiable parent star, which is odd when one considers the accepted wisdom for the formation of planets.  Are there…
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From when mankind first looked up at the night sky, he would of wondered where the Moon fitted in with his world and why it appeared in the heavens. Consequently there are legends about the Moon from across the world….
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A nomad planet is a rogue planet floating through space, rather than being locked in orbit around a star. In 2000, a group of Spanish astronomers reported planets up to 15 times the size of Jupiter in Orion. In 2011,…
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There was a long period of time that humans thought that they were the the only intelligent life in the entire universe. There are still a few hold outs to this train of thought but the greater majority of people…
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Every general function in the universe needs a certain symmetry. Change the frame of reference, and an opposite thing happens that yields the same result. For example, consider Relativity. Say you’re sailing on a boat. Is the boat moving, carrying…
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An asteroid, known as 2012 DA14, is expected to pass close to Earth on February 15, 2013. It has been estimated that 2012 DA14 will be as close as 27,000 km (17,000 miles) from Earth, which is approximately 1/14 the…
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Constellations are groups of stars close together that appear to form shapes. When discovered they were given names suggestive of their shapes. It takes keen eyes indeed to see what they saw and not everyone is that adept. But that…
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