PV Gap

Paula Said:

How do i know that there are other planets besides Earth?

We Answered:

I can't tell if your question is about whether planets exist, or about whether we should care about them.

Well, you may be happy to know the existence of other planets was confirmed thousands of years ago, without spending any of your tax dollars. You can see Jupiter with your own eyes if you step outside tonight (it's brighter than any of the stars); likewise you can see Venus and Saturn if you get up early tomorrow morning and look toward the east. I took a photo of Venus the other morning through my telescope: here it is: (http://www.incolor.com/rbrown/astro/imag… ). I'm not sure if that will convince you or not that Venus really exists.

As to whether or not scientific exploration is "worth it," I won't argue. If you study history, you'll find that there are a lot of people who try to change culture by politics and power, and end up making a mess of things; while a few other people start out by just trying to satisfy their scientific curiosity, and end up making discoveries that (maybe decades or even centuries later) end up creating revolutions in culture that help people thrive. Not all technology is good (which is why it's important for people to understand enough science to sort the good from bad) -- but science and technology are the unsung heroes that have ultimately kept us from going extinct long before now. Get off the couch, study some history and some science, and you'll see the truth of this.

Rick Said:

What is the size and location of planets in relation to our sun?

We Answered:

There is no actual picture of the entire solar system. If one could be made, it is very unlikely that you would be able to see all the planets. I am sure you would only see The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn - as dots; maybe you will see Neptune and Uranus, that is about it. From earth if you look at Jupiter in the night sky it is as big as a star - though one of the brightest objects in night sky. From a position where you could see all the planets (the solar system is bigger than that, but let us restrict ourselves to only Pluto's orbit) you would see it as much smaller. Jupiter is 1,600 times bigger than earth (volume). Sun is a million times bigger. From most cities you can see Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Venus. From a position where you could take a picture of all the planets you wont see all of them.

EDIT: btw, I just remember I was talking about visibility of sun and planets. Actually if a photograph were taken jupiter and sun will be visible. The Sun is a star it will be visible not due to its size but due to the amount of light it gives. If we plotted it on a graph based only on its size and not its luminosity, it will be as visible as anything on the graph and no more. So if we drew an illustration 1024 pixels wide (most 17 inch computer screens are 1024x768 pixels) and put sun on the left most pixel and Neptune on the right most pixel - none of them will be visible. The distance between sun and earth is 1 AU (1 astronomical unit). Sun's Diameter is 1/150 AU, Neptune is 30 AU away from sun. If we scale 30AU to a 1024 pixel screen every pixel is equal to 0.029 AU, anything smaller than 0.029 AU can not be represented on this screen, the sun is 0.006AU wide - 1/5th of a pixel. If you open MS Paint and put a dot with a pencil that is one pixel imagine 1/5th of that - that is sun's size scalled to a 1024x768 screen.

Anyway, Cronides' second link is the answer you are looking for.

Carole Said:

When will the next comet pass the solar system and be VERY visible to the naked eye?

We Answered:

Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing. The really nice comets are the ones which only pass through our neck of the woods once every several thousand years. We average people have to wait for astronomers to discover one on its way in, plot its orbit, then make a prediction on how bright it will get. This takes place over a period of months - pretty short notice, really. It's visible for a few weeks then it's gone.

I really do hope we get a bright one soon - they're seriously cool to watch.

Janice Said:

Do you believe the world will end in 2012?

We Answered:

Well, if we came in with a bang, we might as well go out with one, huh. I hope the world does end soon. I'm not suicidal, but everyone's got to go sometime. If the afterlife is so much better than why not get there sooner? There is so much hate, pain, sickness, and sadness