PV Gap

Cassandra Said:

Which of the moons in our solar system is nicknamed "The Death Star" for its large crater on its far side?

We Answered:

http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php…

saturns moon MIMAs

Sergio Said:

Which way is our solar system moving around the black hole at the center of the Milky Way in relation to the?

We Answered:

If we view the Milky Way from 'above' then this means from Earth's perspective of North. (North is common usage because that is where most of the land mass is on our planet.) From above, the Milky Way does rotate counter clockwise. From above, our Solar System also rotates counter clockwise. However, just as the orbits of objects around our Sun are not in an exact straight line, so too are there variations in the orbital paths of star systems as they travel around the galaxy. Our Solar system is at a 60 degree angle to the Milky Way plane.

The Draconid (known sometimes as the Giacobinid) meteor shower is produced by debris left by the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner which has been studied since about 1915. As with all meteor showers, this one is named for the constellation or stellar system that the meteors seem to be originating from as viewed from Earth. Because we enter the debris at generally the same time each year (October 8-9 in this case) as we orbit the Sun, the constellation source would not be expected to change from year to year. This comet takes about 10 years to orbit the Sun (depending upon gravitational disturbances caused by Jupiter). It passed by last in 1998 and will make another pass in 2018. Draco is the name of one of our North Stars (the current north star being Polaris). You will find the Draconid shower located towards the north between the constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus. If there are a high number of meteors per hour, it is called a storm. The Draconids could potentially be a storm in 2011 when we will pass through a thick band of the debris.

Jupiter will not be in the same position of the sky from year to year. The reason would be that both Jupiter and the Earth are revolving the Sun at different speeds and distances from each other and orbital paths are elliptical. Orbital paths can be calculated and projected forwards or backwards in time. On 10-10-11, Jupiter can be seen here

http://www.astroviewer.com/

The Sun and the planets follow along a line across our sky known as the ecliptic.

Irma Said:

Are there any discovered planets beyond our solar system that are visible?

We Answered:

You can add Fomalhaut b to Geoff's list. It was the first extra-solar planet to be confirmed by direct observation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomalhaut_b

Diana Said:

Do you ever wonder if our solar system is merely a much larger model of how atomic particles interact?

We Answered:

Wasn't this a scene in "Animal House"

Problem is that popular culture likes to portray an electron in a nice orbit around a nucleus, like the Earth around the sun.

Fact is an electron/nucleus orbit is absolutely nothing like the Earth/Sun system. It's like comparing Beethoven's 9th to a rock. Makes no sense.