“How do black holes get started?”It depends on how big the black hole is! If you’re dealing with a small black hole, then we have a pretty good understanding of how the black hole forms….Read the full article on Forbes!Have your own question? Feel free to ask! Or submit your questions via the sidebar, Facebook, or twitter.Sign up for the mailing list for updates & news straight to your inbox! Astroquizzical is now a book! Check here for details & where…

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“While observing an astronomical event at a far away distance from Earth, can we consider the events captured by our strongest telescope happening at an earlier time (past event) being captured by the devices (due to the large distance from Earth) or nearly real-time event (with time in reference to that on Earth)?”It depends very much on how far away you’re looking! Most things out there could be considered “a far away distance”, even when…

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Order your copy wherever digital books are sold (Amazon, kobo, iBooks, ebooks, Barnes & Noble, hive.co.uk)!Or, if you want the hardback version in the UK: (Amazon, Waterstones, Book Depository, hive.co.uk)Preorders for hardback copies are available for the rest of the world!USA: (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound ) Canada: (Amazon, Chapters Indigo)Australia: (Angus & Robertson, Dymocks, Allen & Unwin)New Zealand: (Whitcoulls)Japan: (Amazon)Don’t see your favorite place to buy books? A complete listing is available on the Icon Books page!

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“So if our solar system is more or less flat in terms of the planetary rotations around the sun (I’m using typical pictorial depictions of the solar system), what is up and down from our solar system and galaxies? It doesn’t seem like above and below of light years in space is ever explored. Or are the (for example) constellations examples of up and down in space?”The solar system is indeed pretty much a flat…

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“If the Moon rotated as fast as the Earth would we only see one side of the Moon?”The Earth rotates around its own axis once every twenty-four hours. The Moon, on the other hand, rotates once around its own axis every 28 days, and once around the Earth in that same 28 days. The end result of this combination is…Read the full post on Forbes!Have your own question? Feel free to ask! Or submit your questions via…

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Hello all! I have a very exciting announcement!In conjunction with the lovely folks at Icon Books, I am pleased to unveil the cover for Astroquizzical: A curious journey through our cosmic family tree. This book is based on the content of Astroquizzical over the past few years, and will be coming out in the UK on March 8th, and in the US on June 12th! “How did the Earth get to be the way it is?…

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“I am traveling in a Generational spaceship that has, over time, been accelerated to 0.4 light speed. The ship can not slow down until it nears its destination in 50 years. The ship has a small, conventionally powered shuttle craft whose top speed is 0.1 light speed. Can that shuttle leave the ship and maneuver about the ship without being left behind? I am thinking that when it leaves the ship it is moving at…

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“How fast are both galaxies orbiting each other? Is there a NASA reference?”The Milky Way and Andromeda are plunging towards each other, aimed nearly directly at each other, and proceeding at a pace of about 110 kilometers every second. Given the enormous distance between…Read the full article on Forbes! Have your own question? Feel free to ask! Or submit your questions via the sidebar, Facebook, or twitter.Sign up for the mailing list for updates & news straight to your…

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“If Oumuamua has come from so far away, and in it’s final approach was primarily attracted by the Sun, why didn’t it hit the Sun? Were the gravitational forces of other planets sufficient to make it miss?”The answer to this question lies in how gravity acts over large distances, with a bit of interstellar aiming thrown in for flavor.On the surface of planet Earth, the force of gravity is pretty much a constant through our…

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“What would have happened if A/2017 U1 had hit or grazed the sun? Would we have noticed?”The snappily-named object A/2017 U1 may be more familiar to you as the interstellar visitor that zipped through our solar system at nearly 16 miles per second, discovered in mid-October. It has now been given a less alphanumeric name…Read the full article on Forbes!Have your own question? Feel free to ask! Or submit your questions via the sidebar, Facebook, or twitter.Sign up…

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