Category Archives: Astronomy

Q: How is matter created? Can we create new matter and would that be useful?

Posted on March 31, 2021 by The Physicist

Physicist: This was an interesting back-and-forth, so the original questions are italicized. What was the energy at the start of the universe and how did it create matter? If the question is “how much?” or “where did it come from?”, … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Engineering, Particle Physics, Physics | 149 Comments

Q: Asteroid mining. Why?

Posted on October 31, 2020 by The Physicist

Physicist: Why bother going out to mine asteroids?  Why not stay home?  The answer is a little grim.  Consider Easter Island, or Iceland, or England; each are isolated places that were once covered in vast forests with abundant animal life … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Engineering, Physics | 18 Comments

Q: How likely is it that there’s dark matter in me right now?

Posted on August 31, 2020 by The Physicist

Physicist: Probably very likely!  Probably! When we look out into the universe we find that on galactic scales and up that most of the mass in the universe is “dark”.  Based on how galaxies form, move, collide, and bend light … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Paranoia, Particle Physics, Physics, Probability | 8 Comments

Q: What’s the point of going to the Moon?

Posted on July 19, 2019 by The Physicist

Physicist: We imagine interplanetary spacecraft as massive, expensive rockets, but the Moon changes that.  Spacecraft built and launched from the Moon don’t have to have huge boosters; even tiny spacecraft can travel across the solar system efficiently.  We should go … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Engineering, Physics | 14 Comments

Q: Could dark matter actually be the “gravitational shadow” of parallel universes?

Posted on September 29, 2018 by The Physicist

Physicist: The very short answer is: nope.  Well… almost certainly nope. “Dark matter” is stuff that we can’t see or touch, but we know it exists because it affects the motion of regular matter, which we can see.  Although there … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Particle Physics, Physics | 31 Comments

Q: How hard would it be to keep the Moon from drifting away?

Posted on February 12, 2018 by The Physicist

Physicist: Almost prohibitively! Ever since the Moon entered the scene 4.5 billion years ago, it’s been slowly drifting away.  Initially it was around 15 times closer and bigger across in the sky.  The effects that push it away decrease rapidly … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Engineering, Physics | 13 Comments