I tried designing my own digital content today and it was a struggle.

Bringing this back because Star Wars is back. The binary star system in the movie is the twin suns of the Tatoo System.  

Isn’t it beautiful two suns setting over the horizon. 

Disclaimer: Gravity’s speed cannot be measured by current technology because gravitational interaction is too weak. 

However, based on general relativity gravity propagates at the speed of light. In the picture, the motion of the earth and moon create a distortion in spacetime (combination of space and time into a single interwoven continuum). The outward motion is moving at the speed of light. 

I posted this a couple of months ago and just wanted to bring it back. And also:

Everyday I get notifications from tumblr and I am just amaze about how many people care about astronomy-- about this Universe we live in. Though I haven’t been posting much because college has been tough with finals coming up, I still find myself reading articles on space or watching science videos online. I started this blog hoping to share a piece of my passion to anyone willing to listen, I wanted to create a place for people to see the beauty of the Universe, OUR Universe. It is so grand and vast, and there is so much more to learn, so much more to explore. The mystery, the size, and the beautiful perfection of matter just makes me happy.

I find myself thinking about how grand the Universe is and how trivial my problems are at that moment. I’m not saying that I don’t matter (I am literally made of matter), I just let go of my worries and stress knowing that there is so much more to life than these trivial things.

Thank you all for following and re-blogging, I really appreciate all the support for this blog. I hope you continue to go on your way exploring more about this amazing world we reside in and because “we are made of star stuff”! 

One of the coolest thing about the universe is that life originated from stars. The first time hearing this, I couldn’t believe it. How? The process is actually pretty complex but the gist of it is that stars goes through their hydrogen-helium fusion, but once they run out of hydrogen, they start burning helium which leads to formations of new elements such as oxygen, carbon, sodium, magnesium, and other elements. The bigger stars then start burning these carbon elements once helium is gone and some of these stars that are massive enough will start burning through its iron core. Once it cannot burn anymore of these elements the star explodes, or becomes a supernova! This explosion cause most of the elements you find in the periodic table to travel across the universe. We are made of these elements, thus we are made of star stuff!

Here’s a neat video that explain things in a really fast pace! (:

Black (Hole) Friday!

It’s Black Friday, but for us, it’s the 3rd annual Black Hole Friday! Today, we’ll post awesome images and information about black holes.

A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space…sort of like all of those shoppers trying to fit into the department stores today.

Because no light can get out, people can’t see black holes. They are invisible. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes (sort of how those websites help you find shopping deals).

How big are black holes? Black holes can be big or small…just like the lines in all of the stores today. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain! Mass is the amount of matter, or “stuff”, in an object.

So how do black holes form? Scientists think the smallest black holes formed when the universe began. Stellar black holes are made when the center of a very big star falls upon itself, or collapses. When this happens, it causes a supernova. A supernova is an exploding star that blasts part of the star into space. Scientists think supermassive black holes were made at the same time as the galaxy they are in.

For more fun facts and information about black holes, be sure to follow us on social media.

* Assuming that the whole planet stays intact, and that the whole core of Saturn will not slide down from the gaseous atmosphere. (I do not wish to see the destruction of the whole planet.) Saturn will only float in theory because it is lighter than water. Of course if you literally get Saturn into a tub of water, there would be a lot of issues. They are addressed in his article. But overall, for something so huge and stellar, it can still be less dense than water! 

Episode 13: Unafraid of the Dark, Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey

Pluto is amazing, but it can not be a planet. Pluto is not only way too small but it is not gaseous. Yes I know that the first 4 planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are not gaseous but the next 4 are (Jupiter, Saturn Neptune, Uranus). From what we know about mother nature, she loves symmetry and balance so it makes sense to make it so in the planets. However, that is not the only reason. Looking closer into Pluto we find that it has several moons. Planets are only suppose to orbit the sun, however, the moon Charon is big enough to cause Pluto, a small little thing, to move a little, making it seem like it also orbit around the moon.   Scientist, with improving technology, were able to detect some objects in the Kuiper Belt and found Eris, an object far beyond the Belt that was more massive than Pluto. (Eris has a moon!!) This cause many astronomer to do a double take on what they define a planet to be because now these tiny objects in and beyond the Kuiper belt can also be called planets and we would have hundreds of planets. It was that or just make Pluto a dwarf planet. (Pluto is also in the Kuiper Belt region.) They also reevaluate what they call a planet and said that the planets must be able to clear other objects out of its path, which Pluto cannot because it is too tiny. Thus Pluto cannot be a planet. Sorry to the Pluto lover.

I am honestly in love with Saturn’s ring. If my future husband was to ask me what kind of ring I would want, I’d probably point at Saturn. Neptune and Uranus also have nice thin rings as well. Jupiter isn’t in this shot because that planet is such a bully, being the biggest of the bunch. 

Sure Saturn’s rings are made of ice and rock, but sometimes it’s not about the material but the formation. 

Because of all the hype about Pluto people just forgot about the ex-planet’s potato moons. Just want to emphasized their potatoness, and I had too much time on my hands.

(Note: The first picture is an artist rendition of Pluto’s moons, as New Horizon takes more pictures, we will see a clearer image of Pluto’s moons. The third picture is an actual, yet blurry picture of Hydra!)

Pluto’s flyby is probably one of the most anticipated feat since we know so little of the ex-planet. 

Also, Pluto.

Am I just crazy or..? http://space-pics.tumblr.com/ source:http://imgur.com/r/space/8uO2Z5e

This is the cutest depiction of two galaxy bumping head to head, or at least a simplified explanation of what happens when two galaxy collide.

I thought this was the coolest thing I heard in a while. Whenever I think of the “Holy Grail” it reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean or Indiana Jones. The search for this one mystical thing that can change one’s life forever. But the Holy Grail of physic would change everyone’s life forever. This search is like an adventure of its own. Even Einstein obsessed over this for the last few years of his life. It is ever so mysterious and the scientists that research everyday are similar to the pirates that go out to sea in search of the treasure in the unknown.