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MOIYA MCTIER,
Astrophysicist, Folklorist, & Science Communicator
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Rules of Worldbuilding
Not all fiction is created equal. To create any good piece of fiction, you have to get a lot of things right: prose, dialogue, pacing,...
Moiya McTier
Nov 15, 20182 min read
497 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #100!
Alright, friends. Here it is, my 100th and final astronomy fun fact! And what better topic to end on than the ultimate fate of the...
Moiya McTier
Jul 24, 20191 min read
164 views
1 comment
Astronomy Fun Fact #99
Astronomy is often viewed as an unnecessary science because people think astronomy research doesn't directly affect people's lives....
Moiya McTier
Jul 22, 20191 min read
141 views
1 comment
Astronomy Fun Fact #98
If you look closely enough at the Big Dipper, you might notice that one of the points in the handle is actually two points. They are...
Moiya McTier
Jul 22, 20191 min read
74 views
1 comment
Astronomy Fun Fact #97
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing... Only 12 humans have walked on the Moon. They are 1. Neil Armstrong 2....
Moiya McTier
Jul 21, 20191 min read
22 views
1 comment
Astronomy Fun Fact #96
The Moon is tidally locked, which means one side of the Moon is always facing the Earth. An interesting consequence of the Moon’s tidally...
Moiya McTier
Jul 20, 20191 min read
10 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #95
As of 2019, the heaviest thing humans have ever launched into space is the Saturn V rocket, which carried the Apollo Lunar Module. Saturn...
Moiya McTier
Jul 18, 20191 min read
12 views
1 comment
Astronomy Fun Fact #94
The universe is expanding, and that expansion is speeding up. But even though the universe is getting bigger, it's not creating any new...
Moiya McTier
Jul 17, 20191 min read
11 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #93
I don't believe in astrology, but I know that there are people who do, and I want those people to know how their signs are assigned. The...
Moiya McTier
Jul 16, 20191 min read
13 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #92
Total solar eclipses are possible because the apparent size of the Moon on the sky is bigger than the apparent size of the Sun. Both take...
Moiya McTier
Jul 15, 20191 min read
9 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #91
If you're lucky enough to be standing outside at sunrise or sunset with an unobstructed view of the Sun as it dips below the horizon in a...
Moiya McTier
Jul 15, 20191 min read
14 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #90
You learned in Fun Fact #89 that there's a lower limit for the mass of a star. There's also a theoretical upper limit. Stars are a...
Moiya McTier
Jul 14, 20191 min read
14 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #89
Some people say that Jupiter is a failed star -- that it could have been a star if it were just a bit more massive. So how massive does...
Moiya McTier
Jul 12, 20191 min read
19 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #88
The footprints that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left on the Moon are still there because there's no wind to blow them away. There is a...
Moiya McTier
Jul 11, 20191 min read
12 views
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Astronomy Fun Fact #87
It's common knowledge that there are different unit systems. That's why Americans use units like inches, pounds, and degrees Fahrenheit...
Moiya McTier
Jul 10, 20191 min read
18 views
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Astronomy Fun Fact #86
The second popular coordinate system used by astronomers is the Galactic Coordinate System. This system is centered on the Sun, but it...
Moiya McTier
Jul 9, 20191 min read
11 views
2 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #85
Space is huge and has no single reference point, which means there are no set directions. So how do astronomers keep track of the...
Moiya McTier
Jul 8, 20191 min read
11 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #84
Uranus rotates on its side! You may have heard that the Earth’s axis is tilted at 23 degrees. That’s nothing compared to Uranus’ tilt of...
Moiya McTier
Jul 8, 20191 min read
12 views
2 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #83
The Earth is only the third planet from the Sun. We’re so close to the Sun that it keeps us all from freezing. But “close” means...
Moiya McTier
Jul 6, 20191 min read
13 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #82
In December of 2013, the European Space Agency launched Gaia, a powerful astrometric telescope, into space. The telescope cost 650...
Moiya McTier
Jul 5, 20191 min read
16 views
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