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MOIYA MCTIER,
Astrophysicist, Folklorist, & Science Communicator
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Astronomy Fun Fact #21
If the Sun became a black hole (which would NEVER happen, but let's use our imagination), we wouldn't fall into it. The Sun-turned-BH...
Moiya McTier
May 5, 20191 min read
14 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #20
Our current north star is Polaris, but that's going to change because the Earth's axis is wobbling. This wobble (which you can imagine is...
Moiya McTier
May 4, 20191 min read
18 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #19
The biggest telescope on Earth is FAST (Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope) in China. Like the name suggests, it's 500 m...
Moiya McTier
May 3, 20191 min read
12 views
2 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #18
All of the matter that we can see in the universe is called baryonic matter and it only makes up just 4% (!!!) of the universe. Dark...
Moiya McTier
May 2, 20191 min read
11 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #17
I talk a lot about how boring our Sun is, but is special in one way: it's alone. Astronomers estimate that as many as 80% of stars exist...
Moiya McTier
May 1, 20191 min read
22 views
2 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #16
The Milky Way makes about 5 new stars every year, but only about one star per year in the Milky Way dies and becomes a planetary nebula....
Moiya McTier
Apr 30, 20191 min read
31 views
5 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #15
All but two of Uranus' moons are named after characters from Shakespeare's plays. The other two, Umbriel and Ariel, are named after...
Moiya McTier
Apr 29, 20191 min read
25 views
2 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #14
It takes photons (particles of light) about 8 minutes to get from the Sun's surface to the Earth. But photons starting at the core of the...
Moiya McTier
Apr 28, 20191 min read
21 views
2 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #13
The last time a full moon occurred on Friday the 13th was June 13th 2014. It won't happen again until August 13th 2049.
Moiya McTier
Apr 27, 20191 min read
18 views
2 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #12
The largest moon in the solar system is Ganymede, one of Jupiter's 79 confirmed moons. Our own Moon is the fifth largest in the solar...
Moiya McTier
Apr 26, 20191 min read
19 views
2 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #11
Many people assume that you would die instantly and dramatically if you were shot out into space without protective gear. In reality,...
Moiya McTier
Apr 25, 20191 min read
19 views
1 comment
Astronomy Fun Fact #10
In the time it takes you to read this (~3 seconds), the Sun has moved about 720 km or 450 mi through the Milky Way galaxy.
Moiya McTier
Apr 24, 20191 min read
17 views
1 comment
Astronomy Fun Fact #9
Our Sun isn't special. It's going to live a boring life and die a boring death. And it's going to do all of that in a boring part of the...
Moiya McTier
Apr 23, 20191 min read
17 views
1 comment
Astronomy Fun Fact #8
Happy Earth Day! As you celebrate, make sure you thank the Earth's thick atmosphere and strong magnetic field for protecting you from the...
Moiya McTier
Apr 22, 20191 min read
25 views
2 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #7
You may have heard about the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy called Sagittarius A*. It's about 4 million times more...
Moiya McTier
Apr 21, 20191 min read
39 views
3 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #6
We've found thousands of planetary systems in the Milky Way, but the vast majority of them (more than half) only have one planet that we...
Moiya McTier
Apr 20, 20191 min read
30 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #5
Every star -- everything that emits light, really -- has its own spectrum, which tells you how energetic its light is at different...
Moiya McTier
Apr 19, 20191 min read
33 views
4 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #4
The largest structure in the entire universe is called the BOSS Great Wall, named after the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey that...
Moiya McTier
Apr 18, 20191 min read
27 views
3 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #3
The next time you look at the constellation Orion, look at the star that makes his right shoulder (so it'll be on your left). That star...
Moiya McTier
Apr 17, 20191 min read
28 views
0 comments
Astronomy Fun Fact #2
Looking down from above (meaning looking down from above the North Pole), the moon is orbiting counter-clockwise around the Earth, the...
Moiya McTier
Apr 16, 20191 min read
34 views
3 comments
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