Starship Asterisk*

Spherical sense, say, East-West, the ecliptic, with the Sun at the center ... Is this true for the perpendicular, the North-South? I'm not sure what you're asking. Most of the mass of the Solar System lies close to the invariable plane, which is defined mostly by the orbit of Jupiter, tweaked a bit...

Thank you all for your replies about the possible separations of atomic ions and electrons. You sort of connected most of the strings of knowledge for me about this subject. You're most welcome. In any case, a series of experiments done at the University of Washington - the Eot-Wash experiments - p...

When I read the more serious and detailed reports, much of the jargon is confusing. There may be a good textbook that could clarify some of my confusion if the jargon is really standardized. Some of the limitations as I understand them are: the alignment of the structure w.r.t. to the earth's observ...

Chris, that posted observation would certainly eliminate my idea. I do wonder how a trapped electron may be detected. I would think the very act of breaking apart molecules would affect any excess electrons since they are now mobile enough to avoid detection. The mere observation itself could possib...

Nereid, excess electrons move to "ground" such as those inside lightning. They become shared with the matter on the surface of the earth. I am not sure that I answered your question. You produced counter arguments to my idea of an imbalance of electrons inside each envelop of matter. I cer...

Hello Nereid, I will investigate SAO/NASA ADS. Thanks for the tip. I am strictly an amateur astrophysicist. My interest in these objects is an investigation of how they expel matter over the period when they are creating various shells of metals in their cores. I have suspicions that their is a tren...

It is as certain as anything can be that this is not the cause of gravity. The forces are completely different ones. If electrical charges were somehow involved, you'd expect the mass of a charged object to change, wouldn't you? Or if you have some other definition of mass, the weight would change ...

Thank you all for your replies about the possible separations of atomic ions and electrons. You sort of connected most of the strings of knowledge for me about this subject. I have always wondered whether a conglomeration of particles that we call a mass always has some minute, statistically, equiva...

In HII regions hydrogen can almost exist as ionized atoms or molecules, per a previous statement. Ionic matter supposely needs a certain elevated temperature to exist. The ISM is very cold; so how do these ions exist? Because it is not accurate to say the ISM is very cold. The temperature of the IS...

In HII regions hydrogen can almost exist as ionized atoms or molecules, per a previous statement. Ionic matter supposely needs a certain elevated temperature to exist. The ISM is very cold; so how do these ions exist? This next associated questions may sound rather silly. Where do the electrons hang...

Hello Forum Friends,

I just noticed that my code name has been changed to "Curious Querier". I like it. Thanks for giving me an excellent identity. I will try my utmost to keep my curiosity within a scientific framework.

Ann, thank you for that spectacular dissertation about the colors of light,the stars, and galaxies. You really have a wonderful passion.

I would also love to read about anything you have to say about the colors of nebulae. Doug

Interesting. Thanks for explaining, neufer. On a related note, I can't help wondering why it is a sensation that Venus has a moon at all. Mars has two moons, Jupiter and Saturn each have a plethora of moons, Uranus and Neptune both have many, and tiny Pluto has three moons. Even some asteroids have...

I reviewed the Helix Nebula. Astronomers are focused on the knots and assymetry of the rings - only using spectral lines that are most easily imaged to obtain kinematic models. I need studies that possibly include lower ionization energies which would be found on the outer regions of planetary nebul...

Thanks, Ann. I will research the Helix Nebula. Would you know the closest Supernova Remnant ? I am also searching for any peculiar distribution of elements in SN remnants.

I wish to place closure on this topic. After further research and as Ann had mentioned, I discovered that Wikipedia does now also refer to white dwarf stars as "degenerate dwarfs". Dissappointingly, the Wikipedia continued to use "white dwarfs" in their descriptive article. Also,...

I researched the Cat's Eye Nebula in Wikipedia and dug deeper into the references. I could not decipher from the scientific jargon whether there were more elements/molecules of anyone or more types at different distances from the progenitor star. Perhaps there is a closer nebula than 3000 ly for the...

Do any easily assessible studies or surveys exist that list the compositions (ions, elements or molecules) of typical planetary nebulae and/or supernova remnants (both older and more recent) at various distances from the progenitor star ?

The "Inflation" descriptions/theory that I have read only address the 3 spatial Ds, but Einstein et al says that Time is intimatly linked into the 4D fabric. ... it allows you to split spacetime into space and time again. Phrased differently, it allows you to introduce a time coordinate a...

I wish to add a twist to the original question. Let's assume a Kuiper Belt object the size of Pluto was orbiting at 50 AU just outside the constracting disk of material. This assumption is dis-regarding whether such objects would have been produced at this time. The material continues to contract to...

The photoevaporation process creates "fingers" or "elephant trunks" behind EGGS(evaporating gaseous globules), erodes protoplanetary disks, planetary atmospheres, and the surrounding regions of a star entering the main sequence. The word is a misnomer because evaporation or a pha...

I have no prejudice against dwarfism, giantism, homosexuality, skin color, etc. Genetics is what it is. For myself I have no concerns about being politically correct. Being politically correct is actually a nasty joke played on American society by our politicians. But returning to stars, those in th...

Ann hit the head of the nail. Yes, astronomers do have more types of dwarfs than Snow White. When I recently learned that all main sequence stars are labeled dwarfs until they leave the main sequence I was in awe. I am sure I read that little known fact before, but this ignominious fact went through...

Do astronomers have more types of dwarfs than Snow White ? Whose dwarfs can you more easily remember ?

The answer to the mystery is perhaps there are different mechanisms that create stars from brown dwarfs, the size of 90 Jupiters to R1361a with 265 solar masses. As you had suggested, active open clusters of stars appear to produce the largest stars. The effect of the surrounding environment certain...