Explainer Archives - Colin Stuart https://www.colinstuart.net/category/explainer/ Astronomy author and speaker Thu, 24 Mar 2022 10:21:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.5 https://www.colinstuart.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/cropped-Saturn1-32x32.png Explainer Archives - Colin Stuart https://www.colinstuart.net/category/explainer/ 32 32 166732936 Why Voyager 1 has NOT left the solar system https://www.colinstuart.net/voyager-1-not-left-solar-system/ Wed, 20 Dec 2017 18:49:48 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=5484 The post Why Voyager 1 has NOT left the solar system appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> 5484 What size of piano is needed to play universe’s lowest note? https://www.colinstuart.net/big-piano-need-play-lowest-note-universe/ https://www.colinstuart.net/big-piano-need-play-lowest-note-universe/#respond Mon, 06 Nov 2017 11:43:30 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=5289 Most of us have a very limited vocal range. The average human singing voice encompasses just three octaves, where an octave spans eight ascending musical notes in such a way that the last note is twice the frequency of the first. Sometimes well trained singers can push the boundaries further. It is said that a […]

The post What size of piano is needed to play universe’s lowest note? appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/big-piano-need-play-lowest-note-universe/feed/ 0 5289 How many bananas would it take to get to Mars? https://www.colinstuart.net/many-bananas-take-get-mars/ Tue, 31 Oct 2017 23:10:34 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=5231 No humans have left Low Earth Orbit since 1972, an achingly long time given the fervour of excitement surrounding the Apollo program that saw twelve men walk on the Moon. That said, eyes are starting to focus on Mars as a credible target for people to explore. The US have said they’re aiming for a […]

The post How many bananas would it take to get to Mars? appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> 5231 What if the Moon was really made of cheese? https://www.colinstuart.net/moon-really-made-cheese/ https://www.colinstuart.net/moon-really-made-cheese/#respond Tue, 31 Oct 2017 11:24:39 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=5225 Of all the stories we pass on from generation to generation, one of the most persistent is that the Moon is made of cheese. The idea is a very old one, dating back at least as far as 1546 to The Proverbs of John Heywood which carries the line “the moon is made of a […]

The post What if the Moon was really made of cheese? appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/moon-really-made-cheese/feed/ 0 5225 Asteroid (15347) Colinstuart https://www.colinstuart.net/asteroid-15347-colinstuart/ https://www.colinstuart.net/asteroid-15347-colinstuart/#respond Mon, 09 Oct 2017 13:02:33 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=5156 The post Asteroid (15347) Colinstuart appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/asteroid-15347-colinstuart/feed/ 0 5156 Why your bathroom taps have been lying to you for years https://www.colinstuart.net/bathroom-taps-lying-years/ https://www.colinstuart.net/bathroom-taps-lying-years/#respond Wed, 21 Jun 2017 12:31:28 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=5060 Do you ever get the sense that you’re being lied to? That those around you have fed you untruths your entire life and no-one else seems to question it? I’m not talking about the latest twists in the current crazy political landscape or any half-baked conspiracy theories about the Sun’s evil, unseen twin. No, I […]

The post Why your bathroom taps have been lying to you for years appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/bathroom-taps-lying-years/feed/ 0 5060 The day hasn’t always been 24 hours long, and it’s getting longer https://www.colinstuart.net/4887-2/ https://www.colinstuart.net/4887-2/#respond Wed, 17 May 2017 11:37:08 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=4887 The day may be 24 hours long now, but that hasn’t always been the case. Nor will it be the case in the far future. The Earth’s rotation is slowing under the gravitational influence of the Moon. Billions of years ago, the day was just 18 hours long. The Moon and the Earth tug on […]

The post The day hasn’t always been 24 hours long, and it’s getting longer appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/4887-2/feed/ 0 4887 The ingenious way Victorian astronomers communicated comet discoveries https://www.colinstuart.net/ingenious-way-victorian-astronomers-communicated-comets/ https://www.colinstuart.net/ingenious-way-victorian-astronomers-communicated-comets/#respond Mon, 15 May 2017 10:10:55 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=4962 In today’s hyper-connected world we take communication for granted. A few taps and you can fire a message around the world in seconds. You can even tweet from space. But things weren’t also so easy, and back in the 1880s the technology of the day was hampering astronomical progress. The trouble was with comets – […]

The post The ingenious way Victorian astronomers communicated comet discoveries appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/ingenious-way-victorian-astronomers-communicated-comets/feed/ 0 4962 How to be a better public speaker… according to science https://www.colinstuart.net/better-public-speaker-according-science/ https://www.colinstuart.net/better-public-speaker-according-science/#respond Mon, 08 May 2017 09:44:10 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=4892 If you are afraid of speaking in public, then you certainly aren’t alone. Survey after survey has shown it to be one of the things that people fear the most. In a now infamous poll from the 1970s, forty-one per cent of people said they were afraid of public speaking, whereas only nineteen per cent […]

The post How to be a better public speaker… according to science appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/better-public-speaker-according-science/feed/ 0 4892 The Cosmic Microwave Background https://www.colinstuart.net/cosmic-microwave-background/ https://www.colinstuart.net/cosmic-microwave-background/#respond Wed, 03 May 2017 10:18:08 +0000 https://colinstuart.net/?p=4871 The theory that our universe began with a ‘big bang’ is one of the most famous ideas in all of science. It has seeped into popular culture, too, with one of the most famous television shows in the world named after it. Yet, despite its fame, it was only confirmed beyond reasonable doubt in the […]

The post The Cosmic Microwave Background appeared first on Colin Stuart.

]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/cosmic-microwave-background/feed/ 0 4871