Life's Little Mysteries Space Archives
How Do Space Rockets Work Without Air?
April 09, 2013, Elizabeth Howell, LiveScience Contributor
Isaac Newton's third law of motion provides the answer.
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Why Are There No Purple or Green Stars?
March 29, 2013, Elizabeth Howell, LiveScience Contributor
Red, blue, yellow and white stars twinkle overhead. So why no green or purple stars?
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Will Pluto Ever Hit Neptune?
February 27, 2013, Robert Roy Britt
Since Pluto's orbit intersects Neptune's orbit, will Pluto ever crash into Neptune or become one of Neptune's moons?
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Will an Asteroid Hit Earth? Are We All Doomed?
February 26, 2013, Robert Roy Britt
This question often comes from someone who is really, really worried.
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Why is Earth Mostly Crater-Free Compared to the Moon?
February 19, 2013, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
Find out why the moon is such a pizza-face.
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Why Does the Moon Look Bigger on the Horizon?
February 14, 2013, Robert Roy Britt
You might have heard it is magnified by the atmosphere just as it rises. Not so. Instead, it's your brain on Moon drugs.
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Is There a Rabbit in the Moon?
February 08, 2013, Marc Lallanilla, Life's Little Mysteries Assistant Editor
According to legend, there's also a toad and a spider.
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Why Do Drops of Liquid Form Spheres in Space?
January 31, 2013, Corey Binns, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
Water is treated differently in outer space.
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Why Does the Sun Flatten at Sunset?
January 31, 2013, Elizabeth Howell, LiveScience Contributor
A trick of optics makes the sun appears oval as it rises and sets.
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Up in the Air: World's Fastest Planes
January 28, 2013, Katharine Gammon, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
The record hasn't been touched since 1976.
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Why Does Outer Space Look Black?
January 17, 2013, Corey Binns, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
The color black usually signals the absence of light. But inside the solar system, space is filled with light.
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What's the Temperature in Outer Space?
January 16, 2013, Michael Schirber, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
Is space cold or hot? It depends on whether it's sunny or not.
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What's the Winter Solstice?
January 11, 2013, Robert Roy Britt
Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the official beginning of winter. Find out why.
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What's the Largest Known Star?
January 08, 2013, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
The Pistol Nebula holds the most massive star.
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What is Antimatter?
January 02, 2013, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
Antimatter particles have features that are opposite normal matter.
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Why Do Stars Twinkle?
December 29, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
Stars twinkle as their light passes through pockets of Earth's atmosphere.
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What is a Quasar?
December 27, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
A single quasar could outshine an entire galaxy.
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What Does E=mc^2 Mean?
December 20, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
Einstein's relativity equation has profound implications.
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How Long is a Day on Saturn?
December 01, 2012, Robert Roy Britt
Nobody knows, and in reality no answer will ever fully suffice. The length of Earth's day has a solid answer, on the other hand. Sort of.
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How Long Do Stars Live?
November 30, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
Stars live different lengths of time depending on their mass.
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Can You See Stars During the Daytime?
November 27, 2012, Nicholas Gerbis, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
It’s been claimed through history, but is it fact or myth?
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How Hot Are The Planets in Our Solar System?
November 27, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
In general, the surface temperature of the planets decreases with increasing distance from the sun.
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What's the Coolest Place in the Universe?
November 18, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
It's not Miami Beach, if that's what you were thinking. Nor is it the North Pole.
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How Do Scientists Know the Universe is Expanding?
November 16, 2012, Corey Binns, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
We thought we'd ask Geza Gyuk, Director of Astronomy at the Adler Planetarium and a research scientist at the University of Chicago. Here's what he said:
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How Big is Jupiter?
November 13, 2012, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
Jupiter's volume is about 1,400 times that of the Earth...
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