Ask Astro - Astronomy Magazine

Ask Astro answers reader questions about the science and hobby of astronomy in every issue of the magazine. Search our archive of questions or submit your own question for consideration in the magazine.

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FEATURED QUESTION

I keep reading about Mars meteorites found on Earth. How do scientists know they came from Mars without samples of martian rocks to compare them?

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PREVIOUS QUESTIONS

Where does Enceladus get its water?	When the Sun produces a coronal mass ejection, is the blast of sufficient force to alter our star's path through the cosmos? Do these eruptions significantly perturb our solar system?	Besides computer simulations, what evidence do astronomers have to support the popular hypothesis that elliptical galaxies form from merging spirals?	If all photons have the same speed (the speed of light) and the same mass (zero), why does an individual gamma-ray photon have more energy than a radio-wave photon?
How do mission designers know at what angle to land on an astronomical body such as the Moon, Mars, or Earth?	How much color should I be able to see in sky objects through a 10-inch telescope?	Is it possible for a quark star to exist?	How do scientists know that the particles revealed after a proton or lead ion collision are different from each other, such as quarks and muons, and not just smaller pieces of protons or lead ions? (If I were to smash two lead bullets together, they would break into smaller pieces, but they would still be lead.)

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	Sun	Sun	Moon
RISE	—		—	PHASE	—
SET	—		—	DISK	—

	Mercury	Mercury	Venus	Venus
RISE	—		—
SET	—		—
		—		—

	Mars	Mars	Jupiter	Jupiter	Saturn	Saturn
RISE	—		—		—
SET	—		—		—
		—		—		—