We all have questions about the world around us. Here are some common questions and current answers.
Why is the sky blue?
“The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass directly through. Very little red, orange, and yellow light is affected by the air .
“However, much of the shorter-wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It is scattered all over the sky. You see blue light from everywhere above, the sky looks blue.”
Reference: sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html
Why does the sun look bigger in the morning and in the afternoon?
“It is well known that when light of any kind shines through a dense medium, it appears larger, or rather gives a greater ‘glare’ at a given distance, than when seen through a lighter medium. This is most noticeable when the medium retains aqueous particles or vapor in solution, as in a humid or foggy atmosphere.Anyone can be satisfied with this by standing within a few feet of an ordinary street lamp and noting the size of the flame; distance, light or “glare” on the atmosphere will appear considerably larger.
"This phenomenon can be noticed, to a greater or less degree, at all times; but when the air is moist and vaporous it is more intense. It is evident that at sunrise and sunset the light of the sun must shine through a greater la length of atmospheric air than at noon; moreover, the air near the earth is denser and contains more aqueous particles in solution than the upper strata through which the sun shines at noon; and therefore light must be dilated or magnified, as well as modified in color… as the sun recedes from the meridian, on a flat surface, the light, impinging on the atmosphere, must form a larger disk.”
Tip: Take a flashlight and shine it on a table. First hold it directly above the surface like the sun at noon. See that the circle of the light beam is a certain size. Now shine the light onto the surface at an angle like when the sun goes down. Notice the size of the light on the table. It is bigger? The tabletop is like the atmosphere on earth. The light hits it at an angle and creates a larger image there. We see the object (the sun) even though it is not. (See a better explanation of this in the reference where they are allowed to display images.
Reference: sacred-texts.com/earth/za/za28.htm
How deep is the ocean?
It depends where you go swimming. Some joke, huh?
“The average depth of the oceans is about five times the average elevation of the earth. In general, the continents lie about three miles above the ocean floor. According to the National Geographic Atlas, the deepest known part of the ocean measures 10,924 meters (35,839 ft), in the Mariana Trench near Guam. If the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest (29,141 ft), were placed in this trench, it would be covered by more than 1.25 miles of water.” .
Reference: edu/info/deepest-ocean.html
How was the moon formed?
“Two new studies bolster the popular theory that the moon formed from debris after a rogue planet crashed into Earth some 4.5 billion years ago.”
Hint: Read the reference carefully to see how scientists think about this topic. No scientific knowledge is needed to understand this article.
Reference: space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/moonwhack_main_000901.html
What is the Big Bang theory?
The theory is that the universe was formed or created in space-time in a singularity of extreme density and energy. Dark energy detected at microwave frequencies is evidence of a large release of energy. (The universe was formed everywhere at once from nothing according to a contact I had with those who know best.) The center of the universe does not exist and cannot be determined. That’s what they say. The theory may never be proven. Read the reference for a brief description.
Reference: liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/universe/b_bang.html
What is the highest mountain in our solar system?
“The highest mountain and volcano in the solar system is located on the planet Mars. It is called Olympus Mons and is 16 miles (24 kilometers) high, making it about three times higher than Mount Everest. In addition to being very high, it is also very wide (340 miles or 550 kilometers) and covers an area larger than the entire Hawaiian island chain. Olympus Mons is a very flat mountain that has a slope of only 2 to 5 degrees. It is a volcano in shield formed by washout eruptions.”
Hint: Go to the reference to see a photo of this monster.
Reference: coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/AskKids/olympusmons.shtml
Where are the highest tides in the world?
“The Bay of Fundy (New Brunswick, Canada) has the highest tides in the world. They average around 45 feet (14 meters) in the northern part of the bay, far exceeding the world average of 2.5 feet (0, 8 meters)”.
Tip: Use the search box in the reference to find answers to other scientific questions.
Reference: enotes.com/science-fact-finder/earth/where-worlds-highest-tides
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