http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/astronomy/ Hundreds of questions have been submitted to the University of Minnesota's Driven to Discover Web site. Here, faculty and staff from the Institute of Technology answer your "single greatest questions." en Copyright 2007 Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:43:22 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.33.uthink http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Supernovae explosions end the lives of millions of stars. U of M astronomy professors Kris Davidson and Roberta Humphreys study very massive stars that experience violent outbursts that may rival supernovae in brightness, but survive the explosion. These "imposters" are more mysterious than real supernovae.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2007/01/what_is_a_supernova_imposter.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2007/01/what_is_a_supernova_imposter.html Astronomy Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:43:22 -0600 Every mass--be it an apple or the sun--distorts space and time, explains Physics and Astronomy professor Serge Rudaz. Gravity, he says, is the manifestation of that distortion.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2006/10/post.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2006/10/post.html Astronomy Tue, 03 Oct 2006 13:24:57 -0600 This oft-posed question is somewhat nonsensical to Big Bang theorists, says Big Bang expert Keith Olive. That's because, according to their scientific analysis, the Big Bang was the event that created both space and time. Therefore, there was no "around here" and no "before" until the Big Bang occurred.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2006/09/what_was_going_on_around_here.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2006/09/what_was_going_on_around_here.html Astronomy Wed, 27 Sep 2006 13:32:42 -0600 The odds are "definitely not zero" and are potentially quite high, according to University astronomy professor Charles "Chick" Woodward. Additionally, the odds are on the rise, he says, as scientists apply new information to an equation developed in the 1960s to answer just this question.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2006/09/what_are_the_chances_of_intell.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2006/09/what_are_the_chances_of_intell.html Astronomy Wed, 27 Sep 2006 13:31:24 -0600 Solid matter will never travel at the speed of light, according to University physics professor Keith Olive.

]]> http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2006/09/will_solid_matter_ever_be_able.html http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/discover/2006/09/will_solid_matter_ever_be_able.html Astronomy Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:34:04 -0600