Dr. Victoria GrinbergMay 13

I have a bit of time on my hands, so let's do another 24h round of #AskAnAstrophysicist, but this time it's a thematic one.

⭐ What do you want to ask an astrophysicist about stars? ⭐

(I am a professional astrophysicist, part of whose work concerns itself with high mass stars & their winds and I've also taught a variety of astro university courses)

Boosts welcome. I may not be able to reply to all in case of many questions.

#SciComm #WissKomm

Show threadQuixoticgeekMay 13

@vicgrinberg what does the night sky look like from space ? Getting above the atmosphere, with the naked eye how would it appear? Is the milky way still distinct ? All the photos I see tend to include earth.

#AskAnAstrophysicist

Show threadDr. Victoria GrinbergMay 13
@quixoticgeek it's going to be pretty much the same - the stars are very far away and our atmosphere very thin, so get to outside of it does not change much in what we see. What we get rid off are the effect of the atmosphere - the twinkling is because of atmospheric effects (similar effect to warm air above a hot street), the stars themselves don't twinkle! So the view is in a way clearer.
Show thread@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNoteMay 13
@vicgrinberg In this year of our lord 2026 with that monstrosity in office I did not need to know that not only will there be no shining city on the hill if we can’t get the votes to save democracy but the stars don’t actually twinkle. @quixoticgeek
🤣 🤣 🤣
Show threadNick

@Pineywoozle If it helps, some of them do pulsate (though I don't think this could ever be evident by eye).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cepheid_variable

@vicgrinberg @quixoticgeek

Cepheid variable - Wikipedia

May 14 at 2:13amWeb
Show thread@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNoteMay 14
@internic @vicgrinberg @quixoticgeek
🤣 🤣 🤣 You’re a ray of sunshine on my dark day.