Planets orbiting around binary stars? We’ve found them! In fact, we know of quite a few planets where you’d see two suns in the sky instead of one.

Our sun was very likely born in just such a place, billions of years ago. Gas clouds like the Orion Nebula are huge factories cranking out stars. We’ve detected black holes all over the sky. “It’s even easier to lose that sense when it comes to more esoteric things like black holes, gigantic gas clouds floating in space, or planets orbiting twin suns.”īut all of those places are quite real. You usually only see those in photos, or drawings, or in TV shows and movies, where you’re already in the mindset that you’re seeing something fictional. It’s even easier to lose that sense when it comes to more esoteric things like black holes, gigantic gas clouds floating in space, or planets orbiting twin suns. It’s an odd thing to have to say out loud, but when you look up at the Moon, or see Mars as a glowing red dot in the sky, it’s easy to forget that those are worlds, as real as the one you’re standing on. We forget that these other-wordly places exist they’re real. Or sitting outside in a chair on a warm spring day when suddenly the temperature drops because one of the two suns in your sky is eclipsing the other? Or lying back on the Moon, staring in awe at your magnificent blue-green home world as you watch a solar eclipse from the other side? What would that be like? 2. Imagine standing in an eons-old dry lake bed on Mars, watching as a huge dust storm approaches, feeling it rumbling through your spacesuit’s boots. How do stars form? Why does Saturn have rings? What happens if you fall into a black hole? We can answer all of these questions through science.īut what would all this look like if you were there? It’s a very common question-as an astronomer it’s one I’m asked all the time. When you understand what you’re seeing, it opens up a new dimension of appreciation. Just seeing photos of these from telescopes is an amazing experience. Where better to satiate both than astronomy? The sky is filled with staggering beauty, from the stars themselves, to multicolored gas clouds, to immense galaxies like our own Milky Way. We humans have a natural sense of wonder, and a natural appreciation of artistic beauty. What would all those fantastic objects we see in telescopic photos look like if you were there? Listen to the audio version-read by Phil himself-in the Next Big Idea App. Plait has worked as part of the Hubble Space Telescope team, as well as engaging in public outreach advocacy for NASA missions.īelow, Phil shares five key insights from his new book, Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer’s Guide to the Universe. Phil Plait, also known as the Bad Astronomer, is an astronomer, writer, and science communicator.

Under Alien Skies by Philip Plait