Questions tagged [time-domain-astronomy]
For questions relating to the study of how and why objects in the cosmos change on timescales from seconds to decades, both in photometric and spectroscopic datasets. Not for questions about the nature of time. There may be a more specific tag, such as variable stars or supernovae
31 questions
0 votes
1 answer
128 views
How would precession be perceived for an axial tilt of only 1°?
Can you help me understand how precession would be perceived when the axial tilt is only 1° ? I understand that the pink circle around NEP would have a much smaller diameter: I assume the vernal ...
- 200
0 votes
2 answers
92 views
If the rotational axis of a theoretical, perfectly spherial Earth wobbled, would an observer visually experience the same effect as on our Earth?
I am trying to understand the mechanics of planetary precession as experienced visually by an immortal observer located in, say, London. Using a stellarium software, I observed the changes in the ...
- 200
7 votes
1 answer
146 views
What are the major features of the radio sky at 1.575 GHz for TARTs to look at?
In answers, comments and links on the How do TARTs work (Transient Array Radio Telescopes), and can anyone build one and join the effort? page, it seems that these modest, pseudo-DIY all-sky ...
user7982
2 votes
1 answer
166 views
Is there any astronomical phenomenon such that its movement can be perceived in real time?
Note: I think I could make this question more interesting by asking, "What is the phenomenon at greatest distance from Earth such that its movement can be perceived in real time?" My ...
- 211
4 votes
1 answer
609 views
Can a Nova occur outside of a binary star system?
With the T Coronae Borealis nova likely to erupt soon, it got me thinking if novas could occur outside of a binary star system. On the wiki page titled Nova: All observed novae involve white dwarfs ...
- 395
3 votes
1 answer
2k views
Automated (and hopefully free) systems I can subscribe to sending email or SMS text message when the T Coronae Borealis Nova becomes visible?
My earlier question about predicted potentially observable events Has a gravitational microlensing event ever been predicted? If so, has it been observed? is limited to microlensing. Now I have just ...
user7982
1 vote
0 answers
109 views
Is there such a thing as a map that shows the current (not observed) positions of celestial objects?
As I understand it, maps of the sky and three-dimensional maps of the universe all show the observed positions of celestial objects. Are there any maps that show our best guess at their current ...
- 111
4 votes
0 answers
175 views
If a Milky Way supernova were to happen, how long would it take for astronomers to be notified?
If a Supernova were to happen in the Milky Way, how long would it take for astronomers to be notified? How long would it take for the people running the gravitational wave and neutrino detectors to ...
- 1,235
6 votes
1 answer
616 views
Intuitive connection between the periods of oscillation of Betelgeuse and the elemental concentrations at its core? (Betelgeuse; Saio et al. (2023))
Preamble (yes it's long, but it's part of this question's premise, so need to spell it out) Dr. Becky's recent video New study claims Betelgeuse supernova IMMINENT (decades not centuries!) | Night Sky ...
user7982
4 votes
1 answer
572 views
Has the new type II supernova SN 2023ixf's subtype been determined yet, and is a tentative light curve possible? Is it still getting brighter?
Wikipedia's article on SN 2023ixf begins: SN 2023ixf is a type II (core collapse) supernova located in the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101). It was first observed on May 19, 2023 by Koichi Itagaki and ...
user7982
6 votes
1 answer
233 views
History, significance and "drama" (if any) of T-Tauri stars, especially the early bits?
Question: What is the history, significance and "drama" (if any) of T-Tauri stars, especially the early bits? Wikipedia's T-Tauri star; History in its entirety: While T Tauri itself was ...
user7982
4 votes
2 answers
112 views
Are chirped gravitational wave events generally first identified by searching through libraries of chirps?
Comments below What does "GPU-accelerated butterfly matched filtering over dense bank of time-symmetric chirp-like templates" mean? (GW170817) suggest that for this technique a library of ...
user7982
7 votes
2 answers
255 views
How close are we to observing all of the sky all of the time?
I was musing on how amateur astronomy is still a heavy contributor to the overall field, and how on any given night there will be plenty of small telescopes pointing into the void and capturing the ...
- 4,385
4 votes
1 answer
398 views
How to derive gravitational-wave frequency vs time from strain vs time
Suppose I have a time-series of the gravitational-wave strain amplitude as a (discrete, i.e., an array of numbers) function of time. The figure below is just illustrative. I am not using measured LIGO/...
- 4,590
3 votes
1 answer
145 views
What is the fraction of the time that the JWST could view a short transient event on-demand as a function of position on the celestial sphere?
In this answer to Why does JWST have such a big Blind Spot? I argue that this space telescope primary relationship with time is that it strives to look way back in it and so as long as a given ...
user7982