what would happen if the sun stopped shining

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  space

  Meet the amateur astronomers who track secretive spy satellites for fun

  If Zuma is still up there, these are the people who might spot it.

  ... what some governments would really rather remained unseen—will be waiting to catch ... moon shines in the sky. They reflect light from the sun, and ...

  By Mary Beth Griggs
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  space

  I write about space for a living—and I'm probably skipping the total eclipse

  Even partial eclipses can be exciting.

  ... of nighttime song, the sun's ephemeral corona will shine out in a stunning ... But as nice as it would be to squeeze the entire population ...

  By Mary Beth Griggs
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  space

  10 easy ways you can tell for yourself that the Earth is not flat

  The evidence is right in front of you.

  ... a certain point when the sun is shining on one part of the ... world was flat, we would see the sun even if it didn't shine on ...
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  space

  Celebrate Hubble's 25th Birthday With 26 Of Its Most Gorgeous Images

  A Gallery Of Photos Curated By The Person Who Made Most Of Them

  ... many of those eye-candy photos were created by one man, Zolt ... organization in 1983 and has been there ever since. He's the ...

  By Katie Peek
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  space

  From our archives: Chasing eclipses in the 19th and 20th century

  Popular Science on eclipses in Sumatra, Spain, and Hawaii.

  ... past coverage from when the sun didn't shine. As you explore the ... : “What a magnificent sight it is shining out with its pale pearly ...

  By Mary Beth Griggs
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  space

  Forget the Blood Moon, the Red Planet is waiting for you tonight

  Mars is at its closest and clearest right now. You know you want to look at it.

  ... It will be so close that under normal circumstances, even amateur astronomers would be ... one tend to happen when Mars is closest to the sun, when it's ...

  By Sara Chodosh
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  space

  We finally know how bright the universe is

  Astrophysicists measured all of the lights.

  ... of this light, the collective shining of all the universe's stars. ... a measurement of this kind would be possible,” says Marco Ajello, an ...

  By Charlie Wood
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  space

  Can We Predict Global Dust Storms On Mars?

  Future astronauts may depend on it, and a new forecast is about to be put to the test

  ... when the storms will happen and how long they are likely to last. ... “We would make our fuels, our stored energy while the sun is shining and ...

  By Kate Baggaley
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  space

  This weekend's Blue Moon isn't the kind of Blue Moon you're used to (and also isn't blue)

  What is going on with my moon?

  ... full moon happens when the earth is right between the sun and the ... to follow the sun and the seasons, we stopped having one reliable ...

  By Rachel Feltman
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  space

  Could This Be The Most Powerful Supernova Ever Seen?

  Big things come in small packages

  ... it and the magnetar that is currently shining at its heart. We ... this magnetar shines 570 billion times brighter than our sun, and 20 ...

  By Mary Beth Griggs
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  space

  A giant cliff collapse on a comet reveals pristine ice beneath the surface

  The latest from Rosetta's smashing mission

  ... has a shining, frozen heart, filled with ice.“Physically, the sun is dictating ... what has to happen on the surface ...

  By Kelsey D. Atherton
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  space

  Our First Look at the Moon's Far Side

  ... were among the first to be solved. Being closest to home, the Moon was ... stop any rotation. The Sun shining on the far side of the Moon was ...

  By Amy Shira Teitel
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  space

  Bill Nye's advice for enjoying the eclipse

  It's an event that should bring us all together, so don't mess it up.

  ... and the sun on August 21, a staggering 14 states will experience ... , from sea to shining sea. "This amazing phenomenon is passing across the ...

  By Rachel Feltman
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  space

  This truly bizarre exploding star might be a zombie of sorts

  It just keeps exploding.

  ... that such an unprecedented observation would just happen to involve such an ... light from its explosion kept shining for almost two years. That's ...

  By Rachel Feltman
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  space

  The 12 craziest Hubble pictures of all time

  Otherworldly desktop backgrounds.

  ... , let's not worry about what will happen to everyone's favorite space telescope ... were to look at it with an ordinary backyard telescope it would ...

  By Josh Hrala
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  space

  Why did last week's SpaceX launch look so strange?

  Nope, not aliens.

  ... a SpaceX rocket. Here's what happened. On the evening of Friday ... that the sun was still shining on the condensing cloud. It was a cloud ...

  By Mary Beth Griggs
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  space

  Does a black hole ever die?

  What we know about the mysterious life cycle of a black hole.

  ... exact same mass, not much would happen to Earth's orbit. “The Earth ... into the Sun, that would be really bad, too.” “Black holes are so far ...

  By Mary Beth Griggs
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  space

  Distant Gas Giant Planet Found Orbiting Three Stars

  Getting too much suns

  ... night. The other two stars would mostly be doing their own thing ... 30 years or so, and shining down on KELT-4Ab with light ...

  By Mary Beth Griggs
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  space

  Bill Nye's Solar Sail Hits A Few Snags But Is Almost Ready To Fly

  Despite a recent glitch, LightSail 2 is still aiming for a historic flight in 2017

  ... what went wrong. The booms stopped short of their target, Davis ... And Upward The next stop for LightSail will be Utah State University's Space ...

  By Amy Thompson
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  space

  How Jill Tarter helped bring SETI's alien-seeking Allen Telescope Array to life

  Excerpt: Making Contact

  ... construction paper, a UV lamp shining behind them. “I can't even ... doesn't exist today, but it will be there tomorrow, when you need ...

  By Sarah Scoles
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  space

  Now You Can See Five Planets At Once With The Naked Eye

  Till mid-February, early risers will see the first five-planet alignment in a decade

  ... morning, all five* visible planets will shine down from the sky in ... five all happen to lie to the right of the sun, when ...

  By Katie Peek
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  space

  Why SpaceX's Rocket Landing On A Drone Ship Is A Big Deal

  A giant landing for mankind

  ... launch than yesterday's. The sun was shining, a gentle breeze was blowing, and SpaceX's ... But the real magic was in what happened after the launch. For ...

  By Sarah Fecht
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  space

  Where did 'Planet Nine' come from?

  New evidence suggests it could be a rogue planet captured by our sun

  ... State University recently simulated what would happen if rogue planets of various ... from, but hopefully this riddle will be solved—assuming it exists, and ...

  By Sarah Fecht
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  space

  Something called 'squeezed light' is about to give us a closer look at cosmic goldmines

  Gravitational wave detection is going through an even tighter squeeze.

  ... to scale: Our entire galaxy would be smaller than a period on ... of the sun. 3. 4.9 billion light-years: Squeezed light will expand LIGO's ...

  By Matthew R. Francis