1997

1. What causes the most colorful sunsets and twilights?
   
2. What is a supercell?
   
3. About 1/2 of the moon's disk is illuminated now, by late next week, the moon will be full. When it's full, it's almost nine times brighter than it is now, even though only twice as much of its surface is covered. Why?
   
4. Have you ever seen a double rainbow, a red rainbow or a white rainbow? How do you think they form?
   
5. What is the difference between a rogue wave, and a tsunami or tidal wave?
   
6. A number of stadiums and arenas now have domes to keep out the weather. Is it possible for rain to fall indoors?
   
7. It's possible that an ocean of some kind exists beneath the frozen surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. Compare and contrast the ice found on Earth, Mars and Europa.
   
8. How long will it take Pioneer 10 to reach the nearest stars?
   
9. Are mirages a result of an over-active imagination, or if not, what causes them?
   
10. The movie "Fargo" won a couple of Academy Awards last night. Fargo was also in the news in January because of blizzard conditions there (remember the science question). It may be in the news again in a couple of more weeks. Why?
    
11. When a commercial jetliner flies at 35,000 feet, where the temperature is well below zero degrees F, how is the cabin kept at a comfortable temperature for the passengers?
    
12. On the 20th of March (at 8:55 a.m. eastern standard time) the spring equinox occurs. How do we know exactly when the equinox occurs?
    
13. Comet Hale-Bopp will give us the best views between about March 22 and March 31. Why? - and why is it easier to see before dawn early in the month and after dusk later in the month?
    
14. What would happen if all the sea ice in the oceans would suddenly melt?
    
15. On TV and in the movies, asteroids have been bombing the Earth, twisters have been devastating towns, and volcanoes have been wiping out villages. Where in the U.S. are the safest and most dangerous places in terms of natural disasters (hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tidal waves and volcanoes)?
    
16. Is it true that there are few rivers that flow north toward the sea?
    
17. If you could locate a telescope anywhere in the world, where would you put it?
    
18. Why is it that almost all of the waves on a beach seem to come from one direction?
    
19. What conditions are required for a winter storm to be considered a blizzard?
    
20. In the eastern U.S., the temperatures do not usually get as cold as they do in the central or northern states, but some people think that it feels as cold or that it's a different kind of cold - the cold goes right through you. Can you explain this?
    
21. Is the severity of the flu really related to the weather?
    
22. Why does the moon look so much bigger when it's rising or setting than when it's overhead?
    
23. What are Toutatis, Eros, Gaspra, and Ida?
    
24. We're rapidly approaching the winter solstice (December 22).
    
25. On December 2, the second U.S. spacecraft in a month will be launched toward Mars. Which of the following comments about Mars is false?
    
26. What's the difference between frost, black frost, and white dew?
    
27. Earlier this month, northeastern Ohio got socked with up to 4 ft of snow from a lake effect storm. Why are these lake effect snowstorms likely to produce more snow in November and December than in January and February?
    
28. Meteorites that may harbor primitive elements of life from Mars have been found on the surface in certain areas of Antarctica. These meteroites may be more than 500,000 years old. How is it that these meteroites have only been discovered in Antarctica, and why aren't they buried beneath the snow and ice?
    
29. What do Barber, Kona, Sonora, and Williwaw refer to?
    
30. Scientifically speaking, why is it easier to hit a home run in Atlanta than in Baltimore, New York or St. Louis?
    
31. There are signs that a new island is starting to form in the Hawaiian Islands. Why is this island forming in the middle of the ocean instead of near a land mass?
    
32. Can dew form in the evening as well as in the morning?
    
33. This summer the temperatures were relatively cool in the eastern U.S. but relatively warm in much of the western states. Was the reason for this; El Nino, the eruption of Mt. Pinutubo, a combination of El Nino & the eruption of Mt. Pinutubo, natural climate variability or world-wide deforestation?
    
34. The lunar eclipse that will occur in the evening hours of September 26 and after midnight on the 27th. Totality for this eclipse will not last as long as the one that happened last April, but in the eastern U.S. it will last longer. Why is this so?
    
35. Hurricane Fran, which is poised to hit somewhere along the Carolina coastline early tomorrow morning (Friday, September 6, 1996). Hopefully, it will veer out to sea as did Edouard last week or skirt the coastline like Bertha did in July. Most all hurricanes that move toward the west from their breeding ground in the Atlantic Ocean seem to take a right turn as they approach the Mid-Atlantic coast. Why is this the case?
    

Science Question of the week brought to you by Jim Foster of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

[1995]

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