Star Name Registry Blog

The Different Types of Satellites

There are two major types of satellites; natural and man-made. Natural satellites would be, for example, our moon. However, within the scope of man-made satellites, there are several different types. Man-made satellites are classified according to the type of orbit they are in, as this then dict...

The life cycle of a star

Nebula Stars start of life in a nebula, a cloud of hydrogen gas and dust. Here all the elements necessary for making a star are blown around and chemically react with each other. There are several different types of nebula. The Orion nebula, for example, is an Emission Nebula. This means that it...

Tide-y facts about the Moons effect on the Oceans.

         The gravitational force of the moon may be only 1 ten millionth that of the Earth but when you combine it with other forces, like that of Earth’s centrifugal force (the force created by the Earth’s spinning), tides appear. The sun also has a gravitational force which acts upon the...

10 Stunning pictures of the Earth at night.

Nasa have just released some pictures of the Erath from space at night time and they are stunning! Named the Black Marble, the collection of pictures shows just how magnificent our planet really is and so here are 10 more gorgeous photos of our gorgeous planet studded in twinkling lights.  ...

The Story of Pluto.

Everyone knows of Pluto’s demotion in 2006 from a planet to a dwarf planet, but this might be about to change. There has been hot debate about Pluto’s status in the solar system and it could well be that it must be reclassified again. In the meantime, here are several awesome facts about everyone’s...

Top 12 craziest photos taken by the Hubble Space telescope.

Rose made of galaxies This photo was released to celebrate Hubble’s 21st anniversary. It shows two galaxies swirling together. This beautiful flower can be seen in the Andromeda constellation. When Black holes collide No one has yet been able to take a picture of...

15 Awesome St Patrick’s Day Facts.

We should actually wear Blue Saint Patrick would have had to put up with being pinched. His colour was a very pale blue called “Saint Patrick’s Blue”. The colour green only became associated with the feast day after the Irish Independence Movement in the late 18th Century. Sain...

Ridiculous Names for Serious Space Equipment

Ridiculous Names for Serious Space Equipment Not all spacey stuff is all acronyms and complicated numbers, some very serious equipment has names that border on the fanciful. Here is a list of 6 of the best: MIRACLE Miracle a.k.a. the Mid-InfraRed Array Camera of Least Effort Not to judge but...

Camino de Santiago – Following the milky way

The Camino de Santiago – also known as the Way of St. James in English – is the name of any of the pilgrimage routes which travel to the shrine of the apostle St. James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. This is where, legend has it, the remains of Saint James are buried...

NASA Scientists Make a Romantic Discovery in Time for Valentine’s Day.

Scientists made the perfect discovery just in time for Valentine’s day. There is a planet that lies 370 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Hercules that has a very strange effect on its parent star. When the planet passes close to the star, its immense gravitational force causes the oute...

Top 10 weird things sent into space.

Lego Figures These Lego figures were sent up in August 2015 for a mission orbiting the Planet Jupiter. The figures portray the Roman god Jupiter and his wife, the goddess Juno, and famous astronomer Galileo Galilei. Golden Records Since 1977, NASA has been sendi...

Should you name a star for Valentine’s Day?

Nowadays it’s very difficult to think of something a bit different to get for your other half; the cliché of buying roses, chocolates and jewellery just seems to be a bit, well, old. These gifts might well bring a smile to their face but there is no sense of originality within the gift. With buy...