SOL: 17

I've received two letters from 2 young boys, I think they want to be astronauts and travel through space in the near future. Whatever it may be, these seem to be good kids and definitely have questions that concern the universe at large.

Hi Agastya, how are you doing? I'm very happy to hear from you. I hope you are reading a lot of books and writing down everything you've learnt from them. Thank you for sending the two questions over to me in space mail. Below are the responses for you!

Q1) What if the earth doubled in size?

A) That's an amazing thought Agastya. Did you ever give a thought that if the earth doubled in size would the Himalayas we twice as high? Would the oceans be twice as deep? Would countries be twice as big? Would we be closer to the moon? Would atmosphere be on the surface just as how humans are? Would the temperatures drop to half of what they were now? Or would they double? Would we weight twice as much or half as much? What do you think? I'd love to hear from you.


Q2) What if the sun got a little hotter?

A) Wow! Do you know that the sun is a big ball of gas? I think the more interesting question to ask is how is a big ball of gas staying together that too in the deep space? Earth has gravity, what do you think the sun has? Also, if the sun is indeed a big ball of gas, who do you think lit it up? Someone must've gone to it and lit up a match right? (Wonder who that is?). Whenever we see the sun, we think of heat and light, do you know what all of us forget when we see or talk about the sun? Think about it and let me know.

Q3) What do you eat in space?

A) This is actually a secret Agastya! I cannot reveal the contents of what I eat, because this is an international secret. What I can however do is give you a clue about what is it I could be eating. Do you know all the food we eat can be represented chemically as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, fibre, water, minerals and fat? Can you find out which is the most important nutrient amongst these? If you're unable to come to a conclusion, I'll give you a clue the next time.


Hi Aadrith, how are you doing? Really glad to hear from you. I'm so pleased to hear from 2 space enthusiasts in a single day, usually this never happens. I hope you're doing well and eating on time. Did you know most of the brain development in the kids happens when they're sleeping which is why sleeping on time and sleeping for the right amount of time is incredibly important! Now let's go to your questions shall we?

Q1) Can human race (and animals and life) live near a blackhole?

A) Well let's start off with the obvious, these are not scary questions at all, do you know why? Because blackholes are everywhere and where we are, they pose no danger to us! Do you know how to discover a blackhole? Or rather, how to identify a blackhole in space? Also, where do you think is the nearest blackhole from us? (If you can find out, do let me know, I'd be delighted to hear from you) . The word near is relative, for example if you were standing next to a table, the table is near to you. If you were sitting the last row of a bus, the front part where the driver sits is near to you. For an astronomer, moon is near to earth. So if we think about it, whatever is the closest observable blackhole, we are already living near it with no concerns whatsoever!

Q2) What do we eat in space?
A) Hehe, we eat food in space, unfortunately what we eat is a secret. However, I can tell you this much, we eat lots of vegetables. If possible can Agastya and you look at the answer I gave him and write back to me with your findings? I'd be delighted to read them.

P.s - The human race will never be wiped out, our technology is moving so rapidly that we should begin colonising other planets by the time you grow up and who knows both of you could be scientists who can help us in that endeavour. I hope you keep exploring and understanding everything that the universe has to offer, never stop learning!

Signing off,
Dovic 23!