Esprit S.F.

Abbreviation of “pulsating radio source”, a pulsar is a neutron star spinning around very fast (to several hundreds round per second!) and emitting a radio beam very intense in a precise direction.

The beam coming to the observer only intermittently, … Lire la suite...

A magnetar – contraction of “magnetic star” – is a neutron star whose magnetic field is extremely intense, to 10¹⁵ Gauss^[1]As comparison, the Earth magnetic field at its surface is about one Gauss. So the magnetar’s field … Lire la suite...

The parsec (acronym of “parallax-second”, symbol pc) is a distance unit used in astronomy  which is equivalent to 3.26 light years. It’s the distance for which one astronomical unit is viewed under a one arc-second angle.

Matching words :… Lire la suite...

The astronomical unit (symbol au) is a distance unit used in astronomy corresponding to the average radius of the Earth orbit around the Sun. It’s a unit very used to express the distances in the interior of a solar … Lire la suite...

Contrary to its name could make us think, a light year is not a time unit, but a distance unit of measurement used in astronomy. It correspond to the distance travelled by the light in one year in the vacuum.… Lire la suite...