Erin's Blog: Astronomy

I added a little to the technology proficiency, and the theories and life both need to be graded. The bibliographies for all of these are after the life proficiency. All of the rest have been graded and have not been changed.

I can identify key technological advancements that helped in making our knowledge of space expand. My research will show the past, but I will also predict what future advancements may stretch our limits even more.

Technology

I can effectively explain the different theories of the universe. I will discuss theories starting from Ancient Greece through the theories discussed in present day. I will analyze all theories and make a judgment based on my research on which is most valid.

Theories

I can research what we know about life elsewhere in the universe, starting with an analysis of our solar system. From what you know and what you’ve researched, do you think there is life on another planet/solar system? Do you think there is intelligent life? Support your answer.

In 2000 the book Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe came out. It suggested the Rare Earth hypothesis which could be a possible answer to, "If extraterrestrial aliens are common, why aren't they obvious?", the Fermi Paradox.

For life to occur, it would have to happen in the galactic habitable zone, which is only a small portion of a galaxy, the rest of the galaxy is dead zones where life can't exist. There are lots of different things that have to go right and fall into certain categories for life to exist. The circumstances for life to exist elsewhere are that first it needs to be located in a galactic habitual zone with a central star and a planetary system, the conditions on the planet would need to have a magnetosphere and plate tectonics along with the lithosphere, atmosphere and oceans all working together. If all of there occurrences lined up we would just have a planet that could hold life, more would still need to happen before life could form and live.

Life here on Earth requires carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur and multiple smaller amounts of other elements. Carbon is a very flexible element and could be fundamental for life elsewhere although silicon would work too and would allow life in high temperatures, and ammonia could be an alternate instead of water. These changes would create life-forms that we don’t picture. While thinking of aliens, we think of human-like aliens, with qualities like us. Qualities such as 4 limbs, large head and gray or green skin, which are generally humanoid fundamentals. This is not necessarily true. Different chemicals mix with others and could create life or plants and it might not necessarily be green, like here on Earth. Also intelligent life may be much more advanced than humans or may be less advanced. They might only communicate through vibrations like cicadas.

Mythological stories and myths have said that there are many other worlds with extraterrestrial life. Greek philosophy, Hindu cosmology and Christian and Jewish theology all have referred to or talked of extraterrestrial life. In Jewish religion 18,000 other worlds were spoken of. People that based their astronomical studies on other beliefs in these categories have found created bases for things we know today, so they might be right again, that there are many other worlds.

Other worlds might have been found in studies from 2009. These studies have shown that about 100 billion terrestrial planets are in our Milky Way alone, and that is just our galaxies, one out of many. Although this is true, many things have to go right for a planet to hold life. First the tilt of the planet needs to be right, it cant be too large or too small. A large tilt will result in extreme season variation and to small of a tilt wont create enough change in season to create life. Also a large satellite, such as our moon could be very important. The plate tectonics and rise of tidal pools rely on our moon, although Mars may have had plate tectonics before without a satellite to initiate it. The planet can not be too small or too large. If it is too small it can't hold an atmosphere which is essential to life on a planet. All of these things are possible though, about 20-60% of Sun-like stars have evidence that suggest their Earth-like planets evolved the same way.

One theory is that life has emerged many places throughout the universe or another is panspermia, where life has spread through habitable planets. This would mean that life would have or does exist close by possibly in our solar system, like on Jupiter's moons or Mars or Saturn's Moon, Titan. In search for this life we have sent out radio signals but haven't received anything back.

Life may have also evolved on Earth by a meteor or through chemistry. In the 1950s, a scientist, Miller did an experiment which combined methane, ammonia, hydrogen gas, and water vapor which represents what the primordial atmosphere would have looked like. When this mixture received an electric charge, which represents lightning going through the atmosphere a brown goo appeared after a few days which had the building blocks for proteins in them, which could have started life here, and is possible throughout our solar system and other places. Another theory is that a meteorite found in Australia may have been the origin of life on Earth. Molecules from meteors that had hit Earth about 40 years ago are like those that hit Earth 3.8 to 4.5 billion years ago and may have started everything. This would also create life in other places.

The universe is so huge many other Earth like planets could exist and carry intelligent life, but because the universe is so huge, we would be thousands of light years away from them so communication with them would be impossible. There seem to be others out there, but they just haven't been found yet.

Bibliography for Theories, Technology and Life-

Life

"Extraterrestrial life - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life>.

"Complex Life Elsewhere in the Universe?." Astrobiology Magazine -- The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Universe . N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.astrobio.net/debate/236/complex-life-elsewhere-in-the-universe>.

"Creating a Universe-Creation Theory." University of Victoria - Web.UVic.ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://web.uvic.ca/~jtwong/newtheories.htm>.

"NOVA | How Did Life Begin?." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/how-did-life-begin.html>.

spacecraft, the Galileo, and scientists believe that a subsurface. "Jupiter's Moon Europa." Views of the Solar System. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/europa.htm>.

uncommon, concluding that complex life is. "Rare Earth hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis>.

Wall, Mike. " NASA Hasn't Found Alien Life, But Arsenic Microbe Still 'Phenomenal' | Space.com ." Space, NASA Information & News | Outer Space Flight Videos & Pictures | Astronomy, Solar System Images | Space.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.space.com/9633-nasa-alien-life-arsenic-microbe-phenomenal.html>.

Theories

"Astronomy Timeline." Windows to the Universe. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.windows2universe.org/the_universe/uts/timeline.html>.

everybody, e, and take care. "Top 10 Universe Creation Theories." Toptenlisted.com â€“ The Premier Source for Original Top Ten Lists. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.toptenlisted.com/philosophy-god/top-10-universe-creation-theories/>.

forces, supernatural. "History of Cosmology." Mac OS X Server. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast123/lectures/lec01.html>.

Saraswati, Prakashanand. "The true history and the religion of ... - Google Books." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id=IhLN2I9yTTkC&pg=PA419&lpg=PA419&dq=3500+BC+theories+of+the+creation+of+the+universe&source=bl&ots=2TcGfokHX8&sig=-RjGPjkH6BCMqZA5oEMq5CFOEZ4&hl=en&ei=JZBBTYDEBsP58AaKwe3_AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB8Q6>.

still, the 4th dynasty king Khufu. Worse, this stance has, in turn, and led Hancock. "Egypt - Giza Theory." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.eridu.co.uk/Author/egypt/giza.html>.

"Timeline of cosmology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_cosmology>.

theory, far the most popular theory in science today is the big bang, as you'll see as we move through this section, and this theory is not only a product of science but also of the times in which we live.. "Theories of the Universe: Scientific Origins of the Universe â€” Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. â€” Infoplease.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.infoplease.com/cig/theories-universe/scientific-origins-universe.html>.

Technology

astronomy, zantine. "Muá¸¥ammad ibn JÄ�bir al-á¸¤arrÄ�nÄ« al-BattÄ�nÄ« - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Battani>.

"Hubble telescope zeroes in on green blob in space - Yahoo! News." The top news headlines on current events from Yahoo! News. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_sci_space_blob>.

"NASA - Early-Stage Innovation." NASA - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/early_stage_innovation/index.html>.

" Space technology: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article." AbsoluteAstronomy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Space_technology>.

"Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_telescopes,_observatories,_and_observing_technology>.

I can analyze the differences between comets, asteroids, meteors and moons. I will research orbits and discuss differences of what we see from the Earth’s surface (phases). I will analyze the effect the moon’s orbit has on our planet. I will predict what would happen if Earth had a 2nd moon or the distance to the moon was increased or decreased.

Briefly describe the formation of our solar system-

A nearby star, a supernova, exploded and a cloud of gas and dust were disturbed. The explosion squeezed the cloud of gas and dust together, and made the cloud collapse, and gravity pulled the gas and dust together forming a solar nebula. As the cloud collapsed it started to spin, and the center became hotter and denser than the edges a disk of gas and dust surrounding it was cooler. The disk became thinner and different particles clumped together, eventually forming planets or moons. The heat the center was giving off, only rocky material could, stand so icy matter settled further away. The cloud continued to collapse and the center became so hot and dense it became the Sun, a star. The Sun has solar winds, and blew away most of the gas and dust close to it. Meteorites, being left over from the beginning have had tests and have proven by scientific studies that our solar system is about 4.6 billion years old.

Formation of the Solar System

Works Cited

" Our Solar System: Facts, Discovery, Exploration & Formation | Trans-Neptunian Region, Planets & Asteroid Belt | Space.com ." Space, NASA Information & News | Outer Space Flight Videos & Pictures | Astronomy, Solar System Images | Space.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://www.space.com/56-our-solar-system-facts-formation-and-discovery.html>.

"Solar System Formation." Astronomy Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://astronomyonline.org/SolarSystem/SolarSystemFormation.asp>."Solar System Formation."

Minnesota State University, Mankato. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/solarsystem/formation.html>.

"Solar System Formation." Windows to the Universe. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/formation.html>.

I can investigate the claim that the landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin was a conspiracy created by the United States government. Support or defend the claim.

Animoto on Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

When you are in a competition with someone generally everyone cheats in some way, and the final one to cheat generally wins. The United States and the Soviet Union were in a close competition, and we were losing. The United States was so scared that they wouldn’t have control anymore, that walking on the moon was the only step they could take to get ahead. The only way to seem to catch up would be to create something impossible, like walking on the moon. The moon, is generally referred to in dreams or goals, and something to strive for, and finally we reached it. History is how we remember it. When we are excited things sometimes get left out, and we think something else actually happened.

If the computer for Eagle was not much more powerful than a digital watch today, how can we base everything we believe about landing on the moon on that. While on the rocket, Neil Armstrong realized they were heading for a crater the size of a football field, maybe they were really just heading for Area 51. While trying to find a safer place to land, mission control almost took over, from lack of fuel, and almost made them abort the mission. Mission control could be related to the US government almost missing the deadline, until finally finding a place to land, or a lie to create. Buzz Aldrin has sometimes claimed that he was the first person to say something, "Contact light," when they landed on the moon, if the people up in space cant even get who said the first words right, how will we know? Also Neil Armstrong got the name for the first man on the moon, but Buzz Aldrin was all of the pictures, there was even a competition up in space. Neil Armstrong gave the camera to Aldrin, but Aldrin didn’t take any pictures of Armstrong on the moon. If two Americans for the same side can't even trust each other, why should the Russians or anyone trust them, that they landed on the moon. The conspiracy is referred to in movies too, along with becoming a movie of its own, Area 51.

Niel Armstrong Bibliography

"Bibliographical Data." NASA. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/aldrin-b.html>.

"The Great Moon Hoax - NASA Science." NASA Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast23feb_2/>.

"Untold Stories of the Moon Race." abc.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <abcnews.go.com/Technology/Apollo11MoonLanding/apollo-11-untold-stories-moon-landing-neil-armstrong/story?id=8109038&page=2>.

Technology Bibliography

"NASA - Early-Stage Innovation." NASA - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/early_stage_innovation/index.html>.

" Space technology: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article." AbsoluteAstronomy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. <http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Space_technology>.

Galaxies

If the Milky Way were an irregular galaxy it wouldn’t look like anything specifically. Now instead of other galaxies orbiting around us (the Milky Way) we would be orbiting around them. (other spiral galaxies) Generally we would be smaller than we are now, and we would be even brighter. There would be a lot of new stars, so the Sun might not be there, and now there would be no Earth.

The stars in Elliptical Galaxies orbit the common center of gravitation in random directions. I think that if the Milky Way were an Elliptical Galaxy this could affect our known life. If stars orbit the center of gravitation in random directions, couldn’t that mean that our Solar System wouldn’t orbit as we know it. Earth would sometimes be way to close to the sun and we wouldn’t be able to exist. It would get way to hot at some points and at others way to cold to even survive.

There is lots of dust and gas in our galaxy which helps create our planets. In Elliptical Galaxies there isn't much besides old stars. Old stars live for a shorter amount of time, so the Sun would die soon. The Sun also may not be as bright along with all of the other stars in the galaxy.

Overall, now it would look like a glowing ball. It also would not be as bright anymore, and it would have to become a little bit bigger to be an average elliptical galaxy. The Milky Way also wouldn’t be called the Milky Way, it wouldn’t look milky anymore.

Galaxies-

"Astronomy: Old Stars, New Stars." UNL Astronomy Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://astro.unl.edu/observatory/art3a.html>.

"Facts About the Milky Way." Universe Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://www.universetoday.com/22285/facts-about-the-milky-way/>.

"Galaxy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy>.

"Star - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star>.

Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors

Lenoid Fireball of 1998 (meteoroid)

Ceres (asteroid/Dwarf Planet)

Halleys Comet

The moon orbits around the Earth and we see different pictures or phases that the moon goes through. The moon controls weather patterns. If the moon was closer there would be more weather problems. The gravitational pull would be stronger and would control more. If there was a 2nd moon then there might be different types of storms. There might be more tornadoes or different types that we would have to adjust to and protect against.

We only see one side of the moon. We see it from the reflection of the sun. When the Earth rotates, we see different amounts of the lit side of the moon. This makes the moon appear smaller or larger. The different phases of the moon start with the New moon where there is no moon at all. Then moves on to Waning Crescent, First Quarter (which is half of the moon) Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, and then goes back down through Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent and finally back to New Moon.

The Moon is in orbit around the Earth, and the Earth is in orbit around the Sun along with other planets and comets too. The Moons and Earths orbits are circular, while a comets orbit is an oval. A comet at some points is very close to the sun. When it is, we can see its tail, which is made of ice and dust, and is blown away always facing away from the sun. The reason we see the tail is because the solar heat burns the ice and dust, and creates a gas that burns bright, only around the sun. A comet is not as big as a planet, but the suns gravity still pulls the comet to itself. As the comet comes closer, the gravitational pull is so strong that the comet cant be controlled and it whips back around the sun. The inertia sends the comet back out to complete the orbit until, it dies down. Now gravity is back in place and the comet heads back towards the sun.

Bibliography

" APOD: November 12, 1999 - 1998 Leonid Fireball." Astronomy Picture of the Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991112.html>.

"Ancient Greek Astronomy - Crystalinks." Crystalinks Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://www.crystalinks.com/greekastronomy.html>.

"Comets." The Electronic Universe. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/Comets/comets.html>.

"Curious About Astronomy? Comets, Meteors and Asteroids." Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/comets.php>.

Halley, far the most famous comet is Comet. "Comets." The Nine Planets Solar System Tour. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://nineplanets.org/comets.html>.

"Meteors." Windows to the Universe. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://www.windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/meteors/meteors.html>.

"Meteors and Meteorites." Test Page for Apache Installation. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solar/meteor.html>.

"ceres." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <schools-wikipedia.org/images/910/91083.jpg>.

"comets ." thinkquest.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <library.thinkquest.org/23830/famous_comets.htm>.

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