The Golden Record

Posted on April 30, 2021 by brianknapp

In 1977, a cool year for space enthusiasts and film buffs, NASA launched two spacecrafts known as Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. These crafts passed by Jupiter and Saturn, taking advantage of their alignment at that time. Voyager 2 also flew by Uranus and Neptune, and is now traveling across the vast expanse of interstellar space.

Images of the Golden Records, from The New Yorker

On board each of the probes is a golden phonographic record, carrying the sounds of Earth. The records are essentially time capsules, containing images, popular and traditional music, sounds of nature, and greetings in various languages, all from Earth. This was done in hopes that maybe an advanced alien civilization would find it, and be able to learn a thing or two about the place we call home. To paraphrase Carl Sagan, it’s a bit like a message in a bottle tossed into the cosmic ocean. Images on the record itself are diagrams, each containing some important piece of information about us or the technology we use. For example, the large asterisk-like depiction in the bottom left is a pulsar map, showing the location of our solar system in relation to 14 different pulsars in the galaxy (A pulsar is a highly magnetized spinning star that emits radiation in a very particular way). Without going into too much detail, an advanced alien civilization would know all about pulsars, and therefore would know how to find our solar system based on this information.

The golden records are jam-packed with information about Earth, and have a lot to teach alien civilizations about us. However, it’s not likely they will ever get the chance, as both probes aren’t heading very close to any star, at least not for a long time. But maybe that’s for the best! Who knows what might happen if an ~unfriendly~ race of aliens with superior technology knew exactly where to find us…

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The Diversity of The Solar System

Posted on April 30, 2021 by thestarstudent
Our Solar System from Science Explorers

After being in ASTR 2110, my biggest takeaway is probably the intense diversity that exists in our own solar system. Everything here is all made from the same protoplanetary disk, yet we have small terrestrial dwarf planets, medium sized terrestrial planets, and gas giants. How can the same material that made Venus’ thick atmosphere also make Pluto’s heart-shaped glacier or Saturn’s hexagon-shaped storm? How can that material make me? Our solar system is a complex and beautiful place to call home, and I’m so happy I know more about it. A lot of time people like to say we’re made of star stuff, but now I think I prefer to consider myself made of Mercury’s craters, Venus’ gasses, Earth’s oceans, Mars’ rocks, Jupiter’s clouds, Saturn’s rings, Uranus’ ice, and Neptune’s methane.

Signing off for now – TheStarStudent 🙂

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Extremophile Viability in Space

Posted on April 30, 2021 by thestarstudent
Sulfolobus solfataricus from Kenyon College’s Microbewiki, Haloterrigena hispanica from Frontiers in Microbiology, and Termotoga neapolitana from Alchetron (three of the four extremophiles tested in the experiment)

In 2014, a group of scientists studied the viability of four different types of extremophiles in space-like conditions. These conditions that replicated an experience on Mars included extreme low temperatures, levels of UV radiation, humidity, and low pressure. The extremophiles in the experiment were Sulfolobus solfataricus from Solfatara volcano in southern Italy that can live in a high temperature low pH environment, Haloterrigena hispanica from Fuente de Piedra in southern Spain that can live in a highly saline environment, Thermotoga neapolitana from a black smoker in the bay of Naples in Italy that can survive a high temperature environment without oxygen, and Geobacillus termantarcticus from Mt. Melbourne (a volcano) in Antarctica that can survive high temperatures. Generally, all the extremophiles had good resistance to the temperature simulation, and fine resistance to the UV radiation, humidity, and pressure simulations. This experiment indicates the possibility for life to survive Mars. While this life may not include humans, it is still exciting to know. The possibility of extraterrestrial life seems to increase every day!

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Supermassive Blackholes and the Milky Way

Posted on April 29, 2021 by derrick37027

In 1993, radio engineer Karl Janksy was recording 20.5 MHz radio waves when he noticed something strange. He could clearly classify majority of the waves received into either distant or nearby thunderstorms. However, there was a third type of static that he could not explain. Janksy put on his detective hat and, after many months of research, he determined that this strange, unexplained frequency appeared to be emitted from the center of our galaxy. Without the proper equipment and technology to further research this phenomenon, the mystery of these frequencies remained unsolved, until 2020, where Dr. Andrea Ghez and Dr. Reinhard Genzel, provided strong enough evidence to sufficiently claim that a supermassive blackhole existed at the center of the Milky Way.

Supermassive blackhole at the center of galaxy Messier 87

The blackhole at the center of our galaxy has a mass estimated to be about 4.1 million times the mass of our Sun. It was discovered by tracking the uncharacteristic movement of a nearby star, S2. From this information, we were able to estimate this supermassive blackhole size. Furthermore, we can extend this to claim that almost every large galaxy will have a supermassive blackhole at it center. Whilst it’s unclear what exactly we should do with this information, I believe that these masses are the key to understanding and learning more about the origins and formation of our galaxy and universe.

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The Fermi Paradox

Posted on April 29, 2021 by derrick37027

Ever since humans have first become interested in space, the inevitable question of “does life exist outside of Earth” has loomed over us. However, as technology has progressed and humanity has trekked deep into space, the question remains unanswered. This brings about a certain paradox regarding the existence of alien life. The universe is almost infinitely large and has existed for billions of years. Additionally, though a world that can support intelligent life requires very specific conditions, our Universe is so large that there must be many many occurrences where these conditions are met. Therefore, by the law of large numbers, life outside Earth must exist. This is the first part of the paradox. The second part relies more on the nature of intelligent life. From birth, intelligent life will have a tendency to be curious, explore, and overcome scarcity. Assuming these aliens are somewhat similar to humans, they too will wonder about the stars and eventually progress to a point where they travel space to learn or to acquire resources. These two key “facts” contradict each other. If our Universe is so large that alien life must be inevitable and it has existed for so long, why haven’t we seen any evidence of alien life anywhere in our galaxy? Surely aliens from millions/billions of years ago would have traversed our solar system in search of resources.

Enrico Fermi

Unfortunately, I am not able to provide a solution to this paradox but I will provide my own personal thoughts on it. While yes, the Universe is almost too large and old for us to comprehend, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that alien life MUST exist. Furthermore, since the universe is so old, there very well could have been extraterrestrial life at some other stage in our universe’s life. The overall probability must decrease when we take into account that humans have only been a millisecond in the universe’s life span. There is not guarantee that two lifeforms exist at the same time.

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The Northern Lights

Posted on April 28, 2021 by gracelearnsspace
Source

The northern lights are one of Earth’s beautiful sights that everyone wants to see. However, little people actually know how they occur. The northern lights, which are aurora, are caused by electrified gas from the Sun getting caught by Earth’s magnetic field which leads to the North and South poles. These particles from the sun interact with gases in Earth’s atmosphere (Oxygen gives off green and red light and Nitrogen gives off blue and purple light). Since auroras are caused by a magnetosphere and atmosphere, other planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn, can have them too! Have you ever seen the northern lights, and if so, where?

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Explore Giants

Posted on April 28, 2021 by kjackson1456

Earth may seem special to us, but it is just one of a near countless number of planets in our universe—a rather small one at that. Giant planets are those planets that dwarf Earth in size. They are gaseous bodies, meaning that they are primarily composed out of a swirling combination of gasses held together by the gravitational attraction of their solid cores. Consequently, they do not have solid surfaces like Earth and are not inhabitable. In our solar system specifically, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are all classified as gas giants.

The graph below from Pearson Education, shows all of our giants along with their mass, density, composition, and distance from the sun.

Gas Giants: Facts About the Outer Planets - YouTube
Pearson Graph

These planets spin much faster than terrestrial planets do and as such they experience far shorter days/nights than we do here on Earth. For instance: an entire day on Jupiter is only about 10 hours on Earth. Due to their massive size, giant planets attract more orbiting objects such as moons and rings. Though all of the giants in our solar system have rings, Saturn’s rings are the only ones visible from Earth.

Interesting Fact: Jupiter, being the largest of all the planets in our solar system, can hold more than 300 Earths inside of it!

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Life in Libra

Posted on April 28, 2021 by kjackson1456
Libra constellation star
Libra Constellation during June

Libra season is defined as the time when the when our sun passes through the libra constellation. This period starts on September 23 and ends on October 23. It is believed that balance is best achieved during this time as the Libra Zodiac is said to represent balance, justice, and harmony. Also, Libra is believed to bring with it an energy of rational and reflective thought. Consequently, this may also be a time when certain personally held truths may come into question or be challenged, though Libra also welcomes change—so long as it makes logical sense.

Libra season occurs during the start of fall. Historically speaking, libra’s association with balance draws both from its perceived shape of scales and the fact that during the autumnal equinox the times of day and night are equal ,or balanced, in length. Furthermore, this time was also thought to signify dramatic change as the weather grows colder and life becomes less vibrant. Changes such as these, though somewhat unpleasant, were welcome and thought to be a natural part of life as they are necessary for some things (such as plants or people ) to grow and evolve.

Astronomically speaking, Libra season is simply the time when the sun is “in” libra. This means that the particular positioning of the Earth, sun, and stars is aligned in such as way that the sun appears to pass through the libra constellation as it crosses our sky. The greater meaning or associations we give to particular celestial positioning or motions such as this are what we call astrology.

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ExploreSol

Posted on April 28, 2021 by kjackson1456

It might surprise you to know that the sun is over 90 million miles away from us! That’s right: something that far away is able to provide us with life-saving light and warmth. A process called nuclear fusion is responsible for the sun’s tremendous heat and brilliant shine. Though it may look different from other stars in our sky, the sun is actually a star as well. Specifically, the sun is classified as a yellow-dwarf, main sequence star. This means that it is middle-aged and relatively small in comparison to other active stars in the universe. It was once believed that Earth was located at the center of our solar system. However, we now know that the sun is actually located at the center of our solar system. Interactions between the sun and earth influence our cycle of seasons, tides, and so much more. This graph from Nasa explores interactions between solar wind and various celestial bodies in our solar system.

Solar Wind Infographic
Nasa (Solar Wind)

Astrologically speaking, the sun is one of the most critical elements of someone’s birth chart. Across numerous cultures, the sun plays a crucial role in developing the more dominant/obvious traits a of a person’s character/personality. In western astrology, the sun sign is supposed to sign is supposed to signify ( or at least generalize ) your identity.

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The Fermi Paradox

Posted on April 27, 2021 by gracelearnsspace
Aliens?

The Fermi Paradox is the paradox that while there are probably other intelligent life forms in the Milky Way, none have have made any communication with Earth. Since Earth is a younger planet of the Milky Way, if intelligent civilizations existed they would likely be much older, meaning they would have the technology to communicate with Earth and the time to have done it. The explanations for this paradox are aliens have not come/communicated because of lack of technology, because they didn’t want to, or they have come and we have not noticed. Personally, I believe it is likely aliens have come in the past, explaining things like the great pyramids and stone hedge. Perhaps they do not want us to know they came and do not want to come again. What do you think is the explanation for the Fermi Paradox?

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