Bobby Bolin 9/19/12

Into The Sky
For thousands of years, we have gazed into the sky in quandary about cosmic phenomena. Cavemen, peasants, kings and astronomers could do nothing more but hypothesize the mysteries of outer space and the universe. It was not until the 17th century did astronomers create the telescope to see more than just the naked eye however, the Mesopotamians recorded constellations that still exist in modern day age today. Our desires to find extraterrestrial life and answer cosmic phenomena will ascent our technology beyond belief in many years to come. Decades ago, astronomers believed that our solar system was the only one that existed though there was still a dire explanation sought of the galaxies: are there any other habitable planets out there? What was the history and chemistry of our planets thousands of years ago? These questions inspire our most ambitious endeavors of space and Mars exploration and moon landings. With Mars being a planet with extreme similarities such as: mountains, canyons, rocks, dry river valleys, polar ice caps and water in the clouds. If we could understand the geological history of Mars, it would be a step closer that grants limitless technology and opportunity. The Kepler mission is another huge endeavor for which we are now able to detect other planet that orbit other stars; in essence, we have found other solar systems other than our own that habitable. This, just like other discoveries, is leading us one step closer to unveiling possibilities that extend beyond our feeble minds. The transit method detects extrasolar planets by measuring the brightness of stars. By observing the radiance of light from a star,

Bobby Bolin 9/19/12

when there are orbital systems, a planet will cross the star and block the light where we can then calculate the size and mass with the Kepler’s third law of planetary motion. We then, knowing the size and temperature of the star, can determine the temperature of the planet and whether it is habitable ( the green zone). Kepler 22b is the first extrasolar planet that has been confirmed to be within the habitable zone in orbit of another star similar to our sun. In the last decade, one the most notable accomplishments would be that of deploying satellites in earth’s orbit. The “A” train is a series of four satellites containing fifteen different instruments that observe the same path of the Earth’s surface in different wavelengths. In deploying these satellites, they monitor the earth’s atmosphere for climate change, behavior of climate change as well as atmospheric processes in the ozone layer. When we began to study the greenhouse effect, pollution was a catalyst to change the way we industrialize and even live our daily lives (driving). Then, in 2006 we had seen the largest depletion of the ozone layer from the southern hemisphere spanning 11.4 million square kilometers. Now, the A Train continues to monitor and without them and our contributions for greener living, sources say that we saved the nearly the whole ozone layer by 2065. When will the day come to where we can explore 600 light-years away? When can we deploy satellites in orbit of other systems? How, if at all, can we develop our technology to cross over the galaxy and land other planets such as Kepler 22b without destruction by cosmic phenomena?? The days are near I believe, when these can be accomplished; compared to previous decades, we have surpassed the limits of impossible and our following generations will

Bobby Bolin 9/19/12

use our knowledge as a stepping stone to answer some of the most incomprehensible concepts and mysteries.