...In the article “Four Starry Nights”, Anna Frebal talks about stars in ultra faint dwarf galaxies that astronomers have spotted in the past ten years. Her research primarily revolves around this topic. She begins by telling us that stars in dwarf galaxies are some of the oldest stars because of the proportion of elements that they carry. She also states that a new generation of stars form from gaseous clouds that are enriched by heavier elements, elements like lithium. Frebal furthermore tells us about how ultra faint dwarf galaxies have fewer stars than their luminous peer, but they have higher proportions of metals and that they are most likely relics from a long time ago. Additionally, Frebal has discovered that the ribbons of starlight that...
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...The Veil Nebula formed about 8,000 years ago after the death of a star 20 times the size of the Sun in a supernova explosion. Now, a new set of Hubble Telescope videos reveal clear images of its violent beauty. The explosion, lightning fast, plowed into a wall of cool, dense interstellar gas, emitting light. The Nebula is along the edge of a large bubble of low-density gas that was blown into space by the dying star before it exploded. The remnants of the destroyed star are multicolored and stunning, showing a colorful cloud of material that is 110 light years wide and about 2,100 light years from Earth. It’s located in the constellation called Cygnus, or The Swan Nebula. Where Does the Color Come From? According to the European Space Agency,...
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...diameter, and the brightness of a star could not be converted into its true radiated power, or luminosity .astronomy. (2013). Direct measurement of the wavefunction had also long been deemed impossible because of the key tenet of the uncertainty principle. University of Rochester (2013, March 3). Getting around the uncertainty principle: Physicists make first direct measurements of polarization states of light. ScienceDaily. Large-scale surveying & mapping problems are also key challenges in making direct Measurements in astronomy. Pogge R.(2006) One of the indirect forms that the scientists have used is to resort to GEOMETRY to find the Distance. Parallax is one of the indirect methods where astronomers can measure the position of a nearby star very carefully with respect to more distant stars behind it, then measuring those distances again six months later when the Earth is on the opposite side of its orbit. Allen J.,Boyd P. (1997,April 15) The limitation of parallax is that it just gives distances to stars tp up to a few thousand light Years and beyond those distances, parallax are so small that they cannot be measured by Contemporary instruments. The methods used beyond light years are Stellar motions: All stars are in motion, but only for nearby stars are these motions perceivable. Statistically, therefore, the stars that have larger motions are nearer. By measuring the motions of a large number of stars, we can estimate their average...
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...This was before anyone came up with the idea to build a ship to visit other planets. People have always been amazed by the unknown, and this is why we still have people going to outer space to discover new things. The use of the research for studying outer space is known as Astronomy. According to the web dictionary Astronomy is the scientific study of the matter in outer space, especially the positions, dimensions, distribution, energy, and evolution of celestial bodies and phenomena (http://www.thefreedictionary.com). Early scientist could not just look up in the sky to measure how far away a star actually is and to see what else is up in space. There is other techniques and equipment is needed. Early scientist use a technique called triangulation. This was done by looking at a star and record its location. Then six months later scientist would look at the star again and measure the distance and record any changes (How are astronomers, 2000). The strength of an earthquake by measure the level of shaking on the earth’s surface with a seismogram which records the shaking in wiggly lines. The length of the lines plus the amount of wiggling illustrates the strength of the event, larger lines with a plenty of wiggles indicate a stronger earthquake and vice versa (Wald, 2012). Science allows for the understanding of the world around us however, it can also help us to find needed resources that...
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...Stellar Evolution A star begins as a very light dispensation of interstellar gases and dust particles over a distance of a few twelve lightyears. Although there is intensely low pressure existing between stars, this dispensation of gas exists instead of a real vacuum. If the density of gas becomes bigger than 0.1 particles per cubic centimeter, the interstellar gas grows uncertain. Any small alteration in density, and because it is impossible to have a perfectly even distribution in these clouds this is something that will naturally occur, and the area begins to contract. This happens because between about .1 and 1 particles per cubic centimeter, pressure gains an inverse relationship with density. This causes internal pressure to decrease with increasing density, which because of the higher external pressure, causes the density to continue to increase. This causes the gas in the interstellar medium to spontaneously collect into denser clouds. The denser clouds will contain molecular hydrogen (H2) and interstellar dust particles including carbon compounds, silicates, and small impure ice crystals. Also, within these clouds, there are 2 types of zones. There are H I zones, which contain neutral hydrogen and often have a temperature around 100 Kelvin (K), and there are H II zones, which contain ionized hydrogen and have a temperature around 10,000 K. The ionized hydrogen absorbs ultraviolet light from it is environment and retransmits it as visible and infrared...
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...of galaxies, it’s estimated that only one out of every ten are able to harbor life and only 44 percent of F6-k3 of main sequences stars around our galaxy have the possibility of sustain life (solstation.com). There are certain molecules needed to create and sustain life and only certain stars can harbor life. The possibility of life in the universe has many different factors. Life requires usable energy sources. For organisms on earth, they must be able to metabolize or use these energy sources. The earth organisms are able to assimilate energy from organic and inorganic sources and some are even able to metabolize sunlight and turn it into energy (text book). If earth did not receive sunlight from the sun it would not be able to continue to make the energy needed; this would result in equilibrium and there would no longer be a way for energy to be made. Life also needs carbon for its most basic functions; such as metabolism, reproduction, and evolution (text book). There are other molecules, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur to name a few, that play important roles (text book). Without an abundance of hydrogen and oxygen water would not exist. Water plays an important role as a solvent, which allows for chemical reactions to take place (text book). For there to be life there must be a source of energy, a star, and somewhere for life to thrive, such as a planet. There are different types of planets that are thought to be habitable. These...
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...intent of this paper, therefore, is to list reasons why some people believe that there exist other intelligent life forms in the Universe. Ever since scientists grasped the enormity of the universe, they have intuited that other intelligent life form must exist someplace, either in this galaxy or some other galaxy very far away (Peterson, 2000, p.92). If the universe is composed of billions of galaxies and if every galaxy holds billions of stars, and if just a tiny proportion of those stars contains Earth-like planets, then thousands- maybe even millions- of alien civilization must be present across the cosmos. Recently, telescope projects and deep-space satellites have identified a number of planets that are similar to Earth in their composition and size, and are within an optimal distance from their stars implying that they are habitable and harbour liquid water. According to Quintana (2014), NASA is particularly interested in recently discovered Earth-like planets called Kepler-22b, -20f and -20e which are orbiting a Sun-like star and have a high probability of...
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...“SUN” The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields. The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star comprising about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. The Sun consists of plasma and is not solid. It rotates faster at its equator than at its poles. This behavior is known as differential rotation, and is caused by convection in the Sun and the movement of mass. The Sun is a Population I or heavy element-rich star. The formation of the Sun may have been triggered by shockwaves from one or more supernovas. The Sun does not have a definite boundary as rocky planets do. Through most of the Sun's life, energy is produced by nuclear fusion through a series of steps called the proton–proton chain. This process converts hydrogen into helium. The Sun is a magnetically active star that supports a strong, changing magnetic field that varies year to year and reverses direction about every eleven years around solar maximum. The Sun's magnetic field leads to many effects that are called solar activity which carries material through the Solar System. Solar activity changes the structure of Earth's outer atmosphere. All matter in the Sun is in the form of gas and plasma because of its high temperatures. This makes it possible for the Sun to rotate faster at its equator than it does at higher latitudes. The Sun was formed about 4.57 billion years ago from the collapse...
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...A star is a luminous sphere of plasma held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Other stars, mostly in the Milky Way, are visible from Earth during the night, appearing as a multitude of fixed luminous points in the sky due to their immense distance from Earth. Historically, the most prominent stars were grouped into constellations and asterisms, and the brightest stars gained proper names. Extensive catalogues of stars have been assembled by astronomers, which provide standardized star designations. For at least a portion of its life, a star shines due to thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium in its core, releasing energy that traverses the star's interior and then radiates into outer space. Once the hydrogen in the core of a star is nearly exhausted, almost all naturally occurring elements heavier than helium are created by stellar nucleosynthesis during the star's lifetime and, for some stars, by supernova nucleosynthesis when it explodes. Near the end of its life, a star can also contain degenerate matter. Astronomers can determine the mass, age, metallicity (chemical composition), and many other properties of a star by observing its motion through space, luminosity, and spectrum respectively. The total mass of a star is the principal determinant of its evolution and eventual fate. Other characteristics of a star, including diameter and temperature, change over its life, while the star's environment affects its rotation and movement...
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...having a continuous spectrum passes through a cool gas, the resulting spectrum is: Select one: a. an absorption spectrum b. Any of the choices listed, depending on the chemical composition of the gas. c. an emission spectrum d. a continuous spectrum Which of the following features determines the resolving power of a telescope? Select one: a. The focal length of the eyepiece. b. The diameter of the objective. c. The diameter of the eyepiece. d. The focal length of the objective. Suppose that you have a (good) reflecting telescope and a (good) refracting telescope with the same diameter objective. Which one has an objective that did not require correction for chromatic aberration as it was constructed? Select one: a. No general statement can be made. b. Both c. Neither d. The reflector e. The refractor The number of sunspots Select one: a. becomes maximum near the poles. b. has been increasing since they were first recorded. c. changes with a cycle of about 11 years. d. has been decreasing since they were first recorded by Galileo. Which of the following can be detected by using the Doppler effect? Select one: a. The rotation of planets b. The radial motion of a star moving toward the Earth c. The rotation of the Sun d. The motion of binary star systems e. All of the motions listed can be detected in this manner. What keeps the Sun from collapsing due to its strong gravitational field? Select one: a. The Sun’s...
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...THE UNIVERSE When we look up in the night sky we can see the stars and the moon. And because it is natural to be curious, we ask questions and we want answers. When our view was limited by what our eyes could see, the sky was our Universe. Then the telescopes deepened our view, photography enhanced it, and spectroscopy broadened it. The universe grew from a sky of stars to a realm of galaxies, to an expanding universe of galaxies. Many people believe that nature, the sun and moon, the star, even human beings never had a beginning. There is an endless, external cycle of birth, life and death that constantly repeats itself and it never began and will never end. In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, it was written that at first the world did not exist and that God is the only one who existed. So He created the world. The universe is the totality of everything that has ever existed. It is so large that it contains billions of stars, and all of the planets, galaxies and all of space. The study of the universe is called Cosmology. Traditional Views about the Universe 1. Geocentric Universe Greeks believed that the earth was a sphere that stayed motionless at the center of the universe or the geocentric (Earth-centered) view. Orbiting the earth were seven wanderers (planetai in Greek) including the sun, the moon and the known planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Greece was centered as the “Golden Age” of early astronomy. Claudius Ptolemy created the book Almagest...
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...Chapter 10 : The Sun THE SUNS ATMOSPHERE * the sun is so hot that it neither has a liquid or solid matter anywhere inside of it * moving down into the sun there is denser and hotter masses Photosphere (“sphere of light”) * The photosphere is the innermost of layer of the three layers that comprise the suns atmosphere * A gas layer of the sun that has the most visible light * It is about 400 km thick * Density of the photosphere is low by the earth standards about 0.01% as the air we breathe * Photosphere has a blackbody spectrum that corresponds to an average temp of 5800K * The photosphere appears darkest toward the edge or limb of the solar disk , a phenomenon called limb darkening, * This occurs b/c we see regions of different temp at different depths of the photosphere Granules * lightly colored convection features about 100 km in diameter seen constantly in the solar photosphere * time lapse photography shows that granules form, disappear then reform in cylces that last several minutes Chromosphere (“sphere of color”) * is a dim layer of less dense stellar gas that is above the photosphere * It is the layer we normally see * Astronomers can also study the chromosphere through filters that pass light with specific wavelengths strongly emitted by it – but not by the photosphere – or through telescope sensitive to nonvisble wavelengths that the chromosphere emits intensely Spicules - Are...
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...an elaborate explanation of the birth of a star stretched out into an array of words. The "Red Giant"a dying star in it's last stages of evolution, Is the star that will soon be replaced towards the end of the poem concluding a new star. The title Super Nova meaning a star is born contributes to the readers understanding because it is the "symbol" Object or action that means more than it's literally meaning, of the poem and the whole meaning of it really. The author Udiah I don't think is speaking directly, I think the poem is in third person and he makes it seem as if the planets are telling the story themselves or some foreign force. The situation in the poem is the amount of force in outer space that it takes for an old star to die and new one to come about. Although the poem is very vast and interesting there are some references that need explaining such as how the birth of a star happens exactly, I don't think an average reader would understand necessarily the science behind it. Some of the words I looked up helped me find better meaning in the poem, Nuclear Fission a nuclear reaction of a radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of a particle splits into smaller parts. This particular word is used at the beginning of the poem, means to me that the red giant has exhausted it's supply of hydrogen and can no longer hold it all in anymore, there forth letting go. The poem develops on an Idea, an idea of a new born star. I think that Udiah must have some interest...
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...“Star Light, Star Bright, Where are you now?” As I was reading the article, I was surprised to know that there was such thing as “light pollution”. It was rare for me to hear this kind of pollution. The cause of this kind of pollution is too much light directed toward the sky. I even wonder at times when I look up unto the skies and see no stars at all. I didn’t realize that this was because of light pollution. It was because of this article that I’ve learned a lot about light pollution. The presence of light pollution makes it impossible for us to see the stars, because there are way too many artificial lights that brighten up the night. Few of the causes of light pollution are: bright lights from homes and buildings, light from vehicles, street light that have a shape of a cylinder, and billboards lit form the bottom. Starless nights may not be a big problem for us, ordinary people, but for astronomers who study the heavenly bodies, this is already a huge problem. Even with the use of telescopes, the glare of the light may still affect their observations which results into inaccurate results. Astronomers are not the only ones affected by this pollution. Even the nocturnal animals are affected too. Light pollution could ruin their natural habitat and overall behavior. There are ways to reduce the effect of light pollution, and this is through the use of: Light with timers, Motion-sensor lighting, and Full...
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...Universe Works In this video, we were treated to a visionary description of how the solar system and planets were formed. The producer and director of this feature did an excellent job in explaining and depicting the theory of how our solar system was formed billions of years ago. As an amateur astronomer, I truly appreciated the detailed facts because they were easy to follow; there was not a lot of scientific mumbo-jumbo that only astronomy professionals could understand. My favorite element about this documentary was that there was such detail and color in the graphics that I felt like I was actually in space, close enough to the stars and planets. The images of the Eagle nebula and the Horse head nebula were remarkable; the image from the Hubble telescope of the Orion nebula with the spinning disk of dust and debris spinning around a young star was so extraordinary. It blew my mind how that tiny image was indicating that a solar system was being born. The only thing that left me a little perturbed was the narrative about how eventually Earth will collide with another planet and it will be the end of humankind as we know it. I understand that it is a cycle and obviously our solar system was created by the resulting violent chaos from billions of year ago, so it is likely that in the future, Earth will be destroyed in the same way. It was just a little scary and depressing to hear that in the film and then see a powerful simulation of a planet crashing into Earth. However...
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