Two sides to every story

I read the origin website, and I still believe that there are aliens on other planets. Yes, scientists say that our Earth is a rare planet, and that a planet that can support life is improbable, but the universe is enormous. How do we know that there's not another solar system like ours, and that there's another planet like Earth? We don't. And if life can be found on Earth, how come it can't other places? There's no solid proof to prove me otherwise, so I believe that there are aliens on other planets.

Black Holes- a type of dark matter

a) what are the parts of a black hole?
- jets of gas, accretion disk, event horizon
b) how is gravity related to a black hole?
- it's gravity is so strong that that its escape velocity exceeds the speed of light
c) how can we see the holes if they are black?
- from its shadows, and by observing its effects on the stars and gas close to it
d) what's a Swarzschild radius?
- characteristic mass associated with every radius
e) how do Einstein's theories relate to this?
He theorized that the mass and radius of an object actually curves space-time which is why light becomes trapped in a black hole.

Wilson and Penzias vs. Davis and Bahcall

Serendipity plays a role in science, but not a huge one. It's all based on luck. Some people have luck and get lucky, while some people don't. In the case of Wilson and Penzias vs. Davis and Bahcall, Wilson and Penzias got lucky, while Davis and Bahcall didn't. Serendipity might have played a part in both, but it was a bigger part in Wilson and Penzias's experiment. Nobel Prizes favor theorists, and leave out the people who either prove these people right or wrong.

Escaping the sun LAB/class data

We did this in class together. I learned when the # of layers increases, the # of interactions get more accurate. Also, the data is more accurate than in Part A.

Telescope Types

JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE

a.) It will observe primarily in the infrared light, but it can observe some visible light
c.) it can see light from 0.6 to 27 micrometers in wavelength
d.) it uses mirrors, optics, detectors, microshutters, and cryocooler.

Reflector vs. Refractor

1.) He used a mirror in his telescope and his telescope could see the color spectrum.

2.) His discoveries proved that not everything in the universe revolved around the Earth, and the Church believed the Bible said the Earth was the center of the universe.

3.) It proved that the Sun was the center of the universe. It discovered the moons of Jupiter. It discovered galaxies

The Moons of Jupiter: Astro Lab 2

a) what patterns are observed, and what does that suggest?
The patterns of waves, and it suggests periods
b) why did Galileo see this as a 'mini-solar system'
He thought the moons of Jupiter were like planets, and they were circling Jupiter
c) what is so special about Io?
It has the closest wavelengths and it's the closest moon to Jupiter
d) how do your findings relate to Kepler's laws?
The moon's don't orbit in a perfectly circle orbit, but in a more oval-like orbit.

Why Does a Magnet Matter

1.) Magnetic field has decreased 10%
2.) Iron particles in lava align themselves according to Earth's magnetic field.
3.) Magma was facing south instead of north

Notes on Stellar Spectra

1.) Since we have an ozone layer around our Earth, it's absorbtion.

2.) Parallex would most likely happen for closer stars because it would be easier to notice a change in the direction of a star if it's closer.

3.) The brightness of the stars is the variable we use.

4.) Hydrogen because the sun squeezes hydrogen and makes helium.

5.) Intensity is how bright you see it, and magnitude is how bright it actually is.

Lab 4: Measuring the Speed of Light with Chocolate

Distance between the hot spots : 10.16 cm
Wavelength : 20.32 cm
Wavelength : .20m
Frequency of the microwave : 2.5x10^9 H2m
EQUATION : 20.32 x 25000000000
Your calculated speed of light : 508000000000m/s

Annie Cannon and the Spectra

My biggest dream at this point of my life is to be a broadcast journalist. I hope to become the next Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer. I want to report the news to people, and inform them on topics they might not be aware of. I love journalism and reporting, so that would be my passion right now.

Electromagnetic Radiation

A technological application of electromagnetic radiation in my life today would be the radio. I listen to it every morning for music, and my life would change drastically if there were no more radios. When there were bad storms, our family would turn on the radio to hear the latest local news. Also, that's where we hear school cancellations, music, and weather if we are in our cars driving. If there were no more radios, many people's lives would change because they wouldn't get the sort of update of news that the radio gives.

What Is It? - Tunguska

I believe that the Tunguska explosion was caused by a nucleur weapon that the Soviet Union tested. My three pieces of evidence are-

1.) The scientists found several similarites with this attack and the one on Hiroshima; this is the only thing they've been able to compare it too.
2.) There were no craters so a meteor is ruled out; there were only flattened trees which could be caused by a nucleur attack.
3.) The Soviets were Communists back then and had a secret police; there's quite a possiblity that they could've been testing this material long before us.

What Is Up with Mercury?

In the lab, we sent a radio wave to Mercury, and got signals back.

a.) for the rotation rate of Mars, this means that, by sending radio signals out, we can calculate the rotation rate of Mars by figuring out the distance in between signals.
b.) the closer the planet, the more intense the radio waves are going to be.
c.) the five slices of data mean that we can gather more information about Mercury and it's rotation rate, and then be able to understand the universe more.

Scaling the Solar System

a.)
Earth- 3 ft.
Mars- 5 ft.

I believe this because scientists have a very good estimate on the scale of the universe. This means that if we were to change the diameter of the Sun, we would be able to have a good estimate on how far away other planets are.

b.) 5.68 years old

The farther away a planet is from the sun, the longer it takes for the planet to make one complete revolution. This means it takes longer for a year to happen on different planets, depending on how far away they are from the sun. So we would be different ages on different planets.

c.) Mars- 75.4
Jupitar would make me the heaviest

Your weight is a measure of the pull of gravity between you and the body you're standing on. The force of gravity depends on your mass and the mass of the planet you're on. So, since Mars, Earth, and Jupitar have different masses, the weights will be different.

One Great Part of the Solar System- Comets

*Go to original youtube page to find more information.

Top 5 Facts

1.) The orbits of comets are constantly changing
2.) a comet is a small body in the solar system that orbits the Sun
3.) Comets sometimes have an atmosphere or a tail
4.) The comets nucleus is made up of rock, dust, and ice
5.) Some comets go near the Sun, where they are destroyed. Others are thrown out in the solar system forever.

Astro #1

1.) Big Dipper - 7
2.) Cephus - 5
3.) Cassiopeia - 5

Avg. is 5.6

5.6x100=566.6

No I don't think that we will get the same # of stars because we will probably see different constalations and count how many stars are in them differently.

Me

http://mapowellastronomy2008.blogspot.com/

Hi I'm Ellen Reiss. I'm 17 and I live in Ryan. I have 3 younger sisters and I work at the Public Library. I love reading, watching movies, and exercising. My favorite foods are ice cream and Sesame chicken. My least favorite food is doughnuts. Yuck! After high school, I plan on going to a private 4 year college, and major in communications. I hope to become a journalist someday, either in broadcasting or in print. I don't want to live in Iowa the rest of my life. I want to travel a lot, either for my job or for leisure. That's pretty much me.