Science Unit Project
By: Danny Luo
1) Describe what you believe are the top 4 WMAP mission results and its significance (there’s more than what is discussed in class!)
The number one result of the mission is that the NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has mapped the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, the oldest light in the universe (from the big bang) and produced the first fine-resolution full-sky map of the microwave sky. Cosmic background radiation is well explained as radiation left over from an early stage in the development of the universe, and its discovery is considered a landmark test of the Big Bang model. When the first atoms formed, the universe had slight variations in density, which grew into the density variations we see today – galaxies and clusters. These density variations should have led to slight variations in the temperature of the background radiation, and these variations should still be detectable today. Scientists realized that they had an exciting possibility: by measuring the temperature variations of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation over different regions of the sky, they would have a direct measurement of the density variations in the early universe, over 10 billion years ago.
The second crucial discovery of the WMAP is that it determined the age of the universe to be 13.73 billion years old to within 1%. The value of knowing the age of the universe is not just to toss around a big number but to start putting together a scientifically verifiable story of the evolution of the universe, the earth, and life, painting a picture on a scale very hard to imagine on Earth.
Big Bang Essay Universe Matter Radiation
Describe the transformation of radiation into matter where followed the "Big Bang" After the Big Bang... Where the big bang is recorded to begin, the first step was radiation filling the Universe. This took between 10-12 to 10-10 seconds. At this time, the universe is lying in a dense, hot and small state. As proposed by Einstein's theory of general relativity, the expansion of the Universe can be ...
The third most important mission result is the WMAP has started to sort through the possibilities of what occurred during the first trillionth of a trillionth of a second, ruling out all of the well-known textbook models for the first time. This is important because we will get a firmer and more accurate grasp of the events that happened during the first time after the Big Bang.
The fourth most important mission result is that he WMAP team has reported the first direct detection of pre-stellar helium, providing an important test of the big bang prediction. One of the key predictions of the big bang model is that most of the helium in the universe was synthesized in the hot early universe only a few minutes after the big bang. Previously, cosmologists studied old stars to infer the helium abundance before there were stars. WMAP data, in combination with smaller-scale data from other experiments, show the effects of helium in the microwave patterns on the sky indicating the presence of helium long before the first stars formed.
Write a short research article describing 2 of the following: Dawn Mission and MESSENGER Mission.
Dawn Mission
The goal of the Dawn Mission is to characterize the conditions and processes of the solar system’s earliest epoch by investigating two of the largest protoplanets remaining intact since their formations. Ceres and Vesta reside in the zone between Mars and Jupiter together with many other smaller bodies, in a region named the asteroid belt. Each has followed a very different evolutionary path constrained by the diversity of processes that occurred during the first few million years of solar system evolution.
The most important question of this mission is the role of size and water in determining the evolution of the planets. Ceres and Vesta are a very fitting two bodies with which to address this question, as they are the most massive of the protoplanets, baby planets whose growth was interrupted by the formation of Jupiter. Ceres is very primitive and wet while Vesta is evolved and dry. The science team consists of leading experts in the investigation of the rocky and icy planets using proven measurement and analysis techniques.
The Term Paper on Early Mission system in California
Although the settlement of California did not begin until 1769, forces were at work only the year after the first voyage of Columbus, which ultimately brought Spanish missionaries to the Golden State of today. In 1493 Pope Alexander VI drew an arbitrary line on the map which was to divide the spheres of interest of Spain and Portugal, and declared that all explorers should be accompanied by ...
Dawn has the potential for making many paradigm-shifting discoveries. Ceres may have active hydrological processes leading to seasonal polar caps of water frost, altering our understanding of the interior of these bodies. Vesta may have rocks more magnetized than on Mars, altering our ideas of how and when dynamos arise. Ceres may have a thin, permanent atmosphere distinguishing it from the other minor planets.
The three principal scientific drivers for the mission are first that it captures the earliest moments in the origin of the solar system enabling us to understand the conditions under which these objects formed. Second, Dawn determines the nature of the building blocks from which the terrestrial planets formed, improving our understanding of this formation. Finally, it contrasts the formation and evolution of two small planets that followed very contrasting evolutionary paths so that we understand what controls that evolution.
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This mission is very timely. Its journey in time to understand the conditions at the formation of the solar system provides context for the understanding of the observation of extra solar-planetary systems. It provides data on the role of size and water in planetary evolution and fills the gap in our knowledge between the exploration of the rocky inner solar system and the icy outer solar system. Finally, it completes the first order exploration of the inner solar system, addressing NASA’s goal of understanding the origin and evolution of the solar system and complements ongoing investigations of Mercury, Earth and Mars.
EPOXI Mission
EPOXI is an unmanned space mission launched by NASA and led by the University of Maryland. It first investigated extrasolar planets and, on November 4, 2010, it performed a close approach to the comet 103P/Hartley (also named Hartley 2).
The new mission was originally announced on July 3, 2007 as including the flyby of comet 85P/Boethin, but Boethin was too small and faint for its orbit to be calculated accurately, so the mission was subsequently retargeted for a 103P/Hartley flyby. NASA and the University of Maryland confirmed funding for the 103P/Hartley flyby in news releases issued on Dec. 13, 2007.
The Essay on Don Quijote Asteroid Space Impact
Defense Measures A mission to smash into a space rock to deflect it and study its structure has been given priority over five other potential asteroid projects by the European Space Agency. The slam-bang 'Don Quijote' mission would help scientists figure out how to deflect or destroy any asteroid in the future that might be found to be on a collision course with Earth. The project uses the Spanish ...
EPOXI combines two targets: the Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI), and the Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh).
Deep Impact will conduct both missions, the Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization during the cruise phase to 103P/Hartley, and the Deep Impact Extended Investigation at flyby. The spacecraft was also used as a test platform for a delay-tolerant networking transmission while at a distance of 20 million miles from Earth.
The mission’s closest approach to 103P/Hartley occurred at 10 am EDT on Nov. 4, 2010, passing to about 700 kilometers of the half-mile-wide comet. The spacecraft employed three science instruments—two telescopes and an infrared spectrometer. Early results of the observations show that the comet is powered by dry ice, not water vapor as was previously hypothesized. The images were clear enough for scientists to link jets of dust and gas with specific surface features.
If EPOXI’s observations of 103P/Hartley show it is similar to one of the other comets that have been observed, this new class of comets will be defined for the first time. If the comet displays different characteristics, it would deepen the mystery of cometary diversity.
The craft is now in a solar orbit near to that of the Earth. It used Earth for a gentle gravity assist maneuver in Dec 2008 and again in Dec 2009. On May 30, 2010 the spacecraft successfully fired its engines for an trajectory correction maneuver, for a velocity change in preparation for an Earth flyby on June 27, 2010. Observations of 103P/Hartley began on September 5 and will end on November 25, 2010.
3) Astronomers believe it is a matter of when, not if, an asteroid will strike the Earth
a) What specific damage can an asteroid (both small and large) do to the Earth?
A large asteroid could cause massive amounts of damage to our planet. Large asteroids do their damage in three ways: the initial blast of air and thermal wave, which can be strong enough to incinerate forests (Tunguska Event), the ejecta, which can bathe large areas in magma, and the blocking out of the Sun due to soot particles in the upper atmosphere. The last factor is the most terminal for life, as for without photosynthesis, food chains collapse, and only decomposers and scavengers would be able to survive for more than a decade. (From Wise Geek, What Factors Determine the Damage of an Asteroid Impact?)
The Essay on The Impact Of Asteroids On Earth
Despite the geological appearance of Earth, it has been hit many times by asteroids. Most of these impacts occurred while the Earth was still forming. A major asteroid impact about 65 million years ago is said to have killed off the dinosaurs and most of the other life-forms living in that period. This impact was in the Yucatan Peninsula, about 200 miles west of Cancun. The asteroid was about 10 ...
Also, massive earthquakes would jet out around the globe at thousands of miles an hour, destroying all buildings and life in their path. It would also trigger volcanic activity setting off eruptions and explosions all over the world. An enormous dust cloud would be sent into the atmosphere. A fireball would be sent into the sky miles tall. Any life that had survived the inital impact would be overcome with a whole new set of problems. Pieces of the earth and dust would block the atmosphere, preventing the earth from getting any sun. Plant life would become extinct, and humans would face the horrifying reality of a nuclear winter. (From Armageddon Online, Asteroid Impacts and Meteorite Impacts with Earth, http://www.armageddononline.org/asteroid.php)
Small asteroids about a meter in diameter are thought to enter the Earth’s atmosphere about once every month, leaving 100 ft (30 m) craters in their wake.
(From Wise Geek, What Factors Determine the Damage of an Asteroid Impact? http://www.wisegeek.com/what-factors-determine-the-damage-of-an-asteroid-impact.htm)
b) It is now widely believed that an asteroid killed off the dinosaurs and many other species 65 million years ago. Explain the 2 main pieces of evidence for this?
One piece of evidence for the asteroid theory is that layers of rock 65 million years old contains unusually large amounts of iridium. This element is one hundred thousand times more abundant on asteroids than on Earth. This supports the fact that an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs during the Cretaceous period. The second piece of evidence is a worn down and partly submerged crater was discovered along the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula and its creation coincides nicely with the K-T (Cretaceous-Tertiary) boundary. NASA scientists estimate that it was an asteroid that made the crater.
The Essay on Asteroids Danger Asteroid Impact Earth
The universe is a shooting gallery and earth is the bullseye. The earth is always under threat of a domesday asteroid that will wipe out civilization. There are over one thousand asteroids traveling toward earth and only three quarters are accounted for. Where are the other one forth No one knows because the government doesn't fund NASA astrologists enough to cover the asteroids. Just one impact ...
c) What are the current resources that are put into discovering near earth asteroids?
There are a couple of resources being put to examine near Earth objects. First of all, the NEOSSat, a small low altitude satellite is surveying NEOs larger than 100 meters. Orbiting from pole to pole every 50 minutes, and utilizing power from the Sun, NEOSSat will send dozens of images to the ground each time it passes over Canada. Another resource is the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR).
The Catalina Sky Survey, Japanese Spaceguard Association (JSGA), Asiago DLR Asteroid Survey (ADAS), Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search (LONEOS, Spacewatch, Near Earth-Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) and MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory are alternate resources employed for surveying near-Earth objects.
d) Do you believe that the amount of resources outlined in question c is enough?
I believe that it is crucial to employ other means to survey these objects as they cause serious fluctuations with the dynamic equilibrium of our biosphere. This may cause mass extinctions that could be similar to the one in the Cretaceous period which wiped out the dinosaurs. There are too many of these NEOs and one could elude all of our efforts to try to withhold asteroids to cause large damage to our planet. It is said that an asteroid 1 meter in diameter enter the atmosphere once a month causing craters up to 30 meters in diameter. That isn’t that bad, but if an asteroid a kilometer in diameter will be at least 200 times as strong as the strongest nuclear weapon ever tested. (Wise Geek, Factors Determine the Damage of an Asteroid Impact?) And then there is the possibility to rerun the Tunguska event which caused destruction in an area larger than 2000 km2 and it was an asteroid approximately 50 meters in diameter. Furthermore, on a program named “Freak Wave”, scientists use the bell curve to predict that a wave with a 40 meter crest height at once every 1000 years, but 2 occurred in the same year. This came be a metaphor for asteroid impacts because scientists can predict that an asteroid a kilometer in diameter to occur every million years, but there could be a large margin of error. Thus, we should put more resources into protecting our planet against NEOs.
The Essay on Polarized Light Unpolarized Filter Things
Shades Dear Mom, This past week i endeavored on the delightful effect of polarized light. My class conducted experiments on polarization and things such as how to label, find, and see what kind of things it would do. We set up many tests such as sunglasses, mirrors, glass, and filters. If the light off many different things would go through our filters then it would intern be polarized light. Then ...
4) Astronomers use special filters to see nebula better. These filters block out all light except the specific colour of the nebula.
a) Which kind of nebula do you think this works for and which kind doesn’t this work for and why?
This technique does not work on dark nebulas. This is because the dark nebulae are only observed upon the contrast of colour between the illumination from background stars and the darkness of this specific type of nebula. Therefore, these dark nebulae will not be seen with the light filters, rendering them useless to this type of nebulae.
b) Why do nebula glow with a specific colour?
The nebulas shine with a specific colour because the nebula does not emit it own light. The emission nebulae emit their light from the radiation of the central star. This causes the elements to ionize releasing the light from the quantum leap. This is the same with planetary nebulae. The reflecting nebulae reflect the light given off from nearby stars. For example, if the center star is red, than the colour of the reflecting nebula will also be red. The dark nebula has no colour and can be only seen because of the contrasting colours of the nebula and the surrounding sky.
c) In your opinion, what light sources could be blocked by using a nebula filter?
Light from nearby star clusters and galaxies can be blocked by using a nebula filter. Most importantly, light pollution from the city can be blocked by using the filter. These light make it harder to see the nebula only dark nebulae are an exception.
d) If the filter blocks light, why would it be easier to see the nebula?
The filter makes it easer to see the nebula because it blocks of the light that you do not want in your view. These include the light from nearby galaxies, stars and star clusters. Also, these filters block light pollution which harms the resolution of the image. Blocking all this light makes it much easier to see the nebula because it brings up and amplifies the light emitted from the nebula.