50 billion planets!

I just got this news from the Associated Press, written by Seth Borenstein. According to his article, scientists estimate that there are 50 billion planets in our Galaxy. That is a big number! Of course not all planets are in the habitable zone or the Goldilocks zone. By using the number of planets the Kepler mission discovered so far, 1,235 planets and the number of planets that are in the zone for life, 54, it is estimated that there are 500 million planets in our galaxy that could support life.

So, with that many planets that could support life, how come no one is dropping by to say hello? The simple answer is, a planet to support life is one thing, intelligent life that can conquer space travel is a different question. Yes I am a skeptic when it comes to discover another civilization, but just to discover a planet that could support life would be very exciting. It would be even more exciting if we could detect signs that may indicate that there is possible life, such as vegetation on that planet. The way technology is going, I would not be surprised that scientist will find proof of possible plant life on a distant planet in the next five to ten years.

Not sure if any of the starwatchers here in the NW went out recently, but Friday and Saturday were great evenings to go out and do some start gazing. I got this really great app called Star Walk. This is the best program. It uses the photo lens on my iPod to superimpose the real sky with the app sky. Once the app is oriented with the real sky I can pick any object and the program guides me with arrows to the right spot in the sky. I was just looking at Orion and at Gemini and found the sport where the Eskimo nebula supposedly is. This nebula is not visible with the naked eye, but just knowing where to look is really neat.

Why I want to become a Astronomer

Because there is some really cool stuff out there. Don't get me wrong, I also think there is some really cool stuff to discover here on earth, but finding stuff in the sky is much cooler. Take the following image. A billion year old "Black Widow" Pulsar Ripping Through the Milky Way at 1 million kilometer per hour. How cool to discover this. But it's not only the discovering part. There is also the entire set of questions, the how, why and where is it going. For more on this phenomena go to the Daily Galaxy.
When I read the article I was especially intrigued by the transcriptional: "Yet the Chandra data show that this billion-year-old rejuvenated pulsar is an extremely efficient generator of matter and antimatter particles..." So that's where the Enterprise get's its fuel for the antimatter drive...

Radio Lab

It has been a while since I have done any posting. Not to worry, I have a few ideas... but for now, check this out. This is a real cool radio show. It's called Radio Lab, the station is WNYC. Here is a good show on space:


Stay tuned, more to come...

A Call from the Universe Next-Door

In my last post I talked about the possibility of a Universe next-door. By next door I mean, only about 10 to 35 meters away from the edge of our Universe. In that post it was suggested that the dark matter could be the gravitational pull from the Universe next door. As I kept reading posts in The Daily Galaxy I came across this post: “From the X Files Dept: Mystery Radio Waves Emitted From Nearby Galaxy Still Unsolved”. According to Tom Muxlow of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics M82 is emitting a radio wave like we have never observed before.

M82 is a nearby Galaxy, only about 12 million light-years away. This galaxy is also referred to as the cigar galaxy and can be found in the constellation of Ursa Major. According to Wikipedia, this Galaxy is 5 times as bright as our galaxy and 100 times brighter than our galaxy center. What we know so far about M82 is that this is an energetic galaxy that is creating a ton of new stars, much more then what our galaxy is creating.
Back to the radio waves. Muxlow states that the radio wave emission is not at all what we are used to see. According to The Daily Galaxy, Muxlow asks the question whether the black hole in the center of M82 is dragging material from one universe into yet another universe? The Daily Galaxy goes on and states, the nested universe concept suggests that a violent short wave gamma burst in a larger universe somehow make an appearance as a long wavelength radio wave in the smaller universe.
Nested universe concept? OK, I know we had a lot to cover in Astronomy 101, but the text book did not mention any thing about the nested universe concept. Even Wikipedia does not have an entry on nested universe. But this could be the link to the parallel universe I talked about in my previous post. This could be our ticket to our universe next door.

Is Stephen Hawking a Cyborg?

No, I don’t think he qualifies as a cyborg. To qualify as a cyborg one has to have mechanical or electronic things implanted into one’s body that enhance someone’s life experience. Using a computer externally does not make someone a cyborg, but installing a USB port on someone’s head facilitating the uploading of information directly into someone’s brain, well that is a cyborg.
How did I get started thinking about cyborg’s? This article in The Daily Galaxy got me thinking. We know, we have to leave this planet in about 3 ½ to 4 billion years. By that time the Sun will be out of fuel, and things will get unfriendly here on Earth. Starting a colony on the Moon or Mars will not help. We will have to look for a new solar system. We also know that there is nothing really close by, so we will have to travel for a while, most likely several generations.
Over the last few years we have learned how inhospitable space really is. Lack of gravity causes all kinds of problems, loss of muscles just to name one. Robots and computers are much better suited for the task in space. Take the advantage of a robot, fuse it to a brain, and the ultimate cyborg is ready for space travel.
In addition to the physical limitation of a human body in space we have this need to dominate and conquer. At the current stage of our evolution I wonder how long we would last on a space ship. Cramming several hundred people into a tin can, travel for several generations… I don’t see it. We can’t live in peace next to each other here on earth why would that change in space? But convert our courageous space travelers to cyborgs by removing the aggressiveness, have the individuals work for the good of the collective, now this would work. Maybe the story line of Star Trek and the Cyborg’s is not so far off. The Cyborg they encountered is just a borg that went bad.
Oh, by the way, if it ever comes to the choice between converting to a cyborg or left behind on Earth, I will stay behind. Losing my individuality… No Thank You!

What is Happening?

I have found something interesting! Oh yea, by the way, I love Twitter! No, I don’t care for the tweets between individuals that tweet about, “OMG this guy just spilled coffee on me”. I love the tweets from news organizations or individuals that tweet short updates on news event with a link to the full article.  This gives me a quick review on what is happening, plus if I find the news item interesting enough I can read the full article. One of the organizations I have been following is The Daily Galaxy. Some of the writing is very interesting! For example: “There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened”. This of course is kind of a “cute” thought, sort of leads to the thinking of the Anthropic Principle. “The universe had to create an intelligent live form that is capable to observe it, without an observer, the universe cannot exist.”  Personally, I don’t buy it, but what the heck do I know.
A more interesting article is titled: “Is Gravity from a Parallel Universe Dark Energy?” Now that is way more interesting! The idea is based in string theory, 10 dimensions plus time etc.  Neil Turok of Cambridge University and Paul Steinhardt, Albert Einstein Professor in Science  and Director of the Center for Theoretical Science at Princeton think that there are 3 dimensional plus time branes (flat looking sheets) that collide every trillion years or so creating the big bang ultimately creating us. According to Turok and Steinhardt, the branes are still very close to each other about 10 to 35 meters apart, so gravity could bleed from one universe to the other creating the mysterious dark matter. Cool! I understand their idea in principal. There is a link to a video that shows that collision between the branes, but somehow I have difficulties to imagine a universe such as ours, about 92 billion light years across, right next to another parallel universe of similar size, only 10 to 35 meters apart. The question comes up, what is the space made off between the universes? But here is the exciting news. As a science fiction writer, this opens up the possibility for some really interesting writing. Think about it, dark matter is here, it’s everywhere, linked to a parallel universe that is only at most 35 meters away from us. All the deja vue, ghosts, un-natural stuff, alien abduction, feelings of I have seen that before, all caused by a universe that is only 35 meters away from us. Very interesting!
For the full article, check out The Daily Galaxy!

Interesting Developments

MSNBC.COM has a nice write up with a bunch of great photos on Jupiter. The title of the article is: Jupiter and the Moon take over the Night. Of course I had to go out and see if that is so, and tonight was just the perfect night to do it. Clear, no clouds, but boy was it cold here at the coast. OK, I did not dress right, but it is summer, it's supposed to be hot, even at night. The article is right, the view is spectacular.

What else is happening in Astronomy? I have read a bunch of interesting news. The Swiss (they are so clever) discovered a bunch of exoplanets. According to the article, the planetary system has some similarities to our own system, including one planet that is only 1.4 times the mass of Earth, and very close to the star. This is it! Time to pack your bag and explore a new planet. Travel time is only 127 years assuming we can travel at the speed of light. At a more conventional speed it will take a bit longer… Check out the article, it features an interesting video.

There was another interesting news article, this time published by the BBC, "Supercomputer clue to black holes". What grabbed my attention in this article was the speculation that gas with a mass of millions of Suns could accumulate and collapse directly into a black hole, without forming a star first. Now that is some interesting stuff. This idea certainly challenges the conventional thinking of how the super massive black holes have formed in the center of the Galaxies. 

This is so great, just when we thought we understood something, some new theory comes along and challenges everything. Let's see how long this latest idea about the forming of the massive black holes in the center of the galaxies will survive.

Most Massive Star Ever

This is interesting; according to an article published in The Great Beyond astronomers discovered a cluster of super massive stars, up to 300 times the solar mass and 10 million times more luminous than the Sun. According to the official press release this massive star would outshine the sun in the same way as the sun outshines the full moon.

Scientists are not certain if those massive stars were born big or were they the result of several massive stars merging. However they were formed, very impressive, but as we know, big stars don't last very long. In a few million years we should be able to observe a huge type II Supernova. Yes, our Sun will outlast those huge stars by billions of years, so someone here on Earth should be able to make the observation.

Rock-Star Physicist

A rock-star physicist, what a cool title! I want to put on my resume that I am rock-star physicist. Brian Cox does deserve that title, his presentation is… well decide for yourself:

Cosmic Zoom Lens?

Talking about pushing the envelope, this story is incredible. The European space agency launched the Far Infrared and Sub-millimeter Telescope (FIRST) in May of 2009. This space telescope was later renamed to Herschel after the incredible female astronomer Caroline Herschel who did some amazing research in the late 1700 and early 1800. Herschel is the largest single mirror space telescope ever built to look deep into the past.

So, here we have one of the most powerful space telescopes ever built, gathering long-wavelength radiation from some of the coldest and most distant objects in the universe. But that is not enough; using something called a gravity lens Herschel is able to detect a Galaxy that is 11 billion light years away.

First, here is an example how a gravity lens works:




 

By observing a distant Galaxy cluster Herschel was able to detect a Galaxy that is even further away. The telescope observed a Galaxy that emitted its radiation over 11 billion years ago. Thinking about this for just a minute, I have the following question: What does that Galaxy look like today? Does it still exist? If the Galaxy does still exist, where could it be? Apparently our Galaxy, the Milky Way is about 8.8 billion years old, plus or minus 1.7 billion year. (This is according to Wiki, I know… but Wiki is good enough for this thought experiment!) Assuming the oldest possible age of the Milky Way, 10.5 billion years, is it possible we are looking at baby picture of our Galaxy? Given the fact that there are 100 billion other Galaxies out there it is highly unlikely that this specific Galaxy is the baby Milky Way, but the question is still valid, could we see a picture of a baby Milky Way? We know that space is not flat; space is curved so… naw… that is just too wired.

Bottom line still is, it is amazing that we are able to observe a Galaxy that is some 11 billion light years away from us. What is even more amazing is the technique used to make that observation.

The Astronomy Class is Over

Just because the quarter is over does not mean I have to stop blogging about the sky. There are a few things in respect to astronomy I still want to do, and blogging about it forces me to be serious. The few things I still want to do is more sky observations. During the quarter we really did not have too many days when going out and making sky observation was possible. The weather in the spring is just a bit too unpredictable. Maybe this summer we will have a better chance to do that.

In the meantime, I am posting a few interesting items. Here is something I came across just the other day. During class we were studying dark clouds, what they are etc. Dr. Tom Megeath from the University of Toledo reported the following oddity. What looked like a dark cloud is in fact not a dark cloud, but a hole in the sky. Here is his interview on the Canadian Quirks & Quarks Show. (Follow the link, the fourth topic in the May 15 show, hosted by Bob McDonald, with the title, There's no There, There is and interview with Megeath discussing the discovery.)

 
Herschel finds a hole in space

Herschel, The Mission

Dr. Tom Megeath

News Flash!

Now here we have some exciting news! This seems to indicate why we have not observed the expected number of neutrinos in our neutrino detectors.
Here are two links to the relative articles:

• Particle Chameleon Caught in the Act of Changing
• Scientist Confirm Long-Held Theory About Source of Sunshine

I guess we will need to re-write the astronomy textbooks...

Week 9 Review

Galaxies, Space, Distances, Black Holes… who cares? On Friday we had a short discussion at the end of the period centering on the question, does all this really matter? Does it really matter if there is a black hole in the center of our Galaxy? Does it really matter how our universe evolved, the big bang, the expansion and so on. Some of my class mates simply state that all this really does not matter. If our Milky Way is on a collision course with Andromeda, who really cares? It will not happen in our life time, so why thinking about it?
Those are all very valid points but… where would we be if we never crossed the Atlantic Ocean west bound? Many will argue it is not the same thing, but it is! During the dark ages in Europe, when questioning just about anything of authority, especially linked to religious believes was a certain death sentence, some still questioned. It certainly would have been much easier for Copernicus to stick with the common believes of those days and keep the Earth in the center of the universe. But he couldn’t! It did not work, the observation did not agree with the model. So he asked the question why, and he came up with a very unpopular answer in those days.

For whatever reason, we will always ask questions. Why is the universe expanding? What about a black hole. How about that string theory with 6 additional dimensions? Not all of us have that need to know, and that is OK. But all of us (most of us?) benefit from those who asked the question, starting with the question what happens if we sail west. I admit sailing west was a good thing for us Europeans, but not the best thing for the natives of the Americas.

The cost of CERN is about 3 billion dollars. So what will we get out of CERN? Will we find the elusive hadron particle? Will we be able to confirm additional dimensions? May be not! May be all what CERN will do is answer a few questions but ask many more! Even if we find the elusive hadron particle, and suddenly everything falls into place how will that help in our other challenges we face, such as war, hunger, health etc. CERN will not help the unfortunates on our planet. But 3 billion dollars would have made a big change in the life of some of the unfortunate on our planet.

I am not sure what the right answer is. I am not sure if knowing that the universe is expanding, and the sun will run out of fuel in 4 billion years really matters. But for me it is important to know those things. Even if I am not a scientist on the leading edge of discovery, I feel richer having the knowledge and the ability to understand what they are talking about. I want to know if the string theory is a valid theory. It will not change my life, but I still want to know. I also want us to continue to explore space. I do think we are doing it wrong! Exploring space is such a huge task, a task that will take many generations to accomplish, and for that we should work as a united force. Not in competition with each other. Similar to the CERN experiment. CERN is an experiment that has the support of over 100 countries, hundreds of universities and over 10,000 scientists. The track is built in two countries, France and Switzerland, it is a common effort with an outcome that will benefit everyone. We need the same vision on space exploration.

The End of the Quarter

We are approaching the end of the quarter. The following are my personal comments on the 3 movies we were to watch sometimes during the quarter:

• The Right Stuff

• Contact

• Apollo 13

Click on the links and it will get you to the respective papers.

The Universe according to Me

Here is my view on the universe. Dark Matter the way it is described by George Smoot and how the rest of the visible matter fit's in does make a lot of sense. Is this really the multidimensional highways of our universe?

In this artistic impression the white filaments is dark matter, where those filaments intersect is where the Galaxies are.

Here is the link to my short essay on my view of the universe:

The Universe According to JC

The Universe has 10 Dimensions!

As I was looking around the web, trying to come with some good ideas on how to describe the universe, I found this little jewel. This is the first time that I can say that I understand the concept of the String Theory. It also makes sense how mathematics fits in and why. Cool!

You got to watch this!

This is, in my opinion the most interesting presentation on our universe I have ever seen. So far every thing that I have seen were individual blocks, this is for the first time a presentation that puts it all together.


I still think the answer is 42.

M81 APOD

Reviewing the M81 Galaxy in Ursa Major. 

Link to the Document

M81 Is a fascinating Galaxy, in fact it is a cluster of Galaxies. Researcher speculate that there are as many as 25 different size and shapes of Galaxies that are interlocked in an eternal dance lasting billions of years.

Brown Dwarf

This is my APOD project for Stellar Evolution.

Brown Dwarfs are a type of stars that do not share the spotlight of the red, yellow or blue stars. They are dismissed as a "failed" star. But be aware, there are as many "failed" stars as there are stars in our Galaxy.
Check it out:
Brown Stars

Week 7 and 8 Review

Busy two weeks, and unfortunately not very successful for real life observations, at least not planned observations. The other day I was driving to my mother in law’s place in Anacortes, north on Highway 5, just shortly after sunset. It was one of those stormy days we recently had with lots of cloud build up in the mountains, but the sky was a bit clearer in the West. Right away I observed Venus to the WNW, at about an altitude of 20 degrees, Just a bit higher up was the moon, waxing crescent, and then a bit further up and more to the west was Mars. OK, to be honest, I was not sure if it was Mars. After all I was driving, but based on the location of Jupiter, the Moon and the way the ecliptic arcs across the sky, it is where I would expect Mars to be. I also knew that the constellation of Gemini should be right there to the west, so if it gets a bit darker I should be able to see Polux and Castor. Below Gemini and a bit further west is Canis Minor with Procyon. I really like to be able to have a look at the sky and find my way around.

I watched Apollo 13, and I read, actually listen to, Contact. I will have a more detailed review of those two movies for my extra credit, but here is a preview. Apollo 13; I forgot what a great movie that is. I forgot when I saw the movie the first time, but it did not make the same impression then as it did now. As I was watching the movie, two thoughts went through my mind. David Bowie’s song, Space Oddity, especially the part when he says, “I am floating in my tin can…”. My other thought was, they were too eager to step onto the Moon, and overlooking too many little signs that should have forced aborting the mission. In accident prevention we learn accidents never happen because of one event. Accidents are a chain of events that lead to the crash site. The truth is it is very difficult to break that chain before the accident happens.

The second movie to watch is Contact. I have seen this movie several times, so I looked for an alternative. I am a big fan of listening to books. I have a huge library of audiobooks I listen to. Audible.com offers the audiobook Contact, it is an abridged version, read by Jodie Foster. I loved it! It was way better than the movie. I especially liked the ending of the book with Pi. What a cool idea, a message hidden somewhere in Pi. I don’t know why the movie did not use that, except that whoever wrote the screen play thought we are too dumb to understand the concept. You got to read (listen to) the book. 

 I will write up a more detailed review of those two topics, Apollo 13 and Contact.

The big idea over the past 2 weeks for me was, size and distance. There is this pyramid of ways to measure distance. Stellar Parallax, Luminosity and Apparent Brightness, Stellar Temperatures. Take each one of those procedures on how to measure the distance of a star individually, and it is not very convincing. It sounds too much like guessing. But somehow, together, one way of measuring confirming the other and vice versa, it works. It is really neat how astronomers do this. On the whole, there is no doubt in my mind, the distances they are calculating are accurate. Impressive!