Objects included in macho dark matter include white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, black holes, neutron stars and faint red dwarfs. All objects contained in macho dark matter are either the remnants of old stars that have completed their evolutionary cycle or failed stars. White dwarfs are typically about the size of the earth and are formed when a star sheds its outter layers into a planetary nebula. The white dwarf is the core of the star that remains. Brown dwarfs are similar in size to Jupiter and are failed stars. Black holes are about the size of a pinhole and are formed when a supermassive star dies. Neutron stars are about 10 km in diameter and are formed when less massive stars die. Red dwarfs are about half as massive as the Sun and are low-mass stars. All dark macho dark matter is remnents of stars that have completed their cycle so many types of them could be near each other if they were in binary star systems. They are objects that are hard to detect and they are highly massive. They can detect these objects by looking about how objects move. Like objects that orbit something we can not see we can figure out there is mass there. Also they can tell if light bends around another object.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Final Reflection
Sky Journals: My sky journals improved a lot once I learned about Stellarium. Stellarium really helped me know what to look for. It’s really overwhelming to look at such a vast sky and try and pick out shapes that honestly don’t really look like what they’re supposed to look like anyway but I found that knowing what was out narrowed it down a lot and I was able to see the constellations. At the beginning of the quarter I was more concerned with being able to pick out something other than the Big Dipper and I find that I can now pick out quite a few constellations.
Class Reflection: My knowledge since the pretest has improved more than anything. I really had very limited knowledge at the beginning of the class. I had never taken astronomy so anything I knew already was from previous physics and chemistry classes. Having taken the class I can answer almost all of the questions from the pretest and have a much broader understanding of how the universe works and how we fit into it. The math concepts weren’t too difficult and could be pretty easily explained.
Moon phase lab: This lab gave me a good knowledge of the different phases and when they occur.
Apods: I enjoyed all APOD’s. The pictures were interesting to look at and the captions were informative.
Research: Telescope research gave me a better understanding of the different types of research. I thought the history researched covered more information than necessary. It was interesting to hear the different myths about why the story behind the constellations. I didn’t really feel like I learned much from the dark matter research that I hadn’t already assumed.
Celestial Sphere lab: I really disliked this one. I understood how to look for things but I didn’t think it was explained very well how to line things up and how to tell what would appear at a certain location during a specific time of the year.
Scientific methods Lab: Very simple. The math was very familiar.
Sky Journal: They gave me a good, intermediate understanding of what is in the sky and how to look for things. Beneficial for sure.
Weekly Feedback: To be honest I don’t like doing these reflections. I think it’s good that those who aren’t comfortable talking to you in person can tell you this way but I don’t think they should be required and I feel like the things I’m writing on here I have said on my weekly reflections already.
Spectra lab: I liked looking at the different emission and absorption lines from the different elements.
Meteorite Lab and Satellite Lab: I liked these two because they were the most experiment-like. Timing, measuring and doing math are my favorite parts of lab.
Homework from Text: Helped reinforce the math concepts well.
Properties of the Sun: Doesn’t really stand out in my mind much. Maybe that is a reflection on how beneficial it was? I’m not sure.
Star clusters and Age Lab: Simple graphing. I had a hard time answering the questions and drawing conclusions.
Cepheid Yardstick activity: The relationship between the two variables was simple to understand. I liked that.
Stellar Evolution Group project: I didn’t really know what was expected of us when we started the project out and I think that was reflected in our final outcome.
Home Sweet Universe/Art Project: Forced me to research where I am specifically and helped me get the big picture.
Space Exploration/Drake Equation: I discovered that I don’t know what I believe in regards to intelligent life in the Milky Way at all but it was still fun to speculate.
Field trip: It was good to have everything pointed out to me. Perhaps this should happen before the celestial sphere lab?
Sky Journal #10
Date: December 2, 2010
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Crestview Lane, Mount Vernon, WA
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Crestview Lane, Mount Vernon, WA
The picture below is a replica I made of the sky as I saw it last night. The points have been drawn fairly large so that they’re able to be seen.
a. Jupiter: Azimuth: 160⁰ Altitude: 35⁰.
b. Fomalhaut. Azimuth: 175⁰. Altitude 10⁰. This star is the mouth of Piscis.
c. The constellation Capricornus: Azimuth: 200⁰. Altitude: 20⁰. I was able to see most of the constellation but couldn’t tell which star was supposed to be the fin of the creature.
a. Jupiter: Azimuth: 160⁰ Altitude: 35⁰.
b. Fomalhaut. Azimuth: 175⁰. Altitude 10⁰. This star is the mouth of Piscis.
c. The constellation Capricornus: Azimuth: 200⁰. Altitude: 20⁰. I was able to see most of the constellation but couldn’t tell which star was supposed to be the fin of the creature.
Weekly Reflection #9
I didn’t really know much about galaxies prior to this week. I obviously knew the shape of the Milky Way but it was interesting to learn the different shapes that galaxies come in. Learning about Seyferts, Quasars and Blazars was interesting and I our research on MACHO dark matter was pretty simple as we pretty much know the properties of the different types of dark matter from previous chapters. The lab we did as a group was pretty self-explanatory and the math concepts were simple which was appreciated. Lastly, when I was going through different messier objects I thought it pictures were all pretty cool. Our world is pretty beautiful.
Sky Journal #9
Date: November 19, 2010
Time: 9:30 PM
Location: Crestview Lane, Mount Vernon, WA
Time: 9:30 PM
Location: Crestview Lane, Mount Vernon, WA
The picture below is a replica I made of the sky as I saw it last night. The points have been drawn fairly large so that they’re able to be seen.
a. Fornax: Azimuth: 160⁰ Altitude: 30⁰.
b. Jupiter: Azimuth: 210⁰. Altitude: 40⁰. I am assuming that this really bright object is Jupiter but it could also be a bright star. I have a hard time telling the difference between the two.
a. Fornax: Azimuth: 160⁰ Altitude: 30⁰.
b. Jupiter: Azimuth: 210⁰. Altitude: 40⁰. I am assuming that this really bright object is Jupiter but it could also be a bright star. I have a hard time telling the difference between the two.
Weekly Reflection #8
The most difficult part for me this week was the labs. I had to skip one of them to go to a corporate meeting and I had difficulty understand the math concepts for both. I think that the actual plotting of the data was time consuming and I realize it can be done on excel but I couldn’t figure out how to overlap both sets of data on the same scatter plot. Aside from the labs I found the lectures to be informative and it was awesome to have a holiday this week! As for the test, I think I did okay on it and I’m sooooo glad that we are able to have notes, it takes away a lot of the stress of memorizing and I think it allows us to think about concepts more when we aren’t worried about memorizing formulas and information. I did think that the test included a lot of writing but with a two hour block that isn’t too much of a big deal. Lastly, I liked seeing how different groups presented the same information on stellar evolution and seeing how a couple groups displayed the information helped me understand the stage-to-stage process.
Sky Journal #8
Date: November 15, 2010
Time: 1:00 AM
Location: Crestview Lane, Mount Vernon, WA
Time: 1:00 AM
Location: Crestview Lane, Mount Vernon, WA
The picture below is a replica I made of the sky as I saw it last night. The points have been drawn fairly large so that they’re able to be seen.
a. The constellation Canis Major: Azimuth: 150⁰ Altitude: 50⁰. I was really excited to be able to see this one because this is one of the few constellations that actually looks like what is supposed to look like. I was able to see the head and the front legs of the dog as well as its back but the rest of the constellation was too close to the horizon.
b. Sirius: Azimuth: 150⁰. Altitude: 80⁰. This star helped me pick out the constellation Canis Major as it is noticeably brighter. It marks the neck of the dog.
c. Rigel: Azimuth: 170⁰. Altitude: 30⁰. Stellarium tells me that this star is supposed to be the foot of Orion. I was not able to see him but I was able to make out this star because it stood out in brightness above the rest.
a. The constellation Canis Major: Azimuth: 150⁰ Altitude: 50⁰. I was really excited to be able to see this one because this is one of the few constellations that actually looks like what is supposed to look like. I was able to see the head and the front legs of the dog as well as its back but the rest of the constellation was too close to the horizon.
b. Sirius: Azimuth: 150⁰. Altitude: 80⁰. This star helped me pick out the constellation Canis Major as it is noticeably brighter. It marks the neck of the dog.
c. Rigel: Azimuth: 170⁰. Altitude: 30⁰. Stellarium tells me that this star is supposed to be the foot of Orion. I was not able to see him but I was able to make out this star because it stood out in brightness above the rest.
The planet I live on, Earth, is one of eight planets that rotate around a star that we have named the Sun. The Sun and these eight planets make up our solar system. My solar system is only a small part of my galaxy, the Milky Way, which has been measured to be 1,000 light years in diameter and looks like a spiral with two major arms. To be more specific about my planet’s location in terms of the Milky Way, you can find Earth on Orion which is the minor arm that connects to Perseus, a major arm. My galaxy is one of 67,000 galaxies and is part of a cluster of galaxies known as The Local Group. The Local Group is part of a supercluster known as the Virgo Supercluster. The galaxies in my universe are clumped together in various groups and they all rotate very slowly and it is theorized that because our galaxies rotate, our entire universe rotates as well. In terms of location, the Milky Way galaxy is to the far right of the universe.
The origin of my universe, as explained by the Big Bang Theory, was essentially protons and neutrons fusing to form hydrogen which then fused to become helium leaving the majority of nuclear matter in my universe to be composed of hydrogen and helium. The beginning of the universe there was just dark matter and over time stars began to form and as more stars were formed and evolved, galaxies formed which got us to where we are now at 13. 7 billion years old. My universe is very exciting because everything is always moving and changing. The galaxies in my universe are moving away from each other (with the exception of one galaxy, Andromeda, which is actually moving toward the Milky Way!). It is fairly universally (no pun intended) understood that the universe will continue to expand forever as the galaxies will continue to move away from each other but it is also theorized that if there is not a lot of dark matter than the universe will have to stop expanding and will begin to shrink until nothing is left.
The origin of my universe, as explained by the Big Bang Theory, was essentially protons and neutrons fusing to form hydrogen which then fused to become helium leaving the majority of nuclear matter in my universe to be composed of hydrogen and helium. The beginning of the universe there was just dark matter and over time stars began to form and as more stars were formed and evolved, galaxies formed which got us to where we are now at 13. 7 billion years old. My universe is very exciting because everything is always moving and changing. The galaxies in my universe are moving away from each other (with the exception of one galaxy, Andromeda, which is actually moving toward the Milky Way!). It is fairly universally (no pun intended) understood that the universe will continue to expand forever as the galaxies will continue to move away from each other but it is also theorized that if there is not a lot of dark matter than the universe will have to stop expanding and will begin to shrink until nothing is left.
Sherwood,, Rena. "Where Is Earth in the Universe?" EHow | How To Do Just About Everything!
| How To Videos & Articles. EHow, Inc., 1999. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. <http://www.ehow.com/about_4674096_earth-universe.html>.
| How To Videos & Articles. EHow, Inc., 1999. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. <http://www.ehow.com/about_4674096_earth-universe.html>.
"The Universe Adventure - Composition." The Universe Adventure - Home. UC Berkeley, 7 Aug. 2007. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
<http://universeadventure.org/big_bang/elemen-composition.htm>.
<http://universeadventure.org/big_bang/elemen-composition.htm>.
"Future of Universe." Welcome to the History of the Universe. Penny Press Ltd., 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.historyoftheuniverse.com/futuuniv.html>.
<http://www.historyoftheuniverse.com/futuuniv.html>.
The Drake Equation
Problem: To estimate the number of existing extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way.
Hypothesis: I have a hard time believing there to be life outside of our own planet though I do think it is fairly possible so I expected the number to be at least one.
Procedure: We estimated the values of different variables in the given Drake Equation and solved the equation using our estimated values.
Data and Calculations: Are on the hard copy of the lab that will be turned in on the day of the exam.
Conclusions: Of course what we figured out to be the number of extraterrestrial civilizations is entirely estimated but the value was a great deal less than what I originally thought it would be around. Error lies in our belief in the odds which is why our value compared to the value of another group is going to be very different. I have a hard time agreeing with the probability of our answer as it is ≤1 which does not make sense because including Earth, the value should be ≥1. Reflecting on the actual value of the Drake Equation I also find it hard to believe that there are sixty other intelligent civilizations that are able to communicate. I guess I do not really know what I believe to be the value but I do know that finding out whether or not others exist does not seem like it is worth the money to me.
Hubble's Constant
Problem: To determine the relationship between galaxy distance and velocity.
Hypothesis: Logically thinking I did not figure there to be any relationship between the distance of a galaxy and its velocity.
Procedure: We were provided with a list of data indicating the velocity and distance of certain galaxies. Using this information we plotted this data and drew a line of best fit. We then answered some questions about the relationship we found.
Data and Calculations: Are included on the hard copy of the lab that will be turned in on the day of the test.
Conclusion: We found that the relationship between the distance and velocity of a galaxy is direct which explains to us that objects in are galaxy that are further away are moving faster. This was my aha moment because I did not expect there to be a difference in velocity between galaxies of different distances from us. Some error is found in our graph because we estimated the velocity of each galaxy so each person’s estimate differs by ±2 or 3 km/s.
Galaxy Sort Activity
We grouped the photos into five groups
1) This group contains seven photos that are spiral galaxies as seen from “above” the galaxy. The last three are a subgroup of spiral galaxies that are bared.
a. M101
b. NGC 6946
c. M81
d. M51
e. NGC 1073
f. NGC 1365
g. M 109
2) This group contains single objects that look like just a single bright star.
a. M87
b. M59
c. M32
3) This group contains unusual looking galaxies that do not fit into a category.
a. NGC 2146
b. Arp 252
c. M82
4) This group contains galaxies with many stars. These are irregular galaxies that are clusters without organization.
a. L101
b. Large Magellanic Cloud
5) This final group has galaxies that look brighter in the center. We can see the thickness but it could be that these belong in the first category and are just seen from a different angle.
a. NGC 253
b. NGC 4650 a
c. M65
d. M104
e. NGC 4565
After the activity we learned that the tree categories that astronomers use are spiraled, bared spiraled and irregular.
Messier / NGC Object
M65, also known as NGC 3623, was cataloged on March 1, 1780 and described by Charles Messier himself as a “very faint nebula without stars”. M65 can be found in Leo, at right ascension 11:18.9 and declination +13:05, and forms the Leo Triplet group alongside M66 and NGC 3628 at a distance of about thirty-five million light years. It looks fairly spiral despite being affected by the gravitational pull of the other two galaxies in the triplet. The arms of the spiral are tightly wound, a central lens is seen quite strongly and a dust lane marks the facing edge from which some knots can be seen. The image below was taken with the Anglo Australian Telescope by David Malin.
Below is a picture of the entire Leo Triplet because I thought it was cool.
Frommert, Hartmut, and Christine Kronberg. "Messier Object 65." SEDS Messier Database. 30 Aug. 2007. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. http://messier.obspm.fr/m/m065.html.
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