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.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
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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