The Next Ice Age?

Posted on March 21, 2021 by joeangella13
Solar minimum vs Solar maximum (SOURCE)

As we all know, the sun is an incredibly vital part of our daily lives and is the, “constant force that is keeping our planets in orbit, providing Earth with just the right amount of light and warmth for life…” and even governs our daily schedules in which we have created the concept of time in relation to the rising and setting of the sun act day. (CNN) Yet, what many may not be aware of is the fact that the sun goes through phases and changes very often. The sun is involved in an 11-year interval of energetic peaks of activity which also include low points of activity that compensate for these spikes of energy. When we are in a peak, the sun will show many more solar flares and sunspots as depicted in the picture above while in a minimum the sun is less tainted with these intense colors but results in lesser energy being generated by the sun. But the real question is, how much will this minimum affect our daily lives. Are we going into the next ice age? Well, truthfully the answer is…no chance! Because of climate change/global warming of our planet as well as numerous other factors, this minimum will not have the potential to cause any of these happenings to occur such as an ice age, but is still interesting in learning about some of the phases that the sun goes through on a yearly basis. Did you know about solar peaks and minimums before this blog? Comment down below!

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Survival Sweet Spot

Posted on March 21, 2021 by brynicdew
See the source image
Source

Earth is a perfect amalgamation of all the conditions necessary for live to thrive. I always hear that the other terrestrials cannot sustain life, but never exactly sure how unsuitable they were. I mean if there was only one thing wrong with them, who’s to say we wouldn’t be able to invent a solution in the next 20 years? Expectedly, there are many big faults for each planet, however some of these problems were not what I expected. For example, the distance from the Sun. The Earth at 1 AU is the perfect distance from the sun. However, it is feasible for life to sustain at anywhere from 0.7 AU to 2.0 AU. Venus at 0.72 AU barely falls into the range, while Mars comfortably sits inside at 1.5 AU. The only terrestrial eliminated by this condition is Mercury, at a minuscule 0.4 AU.

The main problem between the remaining two terrestrials are there atmospheres. The Earth has atmospheric layers primarily consisting of N2 and O2, which are not very good at absorbing sunlight and keep the surface cool. Venus has an incredibly thick atmosphere that contains mostly C2, which is very good at absorbing sunlight. This causes the surface of Venus to be blisteringly hot. This is also the reason why water cannot exist on Venus, as any water would instantly be boiled into gas and the hydrogen atoms would flow into space. The Martian atmosphere, on the other hand, is far too weak. While some spots of Mars remain comfortably above freezing, water would still boil on Mars due to the low atmospheric pressure. Mars cannot retain a large enough atmosphere due to its small size.

Overall, there may be MANY reasons why colonizing any other planet is a dream of the future.

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No sunspots on the Sun?

Posted on March 21, 2021 by connorrobbwilcox

Have you ever seen pictures of the Sun and noticed that it has dark spots on its surface? These sunspots are cooler than the other regions on the Sun, but they also represent the beginning of new solar cycles. In fact, some signs point to the next cycle, Cycle 25, having a much smaller number of sunspots than previously seen. But what does this mean for the Sun and its cycles? And how does this affect the Earth?

No, it doesn’t mean there won’t be another solar cycle. However, this could potentially happen as there are many unforeseen circumstances. But for right now, it means that the Sun is at its most quiet, that is it’s at its most inactive. The sun has a weaker magnetic field, meaning that fewer cosmic rays are deflected and do not reach Earth as well as the other planets as much, thus not affecting the solar system with its solar ejections. As for what it means for the Earth, satellite communications and technology because of the lack of solar storm blackouts. In addition to this, questions arise whether other aspects of Earth could be affected, such as the temperature of the Earth, the weather, and the climate. There is no evidence for this, but scientists have only one way to find out if Earth’s climate is changed. What do you think? Do you think this could be connected to Earth’s temperature cooling in the future? Let me know!

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The Carrington Event: What would happen today?

Posted on March 21, 2021 by connorrobbwilcox
solar coronal mass ejection (CME)

The Carrington Event, named due to astronomer Robert Carrington observing that the phenomenon derived from the Sun, was an extremely powerful geomagnetic storm occurring on September 1-2, 1859. Earth’s magnetosphere was hit by a solar coronal mass ejection, or CME, from sunspots, causing auroras to light up Earth’s sky, telegraph and other communication to fail, and sparks showering from machines. This led many to think that the end of the world was at hand. With primitive forms of technology and little knowledge of the solar system this makes sense, but what would happen if we were hit by the same storm today?

Much like the results of the past, there would be incredible aurora occurring across the globe, but this time we would have the northern and southern lights almost switching places. Northern aurora would be lighting up the sky as far south as Hawaii and Cuba, while the southern lights would be as far north as mid-South America. In addition to this, if another CME hit us our whole infrastructure would stop. Our advanced technology, especially satellite communication systems and GPS would be uttered useless, hurting the economy by an untold degree. What is most at stake, experts believe is the electrical power grid being shut down. Cities throughout the world would be without power for weeks, maybe even months, ultimately trickling down to the rest of the world’s civilizations and infrastructure. It really shows how dependent upon technology our society has become. For more information on this topic, visit this article from National Geographic. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think this will happen? If so, when? Do you think we should start preparing better right now? Let me know in the comments below.

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BepiColombo and Learning about Mercury

Posted on March 21, 2021 by laineroberts

As discussed in chapter 9 of our textbook, scientists still have a lot to learn about Mercury, especially since it doesn’t seem to follow quite the same patterns that most of the planets in our solar system follow, studying the planet could possibly help scientists to gain a better understanding of planets outside of our own solar system. The BepiColombo space mission launched two spacecrafts towards Mercury in 2018, one provided by Japan and the other from Europe. Since it consists of two spacecrafts, BepiColombo will be able to perform two types of research at once. One spacecraft is designated to studying Mercury’s magnetic field while the other will study its surface and interior. BepiColombo is scheduled to enter Mercury’s orbit in 2025! Do you think that scientists will make any surprising discoveries about Mercury through this mission?

BepiColombo
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Aurora Borealis

Posted on March 21, 2021 by Mykayla
“Northern Lights”

Aurora borealis, or the “Northern lights,” as it is often called, is the result of our Earth’s magnetosphere deflecting harmful particles from the Sun from the Earth. They can best be seen from the Arctic Circle (Canada, Iceland, Finland, etc.). Every aurora in the solar system originates from the Sun. Periodically, the Sun has storms which eject harmful radiation from its surface and hurdle it toward the Earth. Because of the Earth’s composition (solid metal core surrounded by molten metal), the Earth has a magnetosphere. This magnetosphere creates a “shield” that stands between us and the Sun so that the dangerous radiation will not permeate the atmosphere and cause damage to life on Earth. However, some particles from the Sun are drawn to the magnetic poles, where the particles interact with the nitrogen and oxygen atoms by causing the electrons to jump up in energy level. Then the electron releases this energy in the form of a photon–usually green colored, but sometimes deep blue, purple, or light red. This happens all across the sky, creating the beautiful waves that we see and call “aurora.”

The northern lights are not just a coincidence. Instead of simply a byproduct of this Sun-magnetosphere process, I consider aurora to be a statement from God that our Earth is not an accident. In His infinite wisdom, God created the Earth with its complexities, including designing it so that the core and movement of the Earth would create a magnetosphere to protect us from the harmful radiation of the Sun, allowing the helpful rays of the Sun to pass through. And in the meantime, He allowed us to see it in action through the northern lights! Their beauty is a reminder of His protection. He knew what He was doing when He set the Earth in its place. Our planet is perfectly suited for life. And though God could have given us only the basic necessities for life, He didn’t stop there. This Earth is full of majesty, awe, wonder, and beauty that only a majestic, awesome, wonderful, beautiful ARTIST could design. Earth was built in all of its abundance to provide for our needs and allow us to flourish as we enjoy the simple practicality as well as the masterfully crafted complexity of creation.

Have you ever seen aurora borealis? Did you know how it happened, or has it been a mystery to you until now? Let me know in the comments! 🙂

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Amazing Auroras

Posted on March 21, 2021 by captivatingcomet

Auroras happen when charged particles within solar winds go through Earth’s magnetic field. Solar winds are fast moving, plasma particles discharged by sunspot regions, areas where the Sun’s magnetic fields become tangled and burst. These particles bump into different atomic elements, such as nitrogen and oxygen, to create ions in excited states that release light at numerous wavelengths and give an aurora its color. Auroras are usually pink, green, yellow, blue, and violet. Sometimes, auroras can be orange and white as well. The color of an aurora is dependent on altitude as well as what molecular or atomic elements the particles bump into. For example, particle collisions with oxygen generally produce an aurora that is yellow and green while particle collisions with nitrogen usually generate an aurora that is red, violet, and sometimes blue. Additionally, other planets like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune can have auroras, but they are slightly different from the ones on Earth.

In the Northern Hemisphere, auroras are called aurora borealis or the northern lights whereas in the Southern Hemisphere, they are known as aurora australis or the southern lights. The northern lights can best be seen in Alaska, northern Canada, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. I have always wanted to see an aurora, so it looks like I have some new additions to my list of places to visit. Has anyone seen an aurora in person? If so, where?

The northern lights seen over Bear Lake in Alaska (taken from Britannica)

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Perseverance and Ingenuity

Posted on March 21, 2021 by laineroberts

Just 16 days ago, the newest rover to explore Mars embarked on its first ride around the planet! It took Perseverance a total of 7 months to get there, that must have taken a lot of… Perseverance’s mission is to collect samples from the surface of Mars to be returned to Earth and tested by scientists to explore the possibility that there was once life on Mars. The findings from this mission could both help to develop our understanding of Mars and also expand upon our knowledge about the possibility of life outside of our solar system. The rover also contains one instrument for potentially proving that it is possible to someday have humans land and explore on the surface of Mars. On top of that, Perseverance is the first rover to provide a recording of sound on another planet!

Perseverance also arrived with a friend! Strapped to the bottom of the rover on the journey from Earth to Mars was Ingenuity, a helicopter and the first of its kind. Ingenuity’s purpose is simply to perform flight tests in order for scientists to collect data for future Mars flights. Ingenuity and Perseverance will surely collect groundbreaking information (some through literally breaking the ground of Mars) that will pave the way of space exploration for years to come!

Perseverance on Mars!
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earth’s rings?

Posted on March 21, 2021 by Peter Taylor

Ever look at a picture of Saturn (or anything else with rings) and think “Wow, I wonder what those rings are made of?”

Spoiler alert – they’re just very pretty rocks and ices and dusts.

How about this one – Ever look up at the Moon (or any other moon) and think “Wow, I wonder what that thing’s made of?”

I don’t know, maybe not. Could just be me.

But, spoiler alert, again – it’s essentially made of rocks and ices and dusts with a few bonus gases here and there.

artist rendition of what Earth’s sky could look like if we had rings

But then if rings and moons are made of the same stuff and they both orbit planets, why do they both exist? Why would both rings and moons form in the universe when they are made of and do basically the exact same thing? And then why does Earth have a moon but no rings?

Good question(s), and, believe it or not, our friend Science has an answer.

Our moon is located well beyond an astronomical distance known as the Roche limit. The Roche limit is generally defined as the maximum distance an orbiting object can approach the gravitational body it is orbiting without being torn apart by the tidal forces, and it is usually considered to be at a distance of about 2.5 times the planet’s radius. Therefore, at the Roche limit, the gravitational force on the object is equal to the internal gravity holding the object together. Regarding moons, then, moons can only form outside the Roche limit of the planet they are orbiting, and, theoretically, any relatively large satellite inside the Roche limit will be torn apart and will form rings.

Nightscape with new moon
a sunset on Earth with our dearest celestial companion

On a related note, some scientists believe that most if not all of the planets had rings at one point in astronomical time. However, as the rings expanded outwards, they passed their respective planet’s Roche limits and then condensed into moons. So maybe our night sky once did look like the picture above, which probably would have been cool to see.

But I still like the sky we have.

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Mars, Water trapped in Rocks

Posted on March 21, 2021 by lorenzchen14

An Artist’s Rendition of what Mars may have looked like 4 billion years ago

As we have discussed in class, Mars looks very different today than it did billions of years ago. One notable difference is that Mars may have liquid water, as we see evidence of this in canyons and dried river beds in the planet’s geology. This water was eventually ejected into space from solar wind and lost from the planet. However, scientists recently discovered that most of the water may still be trapped on Mars’ in the form of rocks. This water is embedded in rocks, essentially hydrating minerals that are on the planet. As covered by The New York Times, up to 99 percent of the water that was once on Mars may still be on the planet. Because of a lack of tectonic and volcanic activity, this water is trapped in the crust permanently and cannot be released like it is on Earth. On Earth, water trapped in rocks is melted and eventually released through volcanoes. 

Another interesting piece of evidence that points to the presence of water in rock has to do with the composition of Mars’ thin atmosphere. After water evaporated on Mars, the hydrogen atoms were lost in space. However, deuterium — a heavier isotope of hydrogen — is less likely to escape. The ratio of deuterium in Mars’ atmosphere is significantly higher than Earth’s because of this. But the rate of hydrogen loss has not been quick enough. According to Dr. Renyu Hu at JPL, the hydrogen loss extrapolated over 4 billion years accounts for only a relatively small percent of water loss. Thus, the loss of Mars’ water cannot solely be because of this phenomenon, and may have been absorbed by the planet’s rocks. 

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