In class, we have been learning a lot about the different kinds of planets and what makes them have their unique characteristics. But did you know that if possible to send people to the Giant Planets, you would not be able to walk on them?
One of the characteristics of the Giant Planets is that they are mostly made up of gases, they actually do not have a solid surface. According to NASA, What we are seeing is their deep atmospheres which get tighter as they get closer to the relatively small solid core. So what would it be like to explore these planets? It seems as though humans could never go to them, even if there were safe and feasible conditions to send them there. Astronomy Magazine states that you would still travel through layers. These layers would feel like you are swimming or floating through the different components of the atmosphere until you hit the core.
I found this so fascinating since all of these planets appear solid!
Venus’ atmosphere showing the dark patches from NASA
Venus is known as Earth’s sister planet due to their similar sizes and structures, but Venus is a very different world than what we know on Earth. As NASA notes, if you were to slice both Venus and Earth down the middle, their interiors would be very similar, but their surfaces are much different. One of the reasons for this is Venus’ thick atmosphere that has caused greenhouse gas effects on the surface. Temperatures on Venus can exceed 480 degrees Fahrenheit! Due to the intense volcanic activity on Venus, the outgassing created a dense atmosphere mostly made of carbon dioxide with sulfuric acid clouds. The volcanoes and tectonic forces on Venus have seemed to clear what the surface originally looked like. Kind of like how Earth’s surface changes over time.
But what does this have to do with life on Venus? Surely it is too hot to support any kind of life on the surface. Maybe, we need to look up higher.
Since the surface is too hot, scientists believe it is possible that microorganisms actually live amongst the clouds in the atmosphere. The atmosphere does not experience the greenhouse gas effect that the surface does, allowing for more stable living conditions for these extreme organisms. Additionally, there are traces of water vapor in the atmosphere too! Although there have been numerous probes and orbiters sent to Venus and scientists have a full picture of the atmosphere, there are still inexplicable dark patches. Scientists believe these could be areas of absorption of light, meaning that microorganisms are taking in the Sun’s energy to survive. It is hard to know for sure and these organisms would need to be able to withstand really extreme conditions, but it could help us get to the bottom of those dark patches within the atmosphere.
More studies are going to be done on this in the near future as more probes and orbiters are sent to Venus. What do you think; could there be life in the air of Venus? What else might we find in these next missions? Check out this article from the University of Wisconsin to learn more!
The thought of other sentient life existing in the universe is one that comes up often. Among the religious crowd, many will argue that Earth’s existence is a perfect result of divine influence, that if just a few things were a bit different, we wouldn’t have evolved as we have done.
Yes, we can’t know if other intelligent life exists due to the limitations of travel and communications through the vastness of space. It is likely that they evolved differently than homosapiens. But the chances of the right planet forming to necessitate this evolution aren’t as impossible as one might think.
Earth is special due to both physics and luck. The gaseous material that makes up cosmic dust clouds will condense into solid or liquid matter once the surrounding temperature is low enough. Earth is in the perfect spot of being cool enough for rock and metal to form the basis of the planet’s core, while also being far enough that some hydrogen compounds like water condensed into it. Combined with random astronomical impacts with other formations of materials, the basis of Earth was formed.
But the physics behind this formation is constant throughout the universe. At the same temperature ranges, metal, rock, hydrogen compounds, and other gases will condense. The specific characteristics will be different depending on the size of the nebula the system formed from and how large the star is, but the principle remains true.
In a way, this takes the pressure off us to live up to the “gift” we have been given – one that has been going to waste in the past few centuries. On a sheer probability level, other intelligent life is out there. Given the physical limitations of the speed of light, we will likely never contact them, or them any others beside us. And that’s okay. The existence of humanity is a wonderful phenomenon all on its own. The patterns may be the same everywhere, but the results are not, and humanity is a one-of-a-kind result.
One of humanity’s greatest wonders is if life could exist outside of Earth. Surely humans are not the only living creatures to exist in the entire universe, but where could other organisms flourish? Scientists have identified three key criteria that make life possible: liquid water, chemistry, and energy. Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons and the sixth-largest in the Solar System, may provide a suitable environment for other life forms!
One of the largest revelations about Europa is that it likely contains a salty ocean buried beneath its icy crust. In fact, scientists hypothesize that this ocean contains twice as much water as all of the oceans on Earth combined! Further, the moon undergoes tidal flexing due to the unequal effects of gravitational attraction between it and Jupiter. As the moon is repeatedly squeezed in and out, heat is generated. This brings us to the next important part of Europa’s ocean – it is likely liquid! The heat generated from the tidal flexing allows the ocean water to stay liquid, even beneath the icy crust.
To maintain life, certain elements must be present in the environment. These elements include carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and phosphorus. Scientists believe that many of these elements may be located within Europa’s icy shell and inner core. Additionally, while Europa’s atmosphere is this, it is primarily composed of oxygen.
Finally, Europa receives a steady source of energy from its parent planet, Jupiter. Unlike Earth, which receives energy from sunlight, Europa is constantly hit by radiation from Jupiter, fueling it with energy. This energy has the potential to be harnessed by microbial organisms living beneath the crust in the form of chemical energy. Despite the intense radiation making Europa’s crust inhabitable, life beneath the crust could thrive!
Have you ever been curious as to where the Solar System got its start? Determining the birth of the Solar System is one of the trickiest tasks astronomers have looked at. Afterall, the formation of the solar system must determine why comets and asteroids reside where they do, predict why we have terrestrial and jovian planets, explain planetary motion, and make allowances for any exceptions.
As a result, many hypotheses have arose over the years. For instance, the encounter hypothesis proclaimed that planets formed out of clumps of debris that had been pulled off of the the Sun during a near encounter between it and another star.
Today, however, the nebular theory is viewed as the most accurate prediction of the formation of the Solar System. As the textbook mentions, this theory explains that the Solar System was born from an interstellar cloud of gas that collapsed under its own gravity after being triggered by a cataclysmic event. This cataclysmic event is hypothesized to be a supernovae that produced a massive shock wave.
It is crazy to wonder (at least for me) where we would be if such event did not happen. Would this solar nebula have ever collapsed? Would the Solar System as we know it have ever been born? Would we be here right now?
As the nebula collapsed, it began to heat up and rotate extremely fast, thus accounting for the motion of the planets. As gas particles began to collide in this hot, whirling ball of gas, it became flatter and more circular, leaving us with the Solar System we know and love today!
In 1610, Galileo Galilei discovered sunspots on the sun in our solar system, showing that space was imperfect. However, little was known about these sun spots until the late 19th century. Astronomical researchers discovered that the sunspots were because of a certain phenomenon called space weather that occurs on the sun’s outer atmosphere, called the Corona. Solar flares, caused by space weather, emit charged particles and radiation throughout space. Solar winds can spread this energy throughout the solar system, including towards our Earth. One would expect that this solar energy would cause substantial damage to the Earth, however, our planet’s magnetosphere prevents highly charged particles and radiation from significantly effecting life on Earth. In fact, radiation that comes from the sun actually contribute to the beauty of our planet by producing Auroras, which are the light shows that are primarily seen by the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. These occur because of the association between the radiation from the sun and Earth’s atmosphere. Although these auroras are exquisite, solar storms can also cause radio blackouts. What happens is that the X-Rays that originate in the sun’s outer surface and spreads to Earth’s atmosphere via solar wind, will ultimately scatter radio waves. This disruption to the ionosphere leads to blackouts throughout the world.
It is very interesting to think about how durable our planet Earth actually is. The sun is an extremely massive object, reaching significantly high temperatures. Although this is true, the strong effects of the sun, especially the solar storms, have a relatively small impact on the Earth. This just goes to show how incredible our planet is, and how it can withstand harsh conditions, such as solar flares.
Earth’s moon is a vital factor for life on our planet, and it plays a major role for tides and tilt. However, the origin of our moon has been under debate for some time amongst our greatest astronomical researchers. Moreover, one convincing theory that has arisen in our past century, is the idea that a massive object, similar in shape to Mars, crashed into Earth. This cataclysmic impact resulted in vaporized rock and metal that led to the creation of the circular moon via gravity. This large object has been called “Theia”, and there has been substantial evidence that has given truth to this ongoing theory.
When astronauts go to the moon, they collect rock samples to be researched when they get back to Earth. During one mission to the moon, researchers determined, via the rock samples, that the moon has a similar chemical composition to the moon. This was seen by analyzing isotopes of oxygen, and researchers determined that the oxygen makeup was very similar between Earth and its moon. There is also more evidence that supports this theory. Today, we understand that the moon has a rock composition and is cool on the inside. However, research has showed that at the beginning of its formation, it was actually molten due to the strength of the original impact between Earth and “Theia”. This was seen by a rock called anorthosite, which is a type of igneous rock. The presence of this important rock confirms the idea of an original molten moon. These pieces of evidence helps to support the theory that there was an original, cataclysmic collision within space.
It is very interesting to think about what would have happened if “Theia” never crashed into Earth. As for the lack of the moon, there would be very few tides which would have a strong impact on life within the oceans. Additionally, it would also have a major impact on Earth. The original collision impacted the size of Earth and increased the size of our planet. However, if there was no collision, then the Earth would have been substantially smaller and there would have been a lack of plate tectonics and a weaker magnetic field. All in all, life on Earth would have been significantly different. It is so fascinating to think about the fact that if astronauts never went to the moon, then we would have never had this theory. I hope that in the future, as technology advances, that we will be able to send astronauts to other Worlds within our solar system to learn more about the incredible parts of space!
The idea of gravity, the fundamental force that controls how objects move in the universe, is both intriguing and mysterious. Gravity is a force that pulls objects toward each other; it controls everything from an apple falling from a tree to a planet’s orbit around a star. It’s a force that operates over vast amounts of space in a mysterious way, and it’s so strong that it keeps us grounded on Earth at an acceleration of 9.8 meters per second squared. Understanding gravity’s qualities has long been a goal of science, from how it shapes the universe to how it affects quantum physics’ tiniest particles. Even though we’ve made great strides toward solving its mysteries, like with Einstein’s theory of general relativity, there’s still much that we don’t know.
One cool thing I’ve always wondered is if we can make an anti-gravity device that we see in movies. When the device is activated, it eliminates gravity in a certain area. This would be amazing and groundbreaking if such a device were to be created, but it might be a while before we see anything like it. However, if we keep working towards understanding gravity’s qualities, maybe something like the anti-gravity device can be made. We just have to wait and see.
As we continue to push the boundaries of our understanding, unlocking the mysteries of gravity could help us to discover revolutionary advances in space exploration, time travel, or our understanding of the universe itself.
The Ptolemaic Model stood as the most accurate way to predict the movement of planets for 1,500 years, even though it was a geocentric model. This obviously serious error in the model caused there to be small inaccuracies in the predictive abilities of the model, but it was the best incorrect model created, so it was only adopted after major discoveries in planetary motion post-Copernicus were made.
The Copernican model, while more correct in our current understanding of the the motion of the solar system, was unable to predict the motion of planets in the night sky as well as the Ptolemaic model because it used perfect circles for the orbits of planets (an inaccuracy influenced by religious bias about the nature of celestial objects). Until the idea of elliptical orbits, if you wanted to predict where a planet would be, the most accurate way would be to use the Ptolemaic model, a complicated, backwards model that makes no sense with our current understanding of the solar system.
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have found evidence of ripples in the fabric of the universe, caused by the movement of colossal black holes. Albert Einstein once hypothesized this phenomenon – gravitational waves. Essentially, these are cosmic tremors that stretch and squeeze space itself. Imagine throwing a stone into a pond and watching the ripples spread. That’s similar to how these gravitational waves travel through the cosmos. This discovery not only confirms Einstein’s predictions but also opens a new window into understanding the mysterious and dynamic universe we inhabit.
This discovery is not just a testament to human curiosity and ingenuity but also a key that unlocks many mysteries of the cosmos. Gravitational waves are like echoes from the most cataclysmic events in the universe, such as the merging of giant black holes. These cosmic beings, millions to billions of times the mass of our sun, spiral into each other and eventually collide, sending shockwaves through the very fabric of space-time. What’s truly fascinating is that these waves travel across the universe, unaltered by dust or stars, providing a pristine glimpse into events that occurred billions of years ago.
