Warp Drive

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Leigh

Before we can achieve interstellar travel like it appears in science fiction, scientists must make huge leaps and develop a way to exceed the speed of light, as well as a way to work around the issue of spacetime and mass, so that the spacecraft can have propulsive forces without having to carry along all the necessary propellant. But there is hope; science continues to advance and consequently there are many new ideas surrounding interstellar space travel propulsion possibilities. One very interesting and compelling idea is the concept of “warp drive.” To achieve this, one needs to contract spacetime in front of the ship and expand spacetime behind the ship. This would propel the ship forward at a great speed – greater than the speed of light, to observers, but the individuals inside the ship would feel no acceleration. This idea is currently problematic, though, because to expand spacetime one needs to have negative energy density matter and it is unknown whether or not this can exist. Similarly, one would need to have positive density matter in front of the ship, as well as a way to control the effects of warp speed – like when to turn it on and off. Some scientists argue that warp speed would allow a ship to travel faster than the speed of light because spacetime expanded faster than the speed of light right after the Big Bang, so it should be feasible under warp speed, too. This is just one idea of a way to enable interstellar travel, and it is clear than many developments need to be made before it could even remotely be realized. Still, many others and myself find it a very fascinating and compelling topic.

A visual representation of Warp Drive

 


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The Pale Blue Dot: Religion and Science

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Asad Pabani

While I intend on continuing this blog in the future, for my last blog post in Astronomy 201, I will be taking a more serious approach. I will touch briefly on the relationship between religion and science by examining the image shown below of the Earth as a tiny speck of light in the distance, or as it is popularly known, a ‘pale blue dot’, captured by Voyager I at a distance of 6 billion kilometres.

The Pale Blue Dot

For too long, religion and science have been portrayed as being in conflict with one other. We all remember the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham last year. In fact the debate over creationism and evolution has carried on for centuries. Too often, it is forgotten that both religion and science teach the same thing: humility. Humility in the knowledge that despite all our scientific prowess, we have not even completely explored our own solar system, much less a neighbouring star, galaxy or multiverse. Humility in realizing that our civilization has only been around for a tiny fraction of the length of the universe (0.0001 to be specific). Humility in inhabiting a nondescript planet, which is just a speck of light compared to a nondescript star, which is just a speck of light compared to a nondescript galaxy, which is also just a speck of light in the vast expansive universe.

It is then ironic that this pale blue dot claims to contain superstars, kings and Supreme Leaders. Multi-billionaire start-up founders, boxing champions, all-star football quarterbacks, politicians with massively inflated egos – all claiming to be the best there ever was, living on a pale blue dot in the sky, forgetting that they are but tiny little creatures in a universe the size of which they cannot even fathom, the workings of which they can barely understand, much less modify, and to which they are meekly dependent on for the survival of their race. Sounds a lot like a description of God doesn’t it? Call it organized religion, or agnosticism or atheism, the idea is just the same: our weakness in the face of a massive unfathomable realm of existence. Some people call that God, others call it a supreme power and some simply label it as the universe, but at the end of the day, it is all one of the same.

 


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The Pioneer Plaque and the Objectification of Men in Inter Galactic Space

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Asad Pabani

The Pioneer plaques are a pair of gold-anodized aluminium plaques which were put on board the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecrafts in the early 1970s. They contain on them a pictorial message of the civilization that exists on Earth in case either of these spacecrafts are intercepted by intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy or the universe. The plaques were quite controversial at the time because the man and woman displayed on it were naked. I too have a problem with these plaques, just of a slightly different nature: the objectification of men.

File:Pioneer10-plaque.jpg

The Pioneer plaque and blatant sexism

Feminists these days complain about the objectification of women in the media, and quite rightly so. But in all this, it is easy to forget the unrealistic expectations men are held up to. The Pioneer plaque below perfectly illustrates this problem. Just look at the man and his perfectly defined chest. I’m sorry, not all of have time to bench press every day like this man did, who didn’t have anything to do other than be on a plaque. Also take a look at his strong muscular biceps which again promotes a feeling of inadequacy amongst us males who are not proficient at lifting weights. The lack of hair on his chest is also indicative of a troubling trend in recent times where men are in fact considered more attractive if they change their natural selves and shave their chest.

The Pioneer plaque embodies all that is wrong with the objectification of men. But the worst part is that this plaque is being broadcast potentially to the entire universe! Think about the weight of expectations on every single man to conform to this image of an ‘average’ man, implying that men who do not share his characteristics are ‘weird’ and ‘social outcasts’. Reject sexism and reject the Pioneer plaques.


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The Solar System: An Overview

Posted on April 20, 2014 by hollyreichert
This is a diagram of the Solar System with the planets, some dwarf planets, and the Asteroid Belt and Kuiper Belt.

This is a diagram of the Solar System with the planets, some dwarf planets, and the Asteroid Belt and Kuiper Belt.

This year I learned details about the Solar System that I did not even know existed.  Before astronomy this year, I did not know about the Kuiper Belt.  I thought we only had the Asteroid Belt.  I knew that comets and asteroids were different– but I was not sure what the difference was.  Now I know that asteroids do not have ice and that comets do because of where they were formed!

In our Solar System, worlds are classified as terrestrial planets, gas giant planets, and dwarf planets.  Pluto is not the only dwarf planet in our Solar System.  In fact, there are currently 5 dwarf planets and more that may be considered dwarf planets one day!  There are 8 terrestrial and gas giants combined.  Earth is a terrestrial planet, and the only planet that we know right now that has life on it.

While we have not been able to find life on other worlds yet, some moons, like Europa could possibly support life.  There is a subsurface ocean that could possible support life.  Europa is a moon of Jupiter.  Because it is so far away, we do not have the means to get there or send a probe there very often to find out if there is indeed life.  Hopefully one day we will have the technology, the money, and the resources to send an exploration to see if life is really there!

In the future, I hope that we can keep exploring the Solar System around us to learn more information about Earth’s neighbors and if there is indeed life on other worlds.


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Extremophiles Under the Sea and in Space

Posted on April 20, 2014 by hollyreichert
This is a picture of a potential habitat for extremophiles that live at the bottom of the ocean.

This is a picture of a potential habitat for extremophiles that live at the bottom of the ocean.

Life can be found everywhere on Earth, even in extreme environments.  The organisms that live here are called extremophiles and rely on things other than oxygen for survival.  Hydrothermal events are an example of extreme environments in which extremophiles have been found.  At the bottom of the ocean, temperatures and pressures are so high that the water is hotter than boiling but still in liquid form because of the pressure.  The organisms that survive here use chemicals to make energy to survive.  The life forms are single celled and do not need sunlight to make energy for sustenance.

NOAA brings up that calling these organisms “extremophiles” is only from a human sense because they survive without oxygen.  While we need oxygen to survive, other organisms do not need oxygen to live successfully.

The extremophiles that live on the bottom of the ocean near vents are called “thermophiles” or lovers of heat.  The type of organisms that live as extremophiles are Archaea.  Archaea are the organisms most likely to be able to live in extreme environments on Earth.

Because we have found life in such extreme places on Earth, we think that there could be life in extreme environments on other planets!  Thermophiles could be found in the hot clouds of Venus.  While we do not have any proof of life on other planets yet, knowing different types of extremophiles that are present on Earth can lead us in where to look on other worlds (planets and moons alike!) to find possibilities of life.


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Warp Drive: Science Fiction or Future Reality?

Posted on April 20, 2014 by gradytlynch

This video segment explores the possibilities of creating a warp drive spacecraft that isn’t bound by the cosmic speed limit of lightspeed. The idea highlighted in the video is that fluctuations in spacetime itself would propel the spacecraft, as opposed to the spacecraft propelling itself through space. This complex theoretical process is described in the video using the simple analogy of a moving walkway. These “people-moving” devices are commonly seen in airports and are like flat escalators. The video explains how a warp drive would act like a moving walkway, “creating” space behind the spacecraft, and “removing” space in front of it. Just as you can stand still on a moving walkway and still be moving, a warp drive would allow a spacecraft to be stationary in local space, but be moving relative to the rest of the universe. Because the spacecraft isn’t really moving through space, the laws of relativity do not apply. This is why the concept of a warp drive is so intriguing to theoretical physicists. It could be a solution to the fundamental problem of space travel; the incredible distances involved in our universe make space travel to other stars next to impossible. While the concept of a warp drive is still theoretical, the video highlights an equation that suggests that this conceptual engine could some day become a reality.


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The Fate of Earth

Posted on April 20, 2014 by gradytlynch

far-future-timeline

This infographic tales prediction to the extreme as it outlines the future of earth, taking us from a mere 1000 years in the future to the impossibly far away end of our universe as we know it. Produced by IIB Studio, this diagram tests the limits of our ability to estimate and predict the future. In the first few thousand years, it covers future events from the evolution of language to the variance of the north star. Using a logarithmic time scale, it highlights major events that will shape the earth into something completely unrecognizable. It covers the end of photosynthesis and cellular life and goes on to estimate the fusion of continents and the rise of sea level. The chart culminates 100 quintillion years from now, and remarks “If not consumed by a swollen sun at 5.4 bn years, the Earth’s orbit will have finally decayed and it will plunge into the sun.” Among many other things, this diagram displays the incredible mathematical abilities of humankind, as we are able to predict events that will occur in an almost unfathomable amount of time. Beyond that, however, it puts the scale of a human life into perspective. The certainty with which this diagram represents the end of life on earth is alarming to say the least. This, combined with the incredible timescales utilized, makes the infinitesimal timespan of a human life seem utterly insignificant. Nevertheless, it is hard not to marvel at the infographic as a whole.

 


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White Holes

Posted on April 9, 2014 by blakestar2k14

A white hole is a hypothetical region space time which cannot be entered from the outside.” The idea of a white hole is essentially that is the opposite of a black hole. A “worm hole” is the connection from black hole that consumes all matter around it, and send its through a warp in space time to a white hole that sends all of the matter outward. White holes have the same attraction properties of a black hole, but objects falling towards it never reach the white hole. This video tries and gives a very rudimentary explanation.

White holes are almost completely hypothetical, a portion of astronomy that is studied with the sole intention of explanation through theory and not example.


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Pluto’s moons

Posted on April 9, 2014 by blakestar2k14

There has been much debate on the status of Pluto’s classification. It is now believed to be a “dwarf planet”. One reason that people are challenging this is because of its existence of moons and a moon system. This picture from NASA shows the layout of Pluto and its surrounding bodies

. Color image of Pluto and its moons.

Source

There are five known moons: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx. Charon was the earliest discovered in 1978, due to its size, being almost half the size of Pluto. The size of Charon also leads to the belief that Pluto is a double planet system. Nix and Hydra were found in 2005 by a Hubble Telescope team, Kerberos discovered in 2011, and Styx in 2012. This large moon system is believed to be formed by a collision between the dwarf planet and another relatively large sized body in the early years of our solar system.

 


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Asteroids and Impacts in Perspective

Posted on April 9, 2014 by hughavanheesewijk

When asked to think of massive impacts that our Earth has experienced one would most probably think first to the impact that happened 65 million years ago that caused the extinction of dinosaurs. When you look back further to the period of heavy bombardment you will uncover truly terrific impacts. Specifically an impact that occurred about 3.26 billion years ago that created an impact crater many times larger than the island of Hawaii. The crater would stretch halfway across South Africa. This impact was caused by an asteroid with a diameter over four times the height of Mount Everest. This can be seen in a Wired article that has illustrations of the impact craters and impactors.  This impact boiled the top layer of oceans around our young Earth and created tsunamis that were hundreds of feet high. That would have been a terrifying thing to experience.


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