The diameters of these clusters range from about 75 light years to as much as 400 light years and can be as far as 300,000 light years from the Earth.
In many parts of the Milky Way galaxy, there exist dense concentrations of interstellar matter known as nebula and are generally classified as emission nebula, reflection nebula or dark nebula. Emission nebula are by far the most exotic, for they contain one or more extremely hot and luminous type O or B. stars (i.e. gas giants). The ultraviolet light form the stars within this type of nebula "excites hydrogen and oxygen atoms which gives these nebulae their characteristic greenish-yellow and red glows." An excellent example is the Great Nebula in the constellation of Orion, "where very young, hot stars excite the gases left over from their formation" (Parker, 1988, 256).
Of course, all astronomers have pondered exactly when all of this…...
mlaReferences
Parker, Brian. (1988). Creation: The Story of the Origins of the Universe. New York:
Plenum Press.
Pasachoff, James. (1990). Astronomy: From the Earth to the Universe. Orlando, FL:
Verschur, George. (1990). Interstellar Matters. Belmont, MA: Sky Publishing.
Milky Way Galaxy is of particular interest to the planet Earth, and the people that reside there, because the planet is one of, possibly, billions contained within it. The term galaxy is used when a large group of stars, generally a billion or more, have clustered together due to a similar attraction to some gravitational attraction. The Milky Way Galaxy is actually a conglomeration of others such as the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy and the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy whose masses have been consumed by the Milky Way (Wethington, 2009). This collection of "solar masses" (Wethington, 2009) is joined by an even larger group of planets (much like the solar system in which the Earth is a resident), dust clouds, gas, comets/meteors and other debris.
The Galaxy got its name from the fact that people in more ancient history than ours could see the impression of a milky, or cloud-like line in…...
mlaReferences
Soylent Communications. (2012). William Hershel. Retrieved from http://www.nndb.com/people/661/000096373/
Wethington, N. (2009). Facts about the Milky Way. Retrieved from http://www.universetoday.com/22285/facts-about-the-milky-way/
There must be an invisible force that is acting on those galaxies. These two features make the accelerating universe the most probable explanation amongst its competitors (iess 2012).
Major surface features of a) the Earth's Moon
The moon's major surface features are craters, rays formed through the crashing of meteorites into the moon's surface. There are also Marias and mountains. Marias is a dark hole like features of the moon and mountains are high elevations on the surface.
b) Mercury
Mercury's surface contains a variety of craters, ridges and terrains. The intensity of the cratered area is highly varied as some areas have a large number of craters while other areas are comparatively smooth. The craters are also highly varied from old craters to new craters. Some craters have rays extending from them.
c) Europa
Unlike the moon and Mercury Europa is very smooth. The visible markings are "albedo features." Europa is a young body…...
mlaReferences
Components of the Galaxy (2012). Retrieved from http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/milkyway/components.html
Dark Energy Dark Matter (2012) National Aeronautics and Space Adminsitration. Retrieved from http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/
Messier 12 (2012). Retrieved from http://messier.obspm.fr/Mdes/dm012.html
The Hubble tuning fork (2012).
The age of the universe
A good way of estimating the age of the universe is dating the oldest objects in the Milky Way Galaxy. Being that the age of the universe varies directly with the Hubble constant, the cosmological constant and the average density of the universe, the direct estimate of the age of the universe can be used to define cosmological models. The metal-poor stars found within the spherical halo of the Milky Way are some of the oldest objects in the universe. As we speak, there are three main methods used to date the stars. These are nucleochronology, main sequence turn-off gases and white dwarf cooling curves. This paper seeks to outline the age of the universe, the technologies related to this field, and the astronomical importance.
NASA used their Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy probe in 2012 to estimate the age of the universe as 13.772 billion years. This had…...
The materials that are collected in them are solids from the various gases (which cooled inside these clouds). The gravity from the sun pulled them closer towards each other. This contributed to the formation of the planets and asteroids. ("Summary," 2007) (Williams, 2010)
Once a star is finished developing, is when solar winds will blow rock and debris away from the sun. This forms the Kuiper Belt and Oort Clouds, which is where the smaller debris is collected near the orbit of the outer body planets. These are the remains of the rubble that was used to create the solar system billions of years ago.
However, there is an exception to this pattern. In research that was conducted on distant galaxies, scientists discovered that there are not large outer planets with asteroid belts (i.e. Jupiter). This led to theories that much warmer Jupiter like bodies could exist closer to these stars.…...
mlaReferences
Quick Mars Facts. (2012). NASA. Retrieved from: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/extreme/quickfacts/
The Milky Way. (2011). Daily Galaxy. Retrieved from: http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/12/the-milky-ways-two-billion-earthlike-planets-an-update.html
The Moons of Saturn. (2010). UTK. Retrieved from: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/saturn/moons.html
Saturn Overview. (2012). NASA. Retrieved from: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Saturn
Electromagnetic waves are energy waves produced by the oscillation or acceleration of an electric charge. They include radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, x-rays, and gamma rays. Their wavelengths in meters are: radio waves (0.1 to 1000), microwaves (1 x 10-3 ~ 1 x 10-1); infrared (7 x 10-7 ~1 x 10-3); visible light (4 x 10-7 ~ 7 x 10-7); ultraviolet rays (1 x 10-8 ~ 4 x 10-7); x-rays (1 x 10-11 ~ 1 x 10-8) and gamma rays (< 1 x 10-11).
Scientists have inferred that such great amounts of energy as produced by the Sun (4x1026 watts per second) can only be the result of nuclear fusion
If such energy were produced through the most efficient chemical reaction, the Sun would not last for more than a few thousand years. Evidence suggests that the lifespan of the Sun is in billions of years; hence the…...
The evolution of the intermediate-mass stars is a good example of the process by which stars are born, live, and die. This star begins as a swirling cloud of gas that takes 100,000 years to collapse into a protostar. Hydrogen fusion begins in the protostar and causes the creation of a T-Tauri star which is a variable brightness star. This new star contracts for 10 million years until the core energy is balanced with gravity. "The star has begun the longest part of its life as a producer of energy from hydrogen fusion, the main-sequence phase...The amount of time a star spends there depends on its mass" but is likely to be billions of years (Green, 2005, p. 6). When the balance between the production of fusion energy and gravity shifts, compression occurs and the star enters the "red giant" phase where it expands greatly and appears red in…...
mlaReferences
Green, P. (2005). "Star." World Book Online reference center. 2005. World Book,
Inc. Accessed 6/6/2006 at http://nasa.gov/worldbook/star_worldbook.html
Lochner, J. (2004). "Stars." NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Accessed 6/6/2006 at http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_12/stars.html
How Do Stars Form and Evolve?" (2006). The Science Mission Directorate,
This monument is intended to commemorate the brilliance and courage and integrity of Giordano Bruno. It consists of a life-size bronze figure tied to a vertical wooden stake behind him. His face is angry but focused as though he is staring into the eyes of those who murdered him for being right. Bronze flames surround him and reach almost up to his neck. At his feet is a flat stone bearing the inscription of what Bruno was said to have responded to the judges after they pronounced him guilty of heresy and sentenced him to death: Maiori forsan cum timore sententiam in me fertis quam ego accipiam along with the English translation "Perhaps you pronounce this sentence against me with greater fear than I receive it."
Behind Bruno is a representation of the Milky Way galaxy depicted against a background of many similar galaxies that are smaller because they are far…...
mlaSources Consulted
Feynman, R.P. (1999). The Pleasure of Finding Things Out. Cambridge, MA: Perseus
Publishing.
Hawking, S. (1990). A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes.: New
York: Bantam
Search for Extraterrestrial Life: The Existence of Non-Human Intelligent Beings in Our Galaxy
The possibility of extraterrestrial life has always intrigued philosophers, scientists, theologians and even lay people for centuries. The fascinating question of whether there are other intelligent creatures in space, however, remains unsolved despite technological advancements in science particularly because thus far, there still lacks conclusive evidence. Motivations for the search for non-human life range from scientific and philosophical levels, technical and practical levels, to even the need to eliminate the loneliness of the human race in time and space. Scientists and astronomers remain committed to the search because the answer to this question has profound consequences: it will explain the nature and destiny of intelligent life on the universe, the culmination of evolution in different galaxies and provide more insight on the role of human beings on the universe, as well as what they are capable of accomplishing…...
mlaReferences
Aczel, A. D (1998). Probability 1. Florida: Harcount, Inc.
Drake, F. (1988). The Search for Extraterrestrial Life. Los Alamos Science Fellows Colloquium. Retrieved 3 June 2015 from http://permalink.lanl.gov/object/tr?what=info:lanl-repo/lareport/LA-UR-88-1000-04
Hawkin, S. (n.d). Life in the Universe. Retrieved 3 June from http://www.hawking.org.uk/life-in-the-universe.html
Kelly, M. (2012). Expectation of Extraterrestrial Life Built More on Optimism than Evidence, Study Finds. Princeton University Library. Retrieved 3 June 2015 from http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S33/52/89I01/
teaching space science. There are various complexities that affect the way that astronomy is taught, not the least of which is the enormity of scale that space science involves.
One of the basic requirements for understanding astronomy is coming to terms with the vastness of the universe. For example, a basic unit of astronomical measurement is the light year. Merriam-ebster defines the light year as "a unit of length in astronomy equal to the distance that light travels in one year in a vacuum or about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers" (2011). hile this definition conveys factual data, it does little to make the concept real, that is, accessible to the average student.
Moreover, trying to convey the reality of light traveling at the unimaginably fast speed of 299,792 kilometers per second (186,282 miles per second) is indeed mind-boggling. Even at such amazing speeds, light takes years to travel…...
mlaWorks Cited
Bennett, J. (2011). Teaching resources -- strategies for teaching astronomy. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from: http://www.jeffreybennett.com/astronomy.html
Discovery Education. (2011). Astronomical scales. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/astronomical-scales.cfm
Koppes, S. (2011). Award-winning teachers find the unexpected. University of Chicago website. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from: http://www.uchicago.edu/features/20110527_quantrell/olinto.shtml
Merriam-Webster. (2011). Light-year. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/light-year?show=0&t=1313215675
The collapse increases internal pressure until some of the stars external matter is ejected, eventually stabilizing into a dwarf star of degenerate matter.
A variable star is one whose apparent brightness changes as viewed from earth. Cepheid variables are a certain type of variable star whose apparent brightness changes in regular cycles lasting from 3 to 50 days. Astronomers use them to measure distances in space.
Q: 4 describe and explain the characteristic of Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
what is the significant and use of this diagram? how is a black hole formed? what are the properties of black holes? compute the Schwarzschild radius for the sun.
What happens when the star shrinks to the radii? what is the most likely place to find a black hole?
The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a scatter-graph of stars that allows astronomers to plot their absolute luminosity against their specific classifications and temperatures. This technique demonstrated that the temperature and…...
Harlow Shapley provided some useful information in determining some of the greatest mysterious about the cosmos. Shapley essentially believed that sun was not the center point of the galactic frontier. In the first decade of the 29th century not much was known about the Milky Way but Shapley soon hypothesized some useful arguments that suggested that our universe is much larger and diverse than we can possibly imagine.
To support his argument about a non-heliocentric theory of the galactic composition, he used the powerful technology available to measure a type of celestial object known as Cepheid stars. Shapley used the behavior of these stars to determine that sun was not the center of the galaxy. By assuming that these stars were the nearly the same size he figured he could measure the luminosity of these stars and therefore figure out a linear distance to the stars. Using these distances, and some…...
mlaReferences
Astronomy Magazine web page (nd). Viewed 22 Nov 2013. Retrieved from http://www.astronomy.com/
Science teachers can utilize this article by updating their curriculum related to the universe. While textbooks currently being used convey the traditional notions of the past, newer developments need to be incorporated immediately. Most current aspects of science seem to change rapidly. Astronomers such as Fabio Governato from the University of Washington have demonstrated how supercomputers can be used to replicate the activities in space, which are invisible to our telescopes. Using the components of the article to make a presentation on the latest developments in the field of space and technology can be a good approach. While most students would consider this just like any other class, it might stand out to some intelligent ones who could build a career in this area. Science teachers can observe this article from a broader point-of-view, search for similar articles and satisfy their personal research interests.
Scientists often focus on a particular problem…...
However, unlike other spiral galaxies found scattered throughout the universe, the black hole which is assumed to exist in the center of the Milky Way galaxy is dormant and is not "actively feeding," meaning that it is not currently swallowing up material for some unknown reason. Almost from the beginning of astronomical observations of galactic bodies in the universe, it has always been thought that "the more massive the bulge, the more massive the black hole" which has led scientists and astronomers to reason that "somehow the formation and growth of galaxy bulges and their central black holes are intimately connected." ut in 2003 when the Spitzer Space Telescope began to be utilized to collect infrared data from a number of different types of galaxies, scientists discovered that thin or slender galaxies which lack prominent central bulges did indeed contain supermassive black holes.
During a recent study with the Spitzer…...
mlaBibliography
Even Thin Galaxies Can Grow Fat Black Holes." Science Daily. Internet. January 16, 2008. Retrieved at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080114083851.htm .
Quasars and Distant Galaxies
How primeval matter cast with uniformity in all directions by an assumed violent explosion, called the ig ang, gathered together into vast groups of starts and galaxies that evolved into the universe remains a mystery (Peterson 1990). There have been speculations about its origins, pieced together and offering new standards against which theories could be tested and measured. Some of these speculations involved cosmic strings, global textures and late-time phase transitions, notions too strange to merit acceptance. Cosmologists have to reconcile separate and contradictory observations in explaining the origins of galaxies and the structure of the universe, such as the receding of galaxies from one another and the astonishingly uniform glow of invisible radiation in the universe known as the cosmic microwave background, the left-over heat from the creation of the universe. These observations and the abundance of hydrogen, helium and lithium resulting from the initial explosion…...
mlaBIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Cowen, R. (1991). Radio Waves May Trace Distant Clustering-Galaxies and Quasars. Science News. Science Service, Inc. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n25_v139/ai_109
2. -- . (2004). Universal Truth: Distant Quasars Reveal Content, Age of Universe. Science News. Science Service, Inc. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_5_166/ai_n62125
3. -- . (2003). In the Beginning, Dark Matter Builds Galaxies, Feeds Quasars. Science News. Science Service, Inc. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_4_163/ai_972356
4. -- . (2003). Mature Before Their Time: in the Youthful Universe, Some Galaxies Were Already Old. Science News. Science Service, Inc. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_9_163/ai_986956
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now