Extragalaxtic Planet Found

Scientists have recently (meaning in December of last year) discovered a planetary system that appears to have originated in another galaxy. The star, named HIP 13044, is part of the Helmi Stream, a satellite galaxy that was absorbed into the Milky way 6 to 9 billion years ago. It contains much less of the heavier elements than our sun does, and it is about the same size, but it is much older; scientists predict that it has already passed it’s red giant stage and contracted back down, and it is now burning helium.

The planet, which has the mass of about 1.25 Jupiters, orbits closer than Mercury does to our sun. This is surprising, because if the star had at one time been a red giant, it would have swallowed up a planet orbiting as close as this planet does. Researchers observing the planet hypothesize that the star’s expansion into a red giant caused a chaotic reaction with other planets that may have been orbiting the star, speeding its rotation, and knocking the large planet into a closer orbit. In any case, scientists hope to learn more about the contents of other galaxies by determining the composition of HIP 13044 and its planet.

Kennedy's Search For Antimatter

Kennedy Space Center is planning on sending a machine into space to search for antimatter and dark matter. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer or AMS was built at CERN in Switzerland where it was then sent to Noordwijk, Netherlands to be adjusted and searched for mistakes. There they decided to switch out the superconducting magnet with the magnet from the original AMS-01 wich was in space in 1998. After the netherlands it was sent back to CERN and then to the Keendedy Space Center in Florida. It lies resting there until its much antisipated launch later on. If you wish to read the article you can see the link here. --- link

This article seemed really interesting to me because it seems like our country's space program doesn't give or recieve any help from other country's space programs yet here we are working with switzerland and the netherlands to get an AMS into space. I was also captivated by the article because it was about antimatter which is kind of a weird thing to be in existence. If we do find that that there is a lot of darkmatter and antimatter in space we might have to rethink what our universe is made of because althought a lot of scientist say are universe is mostly hydrogen some say that 90% of our universe is made of dark matter.

Methane a sign of life on Mars?

Scientists have recently discovered Mars is a hot spot for Methane. Here on Earth, Methane is produced by many living organisms, and scientists believe that the release of methane proves that mars is alive. Whether alive biologically or geologically, scientists are still un-sure and it will take a while for NASA to investigate this methane release thoroughly and to discover the origin of this gas release. Recently, scientists at the observatories in mauna key, Hawaii have been observing the gas release over time, and they have noted the fact that the methane release seems to peak in the summer and spring like seasons on Mars. They believe that whatever is producing the gas lies far below the surface, and that when the planet is in the warmer months, ice beneath the surface evaporates and the gas release is stronger during this time. Could this lead to a discovery of live bacteria beneath the surface of Mars? Only time will tell.

People always wonder whether there is actually extraterrestrial life in the galaxy, or even our solar system. Many people doubt we will find life anywhere near Earth, but discoveries like this one suggest otherwise. We haven't contacted any alien Civilizations or little green men, but discoveries like these are the first steps in discovering life other than on our very own Earth.

To view the article, click here.

Mars: No Return Trip

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/human-mars-mission.html
    We are capable of sending humans to Mars soon.  However we cannot afford a return trip. According to the article I read, “A One-Way Trip to Mars”, it might be as much as ten times as expensive. There are many reasons to still send people though. Humans are far more effective at research than the machines we already have up there. There wouldn’t be a shortage of volunteers. Despite many assumptions, the people would not be left to die, supplies would be sent every few years and maybe more people. Some scientists have even gone as far too say that we might be able to colonize mars. There are others who point out that even at our science research centers in the arctic, there is a rotation of people. The conditions are just not hospitable enough to send someone to live on Mars.
    I found this article interesting because the idea of sending people to Mars is, well plainly put, exciting. Colonization almost sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. If they go through with this, I wonder who would really be willing to live out the rest of their life with very little companionship on an alien world. This is an important step in science because what humans might find on Mars would far surpass anything we’ve found thus far.
Mars: http://www.solarviews.com/eng/mars.htm

Nuclear Explosions in Space

A few months ago, an article was written about Gamma-Ray Bursts. Gamma-Ray Bursts are basically "spot lights" made by a huge star having an extremely violent death. When a star eight times larger than the sun or bigger dies, a spectacular supernova occurs that is bright enough to temporarily outshine nearby galaxies. It was discovered in the 1960's by military satelites that were for looking for nuclear weapons. These satelites picked up on the gamma ray bursts becuase they carried gamma ray sensors because nuclear explosions produce gamma-rays. A Gamma-Ray Burst is very powerful, and scientists believe, if a nearby massive star were to experience such a death, because of the powerful spotlight like beams the stars give off, the Earth could be directly effected. scientists aslo speculate that these "spot lights" could knock electrons of atoms in the atmosphere, creating a blinding light that can last up to ten seconds. Brian Thomas believes this ultra violet flash is bright enough to blind someone if they happened to be looking up at the sky at the time of the Gamma-ray Burst. Many scientists also agree that photosynthesis would be chemically halted as a result of such intense light exposure. This is not substantially concerning because after the light burst subsides, plants would have no trouble picking up right where they left off with converting sunlight into energy. The most concerning thing about this prospect is that simple organisms such as plankton could be substantially effected by this burst. It is widely accepted that the plankton's DNA could be slightly damaged. Plankton play a vital part in the eco system of our oceans, and a loss in plankton could result in a hole in the food chain, which would effect fishing and other industrial companies, not to mention the wildlife in the water. There is also speculation that mass extinction in the Earth's past could have been partly caused by a particularly strong Gamma-Ray Bursts. The good news is the star has to be pretty close to the Earth, about 6,000 light years away. Scientists believe that a star that close will only create a Gamma-Ray Burst every 15 million years. So it is extrememly unlikely we will be effected anytime soon.

I think this article is really interesting. The subject of Gamma-Ray Bursts is a relatively new one and is stil being experimented and discussed. The fact that this can possibly explain mass extinction and it is capable of knocking electrons around to create a flash and halting photosynthesis is astounding. I also think this is a good example of how the cosmos can effect everyday life. although the chances are slim, a Gama-Ray Burst could effect our habitat, our economy and our market in the long run.

For other websites with information on this topic, click Here or Here

Solar Research

Ten years ago was the first time scientists made a direct connection between there being holes in the Sun’s corona and the possible climate changes. They conducted studies that looked deeper at the Suns magnetic activity, and how this effects an atmospheric change on Earth. There was, in fact a clear drop in temperatures on our atmosphere after the magnetic activity had peaked on the sun. This is linked to the holes found on the corona because with the gaps, supersonic particles, or otherwise known as solar winds pour into space. These solar waves stream in rings larger than the sun and sweep through space before finding their way back to the Sun’s surface, if they ever make it there. The clear effects this could have on earth are that the solar waves might have an effect on the proprieties of water clouds, influencing the lower troposphere, decreasing temperature as cloud coverage begins to grow. Another theory is that the charged particles may be disturbing the chemistry in our upper ozone.
The new study that is being conducted is N.A.S.A’s attempting mission to study our sun and the Earth-Sun relationships in our solar system. They have created a new instrument that allows us to see the inner-most corona on the sun; it actually allows us to see all the way to the earth’s surface. These new images that are being created separate between the gas being captured by the magnetic field of the sun, and the gas that is escaping out into space. CfA astronomer Steven Cranmer states that "The AIA solar images, with better-than-HD quality views, show magnetic structures and dynamics that we've never seen before on the Sun," and that "This is a whole new area of study that's just beginning."
The beginning of this field will be a great factor in how we view our relationship with the sun in the future. We have so much to learn about the realities of climate change, and what exactly is causing them that this will help narrow down the topic. In the first article I found on Earth-sun relationships, the scientists made sure that they weren’t discrediting the fact that their results do not rule out that Co2 levels are rising and the possible climate influence of man-made fossil fuels. I have evidence now to believe that there is much more to climate change then JUST the excess use of fossil fuels.


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/news/news20110111-corona-hole.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/03/000315080417.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110104114313.htm

Super Massive Black Hole found in Dwarf Galaxy

A supermassive black hole was discovered in a nearby dwarf galaxy. Henize 2-10, the Galaxy where the black hole was found, is 30 million light-years form Earth. Scientists have for a long time studied Henize 2-10, this galaxy has been forming stars extremely fast. This black hole is a million times bigger than the sun. Amy Reines of the University of Virginia stated; "This Galaxy gives us important clues about a very early phase of galaxy evolution that has not been observed before". Generally supermassive black holes exist in full sized galaxies. The size of the black hole usually related to the size of it's galaxies "bulge". A discovery a couple of years ago suggested that black holes form before the formation of the surrounding galaxy due to the fact that a galaxies off balance ratio to it's black hole. Another quote from Reines says, "Now, we have found a dwarf galaxy with no bulge at all, yet it has a supermassive black hole. This greatly strengthens the case for the black holes developing first, before the galaxy's bulge is formed."

The astronomers also found that radio waves are strongly emitted from an area near the center of the galaxy, which they say indicates a "black-hole-powered galactic nucleus". There have been black holes found that have been similar in size to this one, but the Henize 2-10 galaxy is of a very abnormal shape, small size, and also has a very strange star formation of very dense star clusters. This is an exciting discovery because it leads us closer to understanding how galaxies and black holes formed in a very young Universe.

"This galaxy probably resembles those in the very young Universe, when galaxies were just starting to form and were colliding frequently. All its properties, including the supermassive black hole, are giving us important new clues about how these black holes and galaxies formed at that time," Johnson said.