Favorite Projects Quarter 4

My first favorite project was the one over dark matter. The project described what dark matter was, and how it makes up the majority of the matter in the universe, and how we know it exists because of its gravitational effect on the universe. The project also went over theories concerning dark matter, like how it may be from a parallel universe called the Hidden Valley, that Einstein may have wrong, or comes from the quantum theory of matter.

Another project I really liked was over black holes. This project talked about how black holes are locations where so much matter is compressed that it has a large gravitational pull, and how the closest one to us is in the center of our galaxy. I also learned that black holes can die, proven by the law of quantum mechanics. I also learned that there are multiple types of black holes: stellar, super-massive, and intermediate.

My third favorite project was over various multiverse theories.  This project was over how there could be infinite potential universes, and in some of them our laws of physics may not be correct. I also learned that there are many different theories: landscape, quantum, holographic, simulated, and ultimate. I learned that scientists have a very hard time believing in this theory because there is no real evidence, and there's a very little chance of us entering or finding another universe.

Earth day is an international celebration to promote environment protection and support environmental issues. It is celebrated by over 192 countries, including places like Panama, where they planted 100 species of endangered orchids to celebrate, or in Afghanistan, where they planted 28 million trees. Earth day began on April 22, 1970. It was founded by US Senator Gaylord Nelson to inspire people to protect the environment. The holiday became national in 1990 because of Denis Hayes. Now, over a billion people celebrate it, and more people are now aware of the impact all of humanity had on the environment.

To celebrate Earth Day, one can plant trees, ride bikes, try and not use as much energy, spread awareness in one's community, do pretty much any activity to help the Earth and reduce your own impact, and either start to or continue to recycle. Many things can potentially be recycled, including aluminum, paper, plastic, and glass. We use over 80,000,000,000 aluminum cans each year, and since there is no limit to how many times aluminum can be recycled, we can save a large amount of it from entering the waste stream and ending up in landfills, not decomposing. Also, recycling paper can have a huge effect. The Earth's rainforests are being cut down at a rate of 100 acres per minute for virgin material to make paper products. If we recycle, we can greatly reduce this amount of paper used. Planting trees can also reduce the dramatic and terrible impact of this deforestation.

 

Quarter 4 Project Summary

My project this quarter is over the NASA Kepler Mission. NASA is conducting this mission with the Kepler Telescope, which measures light coming from distant stars and sees when the brightness dims for a brief period. When these dimming periods are habitual, then it is clear then there is a planet there. The amount of light blocked as well as how long it takes for the pattern to be repeated lets astronomers determine how big the planet is, as well as how far away it is from the star. From this, the temperature can be determined, and when used in conjunction with other telescopes and observatory's, it can see other characteristics of the planets.

All of these characteristics lead to the main goal of the Kepler Mission: to find exoplanets in the habitable zone. To do this, scientists look for planets that have similar densities, size, and distance from the star is similar to Earth, or has a temperature that could potentially support life. Another unrelated goal of the mission is to find multiple star systems and the planets that orbit them. So far, Kepler has found over 1000 planets, some of which are actually in the habitable zone and could have life.

Favorite Projects Quarter 3

One of my favorite projects was the one about Makemake. The project described what Makemake was made out of, as well as how it was discovered. It also described what a dwarf planet is, and why Makemake is classified as one. Even though not much is known about Makemake and scientists are not sure if what they know is true or not, it was still a really good project that summarized what could be true.

The Birth of the Solar System was also a good project. This project talked about how solar system's in general are created, and then specific details about when our solar system was created and from what. The project also talked about what will happen to our solar system in the future, including the inevitable process of our sun becoming a Red Giant and eventually turning into a nebula or blackhole.

My third favorite project was the one about Titan. This project described the basic characteristics of Titan, such as facts about the atmosphere, surface, and location. The project also talked about who discovered the moon, and whether or not there could be life on Titan, which was the most interesting part of the project.

Space Travel and NASA Blog Post 2 Quarter 3

The manned space exploration program began with the Space Race. The Russians sent the first man, Yuri Gagarin, into space in 1961, and made one orbit around the Earth. A month later, Alan Shepard became the first American in space. After this, President Kennedy announced that the United States had the new goal of landing a man on the man by the decade's end. Following this announcement, a set of missions were sent into Earth's orbit to research and see the conditions astronauts would be in to prepare them for going to the moon.

The next set of nine missions were the Gemini missions. These missions focused on space walks or EVA's. Unfortunately, the Russian's were the first to have a space walk. The United States completed their first space walk on June 3, 1965. Later on in the Gemini missions, they practiced docking on something in space, as well as EVA's that lasted several hours.

The next missions were the Apollo ones. After the Apollo 1 crew was killed in a training fire, the space crafts were made much more safe. These missions went to the moon and circled it in orbit, tested a lunar module in Earth's orbit, and eventually landed on the moon. The other missions following these were again to the moon to collect samples and data, and then to launch the Hubble Telescope and create the International Space Station. There were also some tragedies among these missions: Columbia and Challenger, which exploded during reentry and exit respectively.

3rd Quarter Project

For this quarter, my project is about Io. Io is the closest major moon to Jupiter. It is a bit bigger than the Earth's moon, and just like our moon, one side always faces the planet. In my project, I will be talking about the composition and structure of the planet, as well as other basic facts about it, such as mass and volume, but compared to our moon, as just listing large numbers doesn't have any type of scale to it for reference. After this, I am going to show how these characteristics give Io some phenomenons that make the moon incredibly unique.

For example, Io is incredibly volcanic and has a constantly moving crust because of gravity creating tides out of the rock, partly because of its position and composition, and it constantly recycles its surface. The moon also produces an electrical field because it cuts through Jupiter's magnetic field, producing thousands of volts of electricity which creates lightning in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter. Also because of this magnetic field, sediment from Io is stripped off, creating a sphere of radiation called a plasma torus.

Less importantly, I'm also going to talk about how Io was discovered by Galileo and how it's name got changed from a number to a Greek mythology story, and what the story was.


Here is a picture of Io, showing it's unique look because of it's composition.

Favorite Presentations

One of my favorite presentations was the one on the three famous and fascinating caves. I had no idea any of them existed, or that such things could exist in the first place. The best one was the Cave of Crystals in Mexico.I had no idea that the selenite crystals could trap gasses and could dissolve in air so quickly. I also did not know that such a pretty cave like the Blue Hole was so close to where we live, since it's still in Texas.

The weather rarities presentation was also fascinating. I had never experienced any of the phenomena talked about in the slides, but now I really hope that one day I do. Out of all of those, the optic events were the most interesting, because it is amazing how random things can produce such beautiful effects. However, all of the things talked about were amazing, even the dangerous ones like the derechos.

The Stone Forest was interesting as well. It is amazing to see what simple erosion can do in the right circumstances, unlike all the damage it can also do. It was also interesting to see how people in the Chinese culture that lived around the stone forest created a myth and a festival around it. I wish the presentation had gone more into that however. I hope one day I will be able to visit it for myself.