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.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
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.
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.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Canyon Lake Gorge
Canyon Lake Gorge was absolutely amazing. The entire place was absolutely gorgeous and fascinating, especially all the fossils. The tour guides were also very informative and helpful. On a whole, the entire experience was very worth the almost slipping and falling from mud and holes involved with the entire experience.
The rocks and fossils in the gorge were amazing. I had never exactly understand how faults and the hanging and foot wall worked, but after seeing them myself, and walking on them made me start to really get it. The same thing happened with seeing the sedimentation of rock, as well as the difference between normal position and when rock layers and soil horizons are shifted by different geological events like fault shifts. The sheer amount of faults was also amazing. The fossils were incredible. I had never heard about the species of dinosaurs that left tracks, and the fact that there were so many tiny fossils of urchins, algae balls, and
crustaceans blew my mind, and that they were so exposed and easy to find. I could not believe that so many organisms were fossilized so well for millions of years.The formation of the gorge itself was also incredible. So much geological and paleontological information was uncovered just because of one storm, without which the faults and thousands of fossils down in the gorge would not be seen.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Quarter 2 Project
For my 2nd quarterly project, my group and I decided to talk about how hurricanes affect humans, especially focusing on Hurricane Katrina. Our main points are going to be about why Katrina was so bad, what the people there had put in place to prevent damage, and finally what the damage and reconstruction process was like in the city of New Orleans. When we split it up, my part of the presentation was the part on damage and reconstruction.
While the hurricane hit and affected a large area of land, New Orleans was the largest and worst place affected. When the levees broke, the low lying areas, where the majority of the city and the people were, got flooded, resulting in massive amounts of destruction. There was over 108 billion dollars in property and infrastructure damage. It was not just the physical damage that was devastating. Katrina left over 1 million refugees and over 1,800 people dead in it's wake.
Despite all the damage however, many organizations tried to help alleviate and fix the damage. Some of them were national organization such as the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, while others were more local, like the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. There were many other ones based out of churches that helped and unite the devastated communities. With all the reconstruction efforts, the city is once again a large tourist spot, and while some of the hurricane's effects still remain, the condition is much improved and almost to how it was before Katrina.
While the hurricane hit and affected a large area of land, New Orleans was the largest and worst place affected. When the levees broke, the low lying areas, where the majority of the city and the people were, got flooded, resulting in massive amounts of destruction. There was over 108 billion dollars in property and infrastructure damage. It was not just the physical damage that was devastating. Katrina left over 1 million refugees and over 1,800 people dead in it's wake.
Despite all the damage however, many organizations tried to help alleviate and fix the damage. Some of them were national organization such as the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, while others were more local, like the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. There were many other ones based out of churches that helped and unite the devastated communities. With all the reconstruction efforts, the city is once again a large tourist spot, and while some of the hurricane's effects still remain, the condition is much improved and almost to how it was before Katrina.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Favorite Presentations Quarter #1
One of my favorite presentations was the "Mega Minerals" one. In the presentation, they went over the properties of several minerals, such as nano-sized gold, tellurium, cadmium, aluminum, corundum, and graphene. They talked about the properties of all the minerals, what they are made out of, as well as how they can be used practically in industry. The last thing taught in the presentation was what industry needs in minerals for them to be usable, which were nano-size, high purity, customized surface properties, low weight, recyclability, and innocuous to human health.
Another good presentation was the "Desert Dinosaurs" one. This presentation talked about how many dinosaur fossils were found in deserts. The presentation also goes over different paleontologists that had discovered these dinosaurs, including Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh. The last thing they talked about was the two types of dinosaurs that can be found, Ornithischia and Saurischia dinosaurs.
My last favorite presentation was the one about Fossils and Marine Fossils. In the presentation, the presenters discussed what fossils are, different types of marine fossils, and how they are identified. They also talked about where groundbreaking fossils were found and now stored, and how fossils are connected to modern animals and how that makes them important.
Another good presentation was the "Desert Dinosaurs" one. This presentation talked about how many dinosaur fossils were found in deserts. The presentation also goes over different paleontologists that had discovered these dinosaurs, including Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh. The last thing they talked about was the two types of dinosaurs that can be found, Ornithischia and Saurischia dinosaurs.
My last favorite presentation was the one about Fossils and Marine Fossils. In the presentation, the presenters discussed what fossils are, different types of marine fossils, and how they are identified. They also talked about where groundbreaking fossils were found and now stored, and how fossils are connected to modern animals and how that makes them important.
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