Current Events 5/25/2011

Science 7A Black Holes spin faster and faster 5/26/2011

In the U.K, two astronomers have discovered that the giant black holes in the center of the galaxies are on a average spinning faster than any black holes in history of the universe. By using radio, optical, and x-ray data. According to evidence, it is strongly believed that there is a black hole in the center of every universe. these holes are about the size or a million and a billion suns, and since they are so huge they are called, "supermassive". The the naked eye a black hole would be invisible, but when the material that get sucked into the black hole, they are heated and once they become hot they emit radiation. The radiation they emit allows the black hole to be detected to telescope. Radiation is not the only thing associated with black holes, twin jets are as well. These jets can be caused a variety of ways, yet scientists believe that a spinning "supermassive " black hole is important. Two scientists, Martinez-Sansigre and Rawlings used models, made by using many different materials, they discovered different, plausible theories. Using radios, the astronomers were able to deduce the jet's power and the spread of it, using this information they could figure out how fast the black hole was spinning. The observations from the astrologers also tell us how the spinning speed has evolved. Long ago, when the universe was smaller, the spinning rate of the black hole was low, yet now the average of a black holes spinning rate has gone up. Being the first time that the evolution of the spinning of a black hole has been constrained, this gives the impression that the black holes that fall under the very stereotypical cateogry of simply sucking things out of space actually spin slower or actually barely spin compared to black holes that merge with other black holes, which spin very fast. In conclusion, the way a black hole spins can tell you a lot about their evolution, and through tests and observations, astronomers have concluded that recently massive black holes have been springing up, and the most logical explanation is that two black holes, both of similar mass, combine to make an even faster spinning black hole.

This effects scientific knowledge, because we are adding to what we already know about our surroundings. There is so much unknown around us, and with small discoveries like these we are slowly learning more about our universe. The benefits of science in this news, would be that we have the tools to conduct these experiments. Otherwise it would be impossible to carry out these experiments. When I first heard about this happening, I didn't really expect much but I found it to be a really cool article that was very interesting.

I chose this article because I thought it fell under the category of the unit we are studying, and it would be interesting to read. What grabbed attention about this article was probably the fact it was about black holes, you don't much about that particular topic anymore. I found this article while searching for current events in science. I learnt about the evolution of black holes from this article. While reading this next I felt, intrigued, because it was liking making a new discovery.

Royal Astronomical Society "Black Hole Spin Faster and Faster." Astronomy Today. 24 May 2011. Web. 29 May 2011. .

Everything about Eclipses

ABOUT ECLIPSES

What causes an eclipse to occur?
- Eclipses occur when the moon and the sun and earth are all aligned (different eclipses occur because of the different alignment), there are 2 types of eclipses, lunar and solar.

What is a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse?

- A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through the shadow of the earth, making the sun and moon on opposite sides. A solar eclipse is more spectacular, and it is when the moon passes directly between the sun and the earth, blocking the sun from view.

Which type of eclipse is more common?

- A lunar eclipse is more common than a solar eclipse because with a solar eclipse the moon's shadow only covers a small portion of the earth, while the during a lunar eclipse the shadow is cast over a wider part of the earth.

What are the dangers of viewing an eclipse?

- With a lunar eclipse there are really no dangers of viewing the eclipse, yet with a solar eclipse the sun radiation can cause harm to your eyes, and can even cause partial of total blindness.

When is the next eclipse occurring?

- According to the eclipse section on the NASA site, there should not be a full solar eclipse for a while, but there are a few other happenings. June 1st there should be a partial solar eclipse, June 15th there should be a total lunar eclipse, on July 1st and November 25th there should be partial solar eclipse, and last on the site December 10th there should be a total lunar eclipse.

THE MOON

When investigating the simulation, the moon clock, and/or the model, what did you notice about the phases of the moon?
- The phases of the moon change depending on the position of the sun, depending on the moon. When the sunlight reaches the moon it then is reflected, making the moon appear illuminated. The parts that do not get sunlight appear as shadow and are not visible.

Why do we see different parts of the moon each night?
- As I explained above, we see different parts, because different parts of the moon's face are illuminated.

How well did making a model help you understand the phases of the moon?
- The model helped me understand the phases of the moon by labeling them and telling me the names. It helped me understand the different phases the moon goes through while getting from full moon to full moon.

What are some disadvantages of using models?
- The model doesn't really give that much of a realistic view it mainly just explains the phases of the moon but doesn't really show us how the moon makes it way around the earth, this is why I found the simulation much better because you could really visualize it.

Scientists are thinking all the time about how they can make models of objects that are too small or too large to see: Can you think of another way to make a model to represent the various phases of the moon?
- I think something that would be cool, would to have a sun, which would radiate light from a bulb in the middle. Then using a magnetic pull (just like those globes the levitate in the air using magnets) I would make it so that not only can you see the phases of the moon as it revolves around earth but you can also she how.

What causes an eclipse to occur?
- Eclipses occur when the moon and the sun and earth are all aligned, there are 2 types of eclipses, lunar and solar. A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through the shadow of the earth, making the sun and moon on opposite sides. A solar eclipse is more spectacular, and it is when the moon passes directly between the sun and the earth, blocking the sun from view.

How do the moon, sun and Earth interact to cause so many things to occur?

- Well the earth revolves around the sun, the sun being the things that gives life to our planet. The moon revolves around the earth, giving us tides and spectacular scenes, such as an eclipse. This is all interconnected into a delicate balance so that everything works to together. The sun and the earth, the earth and the moon, giving us things that we live with everyday.

What causes a tide?

- A tide occurs because of the gravitational forces and field of the earth and the sun, as well of the centrifugal force from the earth's rotating. When the placement of all the planets or celestial bodies change then so the the height of the surface. So when earth, sun and the oon are aligned water levels are pulled and then they rise.

Moon Post

What did you notice about the phases of the moon?

Why do we see different parts of the moon each night?

What is a lunar month?

1. 
   
2. Something I noticed about the phases of the moon is that it changes when you are looking at it from earth to when you are looking at it from space. This is because looking at the moon from earth you can only see on side of it. So you see the shadow slowly edging from the side. The different phases of the moon are more noticeable from earth than from space, from space it all looks the same.
3. 
4. We see different parts of the moon each night because of the fact that the moon revolves around the earth and the sunlight shines on the moon making some parts of the moon have a bigger shadow then the other part.
5. A lunar month is the period of time between one full moon till the other.

What do I want to know?

In this unit we are doing astronomy. In astronomy there are many different subject to cover, but some I think would be very interesting to know about include:

1. Our Solar System - Maybe more in-depth not just what planets there are,etc.
2. Milky Way
3. Stars - Stages they go through, types, birth, death,etc.
4. History of Astronomy
5. Space Travel

There are so many other topics in astronomy but I think these are interesting topics that we should maybe take a look at.

Seasons Lab

Reasons for the Seasons

When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, which areas on Earth get the most concentrated light? Which areas get the most concentrated light when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere?

When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Northern Hemisphere is getting less light. So the area with more concentrated light is the Southern Hemisphere. So it is also vice versa, if the Northern Hemisphere has all the concentrated light the Southern Hemisphere will have less light.

Compare your observations of how the light hits the area halfway between the equator and the North Pole during winter and during summer.

During the winter the light in less focused on the area between the equator and North Pole, while in the summer the earth is tilted more towards the dun in a way so the light is more concentrated on the area between the equator and the North Pole.

If the squares projected on the ball from the acetate become larger, what can you infer about the amount of heat distributed in each square?

It probably spreads out over the small area of like the light, becoming larger, the heat becomes hotter. Yet maybe since the heat is being spread out the little area actually gets less hot because the heat isn't as concentrated.

According to you observations, which areas on Earth are consistently coolest? Which areas are consistently coolest? Why?

The warmest area is the area around the equator; this area is always warm because it always has direct sunlight, while the pole areas are probably the coolest areas because they don’t get much sunlight and if they do it is very short and not enough for it to warm up the country.

What time of year will the toothpick’s shadow be longest? When will the shadow be shortest?

I think that the toothpick’s shadow will be the longest in the summer and in the winter it will be the shortest, this is because in the summer the toothpick is closer to the sun making a longer shadow. Yet in the winter the toothpick in further away making am shorter shadow.

How are the amounts of heat and light received in a square related to the angel of the sun’s rays?

The closer the direct sunlight the more heat and light is received in one square, if the angle is pointing downwards the direct sunlight will be down making the part the brightest and the hottest and other surrounding parts will be dimmer and less hot.

Use your observations of an Earth-sun model to write an explanation of what causes the seasons.

The seasons are caused when the earth tilt’s on its axis toward or away from the sun on its rotational path.

The guiding question is this lab was, How does the tilt of the Earth's axis affect the light received by Earth as it revolves around the sun?

Our hypothesis for this “mini-lab” was, I think that seasons are caused because sometimes some parts of the earth of recieve more sunlight than another parts, making that part warmer than another.The hypothesis was not techinically right but some of the ideas worked, and I think it was an educated guess. This is becuse sometimes the earth does recieve more sunlight than another part of the earth making it lighter and hotter.