Science 9 Astronomy: April 2010

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Dominion Radio Astophysical Observatory (DRAO)

The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) was built by White Lake near Penticton, B.C., in 1960. At the time, it was mostly the work of an astronomer named Carlyle Smith Beals, who wanted to expand the knowledge about astrophysics in Canada.

This observatory contains thee telescopes; the seven-antenna interferometric Synthesis Telescope, the single-antenna 26 meter Telescope, and the Solar Radio Flux Monitor.

At DRAO, the scientists study anything from the solar system, to extragalactic research.

The 26 meter telescope is used for many different studies, and the Flux telescope is only used while the sun is above the horizon. The 26 meter telescope was used to record the very first long baseline interferometry, in 1968.

The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory is a member of IGPS (the International Galactic Plane Survey). They are also a primary observing site for a major part of the IGPS, which is mapping out a 140 degree long strip along the Galactic plane in the outer galaxy.

Na'vi - Avatar

The Na'vi are a type of alien who live in the mystical jungle moon of Pandora, in the movie Avatar. They are also referred to as "blues", "savages", "the locals", "the natives", and "blue monkeys". The Na'vi are approximately 3 meters tall, or 10 feet. They all have very slender bodies. Their skin is smooth, blue, and striped. They have very big brown eyes, and a long tail, which is used primarly for balance. Their ears are pointed, and they have only four fingers on each hand.

They have a long braid beginning from the base of their skull, which is their nervous system. It's called a 'queue'. The queue allows them to deeply connect to any kind of animal, to the point where it can actually communicate with it telepathically. The Na'vi reffer to this bond as 'Tsahaylu'. The animals which they often connect to, are the Banshee and the Direhorse. By connecting to these animals, they can control them.

The Na'vi believe in a spirit called Eywa, which is much like the spirit the First Nations believed in. This spirit connected them to the nature they were living in on Pandora, and also to each other. Their technology was much like the technology Earth had in the paleolithic era. They live in large trees, which they call kelutral, or 'hometrees'.

The diet of the Na'vi includes meat, as well as plants. They are both hunters and gatherers. The clothes they did wear was made out of native flora, from the planet. They wore little clothes, probably to minimize the intake of materials from the environment.

The Na'vi are a very interesting, creative species.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Valentina Tereshkova

Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to fly in space.

She was born on March 6 in 1937 in the Yaroslavl Region of Russia. She had two sibilings, and a mother and father. Her father was a tractor driver, and her mother worked in a textile plant. She studied in school from 1945 to 1953, and then left to begin work, however she managed to continue her education through correspondence courses.

Valentina was textile-factory assembly worker, as well as a parachutist, when she joined the cosmonaut program. She was the only one out of three other women who were training in the women-in-space program, to complete a space mission.

Valentina was launched into space in the Vostok 6, on June 16th, 1963. She orbited earth a total of 48 times, in 70.8 hours. When she returned to earth, she was named 'Hero of the Soviet Union'. She never flew into space again, however she became a spokesperson for the Soviet Union.

Valentina married an astronaught named Andrian Nikolayev in 1963, and they had a child. Their child, Elena, was used for different experiments, because she was the first child born from two parents who had been exposed to space.

Laika The Dog

Laika was the first dog to orbit the earth. She was a stray dog, picked up on the streets to be used for this experiment. Laika was trained along with two other dogs, but in the end they chose Laika for this mission. On November 3rd, 1957, Laika was launched into space, in the Soviet spacecraft called Sputnik 2.
Laika died within the first few hours during the mission, however, she was not intended to live in the first place. Scientists had no way of retrieving Sputnik 2 from space. There are different theories on how exactly she died, but it wasn't until 2002 when scientists confirmed that the cause of her death was due to overheating.
This experiment helped scientists understand how living organisims react to spaceflight environments. It proved that a passenger could be launched into space, and survive weightlessness.
A monument of Laika standing on top of a rocket was built in 2008 in rememberance to the dog.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Olympus Mons

To view photo source click photo.

Olympus Mons is believed to be the largest mountain in the solar system, and is located on Mars. It is estimated to be about 25 kilometers high, which is approximately three times the height of Mt. Everest. Astronomers have estimated that the base is about 550 km in diameter, and surrounded by a 6 km tall cliff.

Olympus Mons used to be a 'shield' volcano. It was formed on Mars by an eruption of magma from a 'hot spot' underneath the surface. This is the same way the Hawaiian islands were created. This mountain proves that Mars doesn't have moving tectonic plates, because of the large size. Mars has many other large volcanoes on it's surface, but none quiet as large as Mons.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Galileo Galilei - Biography

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Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15th, 1564. His parents were Vincenzo Galilei, and Giulia Degli Ammannati. Galileo had six siblings, and was the oldest of them all. His father, Vincenzo, was a wool trader, as well as a musician. He wanted his son to have a job in medicine, and sent him off to study at the age of eleven, in a jesuit monastery. However, after four years of studying in this monastery, Galileo told his father that he wanted to be a monk. His father had a different dream for him, and so he removed his son from the monastery.

Galileo was sent to go study medicine, instead, at the University of Pisa at age 17. While there, he discovered an interest in math. He left the university to become a math tutor, and later became a professor.

In 1609, Galileo invented the telescope. Using his new invention, he discovered that the moon wasn't smooth, but rather had a surface much like Earth's surface. Galileo also discovered four of Jupiter's moons. Galileo believed Copernicus' theory, that all the planets circled around the Sun. This theory was not like the one that the Catholics believed. They believed that the entire solar system circled around the earth. In 1616, Galileo was accused of being a heretic (someone who is against the Church teachings). He was cleared of charges, but was warned to not publicly state that the solar system circulated around the Sun. He agreed, but continued his studies on the solar system, and became even more convinced that his theory was correct. In 1632, he published a book which stated that Copernicus' theory was true, and so was placed under house arrest for life in 1633.

Galileo Galilei later died, on January 8th, 1642.