Friday, November 14, 2008

A Taste of Astronomy!!


String Theory
It can only be defined as a similarity of basic mathematical models of particles and the way they interact. It is basically a theory to the question "What are we made of?" It's a very debating subject and isn't widely accepted.It basically defines four fundamentals forces within the universe which are electromagnetism, weak, strong, and gravity. This theory is actually saying that EVERYTHING has matter, even light! If the theory is accurate then our world is made of strings. They are always moving=vibrating at every moment. Our world itself is composed of pure strings.

Ultimate Fate of The Universe
Split into two ideas of our Universe's end. There is the "Endless Expansion" idea, and the "Big Crunch" idea, both showing us the end of the universe indefinately. Our universe's evolution is constantly pushed and pulled by gravity. This is all dependent on density. If the density is less then the critical density then the universe will expand forever sending us all further away from everything-eventually ending our life completely due to it becoming very, very cold. Then there is the "Big Crunch" where as the universe expands, we will reach a peak, then drop back into a very tiny ball of matter. Additionally, there have been some cases of other ideas for our universe's ultimate end.

Dark Energy
Our universe is made up of 70% of something known as dark energy. It is considered a hypothetical idea - energy that increases the rate of expansion of the universe. Dark energy, hypothetically can account for 70% of the universe's energy. It tends to mix with dark matter. Two proposed forms for dark energy are the cosmological constant, a constant energy density filling space and scalar fields. It is one of the most unknown and non-understood things that have come to mind. Albert Einstein's theories have made dark matter be considered a multitude of things. Some people consider it to be a property in space. It is believed to exist always, never moving or changing, just standing still. It basically is an idea to explain all of the extra mass in the universe. We can weigh planets, and most visable things in the universe, but something is there that we can't see, or locate.

Titan
It is the largest moon orbiting Saturn. Although it is relatively larger then planets such as Mars, or Mercury it has a planet like atmosphere which is more dense then the others. It is believed to be the primitive version of Earth before oxygen had began to form. It's atmosphere is considered an anti-greenhouse for instead of heating the moon, it repels the heat, making the moon extremely cold, and uninhabital. Titan has no magnetic field and sometimes orbits outside Saturn's magnetosphere. Titan has an intriguing atmosphere that brings up questions. What would happen if we were to introduce oxygen to the moon? Could it be a possibility that Titan could sustain life? This is the significance of the moon Titan.

Astrobiology
It is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future life of the universe. It encompasses the deep search for new habitable locations outside of Earth. Astrobiology combines the use of physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, geology, philosophy, and planetary science in order for us to recognize other biospheres that differ from our own. It should be noted however, that astrobiology roots itself on previous knowledge of our universe, and usually clashes with previous interpretations or theoretical bases. It is another very speculated subject entirely for it questioning so many hypothesizes, theories, and multiple opinions.

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