Space Secrets: Want to Know More About Space?
In this issue you will find: Information about Stars, Planets, the Sun and much more!
Board of Administration: Salwa Adel Mai Selim Aliaa Elmahdy Lydia Magdy
Contact us at: lydiabassaly@gmail.com
Space Secrets: Want to Know More About Space?
Don’t be surprised when you see: Is There Life Beyond Earth: Lydia Magdy • • • • •
“Should We Believe in Extraterrestrial Life?” “Extraterrestrial Life” Video “Evidence Found for Life Beyond Earth” “ALIENS?!” Crossword Puzzle “We Must Ask” question yourself
Planets and Stars: Mai Selim • • • •
“Planets” “Interesting Facts About Stars” “Videos to Watch” “Games”
Sun and Moon: Salwa Adel • “Sunspots and Heliolayers” • “When Does the Moon Become a Supermoon” • “SPACE” games
IS THERE LIFE BEYOND EARTH? BY: LYDIA MAGDY
Should We Believe In Extraterrestrial Life? Everyone has probably wondered if there is a form of life beyond planet Earth. Astronomers and scientists such as Carl Sagan, Frank Drake, John Oro, and Ben Zuckerman range in thought over this matter. Some think there are at least a million civilizations alone in our galaxy, while on the other hand another thinks we may be the only form of life in our universe! But what kind of evidence does science provide us to examine if there really is extraterrestrial life? First, it has to be noted that a wave of uncertainties and unknowns follow this topic. Truth is we hold no certain knowledge about a single alien microbe. Even if, because it is highly plausible that there is life out there, we become convinced of the idea, a second problem awaits us. We still wouldn’t know anything about that life- if it's built on a foundation of carbon atoms, requires a liquid-water medium, or the forms by which it moves. Despite that, NASA is in search for planets like Earth through building a telescope called the Terrestrial Planet Finder. They are attempting to find planets with atmospheres that support life. Scientists become decreasingly skeptical
when they find organisms living in extreme conditions here on earth; if these organisms and microbes can survive in boiling springs at Yellowstone or extremely cold conditions, why not in Mars or in Europa? Along with countless studies on the surface of Mars, scientists also plan on studying Jupiter's moon Europa (despite its icy, cold, and dark atmosphere), as it shows signs of containing a subsurface ocean which is always a sign of a biosphere. In conclusion, one evidence scientists use to assume there is extraterrestrial life is the harsh, hostile, bizarre, extreme conditions they examine organisms on Earth live in. When they see that, it is difficult to dismiss that there are organisms also on other planets!
Work Cited: Achenbach, Joel. "Life Beyond Earth." National Geographic. National Geographic Soceity, n.d. W eb. 24 Apr 2011. <http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/lifebeyond-earth.html#page=9>.
Mars: rocky surface
Europa: icy surface
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8EusI34MBE Follow the link above to watch an interesting video discussing the topic. In this video, theories of life beyond Earth are introduced along with dogmas by Ex Astronauts Gordon Cooper & Dr. Edgar Mitchell from the Apollo 14 mission. They firmly believe there is some sort of governmental dishonesty about the existence of extraterrestrial life. It is important to note, however that many scientists believe claims of life beyond Earth are unconvincing, while this video attempts to reveal the other side of the argument. Does this video provide concrete scientific evidence for life beyond Earth? Should we believe there is life beyond Earth simply because well-known astronauts believe so?
Evidence Found for Life beyond Earth “So what?” you may say. What and where is the hard evidence that leads astronauts to believe there really is a form of alien life? Let’s examine three main evidences found. 1. In 1976, The Viking Mars landers come back with soil that contained chemical evidence. NASA's Viking landers conducted tests of their soil. One experiment mixed soil with radioactive-carbon-labeled nutrients. The production of radioactive methane gas was then tested. Because the results came back positive, there was a suggestion that something in the soil was metabolizing the nutrients and allowing for the production of the radioactive gas that was found. However, other experiments done did not show this reaction, so NASA dismissed the subject. 2. In 1996, meteorite ALH84001 from Antarctica shows Martian fossils NASA scientists found microbes in the potato-shaped lump of Martian rock. They assumed the meteorite was blow off during a collision on the surface of Mars and floated around the solar system approximately 15 million years. It then emerged right into Antarctica in 1984.After much detailed examination, the rock revealed Careful analysis revealed organic molecules and tiny specs of the mineral magnetite (which is sometimes found in Earth bacteria).Controversies to these findings are the claims that the magnetite particles were not similar to those found in bacteria, also that that contaminants from Earth are the reason or source for these findings. 3. In 2003, waste products of underground bacterial colonies are connected to the Sulfur traces on Europa (Jupiter's moon) Galileo space probe showed evidence of volcanic activity in an ocean underneath Europa’s icy crust. As on the Earth, any sign of volcanic activity leaves traces of sulfur. The sulfur samples found looked similar to the wasteproducts of bacteria. These bacteria are found on Earth on the surface of icy lakes in Antarctica. The researchers are amazed at the connectivity between the
bacterium. The idea, however, was rejected as skeptical scientists noted the abundance of these bacteria from the neighboring moon lo. Work Cited: Pickrell, John. "Top 10: Controversial Pieces of Evidence for Extraterrestrial Life ." Newscientist Space. New Scientist, 04 09 2006. Web. 25 Apr 2011. <http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9943-top-10-controversial-pieces-ofevidence-for-extraterrestrial-life.html?page=2>.
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10 of 10 words were placed into the puzzle. Game made by Puzzle Maker: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/freepuzzlemaker/?CFID=11750274&CFTOKEN=29664820
We Must Ask So after all the information you have just received, you have to ask yourself â&#x20AC;&#x153;will I believe in a life beyond Earth?â&#x20AC;? Consider the vastness of the universe, and the multiple galaxies that exist. Would it be limiting our view of life if we dismiss the idea of life outside of planet Earth? Or would we be scientifically correct given the slight amount of any evidence of extraterrestrial life? It is essentially hard to believe in external life when we observe our culture, the multiple movies made showing the fictions of aliens invading Earth. Or even the songs made mentioning extraterrestrial life. It can soon become fiction, or unreal in our minds. But we must truly think critically of the idea of such existence. Perhaps it is peculiarly self-centered to believe that with the wide forms and varieties of creation in the universe, we are the only ones lucky enough to live and experience it all. Therefore, you must ask yourself. Research and examine, analyze and critique the subject. Determine on your own what belief you will hold. How would proof of life beyond Earth influence life here on Earth? How would it help? How would it harm? Should scientists and researchers invest time and money in finding it, if it indeed exists? Or should the resources be used elsewhere in space studies, after all, scientists have much to discover. Where do you stand?
Planets & Stars By: Mai Selim
WHAT’S SO EXCITING ABOUT MERCURY? In astronomy, mercury was the Roman version of the Greek God ‘Hermes’. Hermes was the messenger of the other gods; therefore, mercury is often described in pictures with winged sandals. He did not only deliver messages but he also protected and took care of all travelers and merchants. Isn’t that so cool?!! Mercury is smaller than the earth, and it has a less gravity too. If you weigh 70 pounds which is 32 kilograms, you would weigh only about 27 pounds which is 12 kilograms on mercury. The planet mercury is the closest to the Sun, and therefore it’s called a morning star as it shines brightly in the early mornings from the suns light. What’s so cool about this planet is that it has no atmosphere; the planet is too small and it has too little atmosphere to hold an atmosphere. In addition, mercury is so close to the sun that any atmosphere is quickly blown away by the suns solar winds.
More & More -
Mercury is the heaviest planet, because as the sun formed is pushed put the lighter gas and dust out of the inner solar system leaving behind only heavier elements mainly iron which caused the planet to weigh more than it should be.
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Mercury has Wrinkles. As Mercury's iron core cooled it contracted, or shrunk. This caused its rocky crust to become wrinkled
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The surface of Mercury that faces the Sun can get to about 800 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, the temperature at night can fall to almost -300 degrees Fahrenheit. This is because Mercury has no atmosphere to help control temperature.
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The result is that Mercury rotates very slowly. One day on Mercury is about 58-1/2 Earth days long.
The planet Venus VENUS WAS THE ROMAN GOODNESS OF LOVE AND BEAUTY. IN GREEK HER NAME WAS APHRODITE.
What is Venus? -
The planet Venus is hardly understood unlike all the other planets. It has an atmosphere just like the earth but Venusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s atmosphere is far thicker, making it difficult for modern science to penetrate. Scientists recently found out that there are numerous volcanoes and mountains that appear misshapen. Venus has an extremely hot temperature and this is due to the absence of the ozone layer which then causes the ultraviolet radiation from the sun to find its way directly into Venusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s atmosphere.
Interesting fact, Venus and the Earth are sister Planets. -
Venus is in many ways Earth's sister planet. It is almost the same in size, chemistry, gravity and density as the Earth. In other words, Venus is made up of almost the exact same types of materials as the Earth and in about the same quantities. Venus has volcanoes, mountains and sand, just like Earth. Venus is sometimes called the evil twin as it has a deadly world with a very hot temperature and the atmosphere contains mainly carbon dioxide.
More facts??! -
Venous has more volcanoes than any of the other planets in our Solar System Venus rotates very slowly so that a day on Venus lasts more than 100 Earth days Venus also rotates in the opposite direction as almost all the other planets Venus has no moons.
The planet Earth - Where we all live EARTH WAS THE MOTHER OF THE MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, STREAMS AND ALL OTHER LAND FORMATIONS. SHE WAS MARRIED TO THE URANUS PLANET.
What is Earth? -
The Earth is the largest of all the terrestrial planets. A terrestrial planet is a dense planet found in the inner Solar System. The diameter of Earth is 7,926
miles. The circumference measured around the equator is 24,901 miles. There are currently roughly 7 billion people living on the Earth. About 30% of the Earth's surface is covered with land, while about 70% is covered by oceans. Our planet is an sanctuary of life in an otherwise desolate universe.
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Earth's temperature, weather, atmosphere and many other factors are just right to keep us alive. The earth has one moon called Luna.
The Planet Mars MARS WAS THE ROMAN GOD OF WAR AND AGRICULTURE. MARS PROTECTED THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND STAYED HOME TO RAISE CROPS FOR FOOD. IN GREEK, MARS WAS KNOWN AS ARES.
More about the Planet Mars -
Mars is said to be one planet that excites scientist the most. Evidence suggests that mars used to have rivers, streams, lakes and even oceans; however the water gradually evaporated. Today water on mars is either frozen of underground. People sometimes call mars as the ‘Red Planet’ and this is because the surface of mars is red. Mars has two moons Deimons and Phobons.
Do You Know …? That Mars look
Mars has higher mountains, and deeper canyons than any other planet. The largest canyon on would stretch from New York City to Los Angeles on the Earth. That makes the Grand Canyon tiny. It also has the the Solar Systems biggest volcano, Olympus Mons.
The Planet Jupiter JUPITER WAS KNOWN AS ZEUS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY, OVER THREW HIS FATHER SATURN TO BECOME KING OF THE GODS. HE THEN SPLIT THE UNIVERSE WITH HIS BROTHERS NEPTUNE AND PLUTO.
More about Jupiter..? -
Jupiter is the largest planet of our solar system. The earth could fit inside Jupiter around a thousand times. Jupiter is known as a stormy planet, and most of the storms seem to never end. Jupiter does not have a solid surface; it has a large liquid ocean of hydrogen and water. The planet Jupiter has faint rings that can only be seen when Jupiter passes in front of the sun. This is because the sun’s light bright the rings and you would then be able to see it. There are three rings in all names, Gossamer, Main and Halo
What lies in between that ocean and the atmosphere? -
Actually, there is no in between. The atmosphere slowly gets thicker and thicker until it becomes part of the ocean. In other words, Jupiter's ocean has no surface on which you could float a boat. The sky becomes the ocean
The planet Saturn SATURN WAS THE ROMAN GOD OF AGRICULTURE. HE WAS CALLED CRONUS BY THE GREEKS. HE IS THE SON OF URANUS AND THE FATHER OF JUPITER. SATURN OVERTHREW HIS FATHER TO BECOME KING OF THE GODS, BUT WAS THEN OVERTHROWN HIMSELF BY HIS SON JUPITER.
More information about Saturn -
Saturn is similar to Jupiter, but Saturn is smaller. It is the second largest planet in the solar system. Under the clouds of methane, hydrogen and helium, the sky gradually turns into liquid until it becomes a giant ocean of liquid chemicals. Saturn is the least dense planet in our Solar System. It is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium, which are the two lightest elements in the universe and thus make Saturn the lightest planet that we know of. And because Saturn is so light, it does not have as much gravity; interestingly, it is believed Saturn would actually be able to float in water because the hydrogen and helium that make up the planet are so lightweight.
More facts..? -
Saturn spins so fast Saturn has 53 official moons and 9 provisional moons The most wellwell-known of Saturn's moons is probably Titan Saturn is the furthest planet from Earth that can be seen without the help of a telescope.
The planet Uranus URANUS WAS THE LORD OF THE SKIES AND HUSBAND OF EARTH. HE WAS ALSO THE KING OF THE GODS UNTIL HE WAS OVERTHROWN BY HIS SON SATURN
All about Uranus -
Uranus spins on its side, unlike all the other planets on the solar system. It is believed that long ago a very large object smashed into this planet. The crash was
so powerful that it completely changed the direction of Uranus' planetary rotation. -
Like Saturn there is a think atmosphere layer that is made up of methane, hydrogen and helium. Moreover, Uranus is an extremely cold planet; it is sometimes called the ‘ice giant planet’. It was believed that Uranus was made up of a large rock and ice. Scientists also figured out that this planet has large amount of ocean and the oceans are very hot at most times. The Uranus planet has rings that are made up of black dust particles and large rocks.
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Uranus has about 27 moons and 5 of these moons are large and the rest are very small.
The planet Pluto PLUTO WAS THOUGHT TO BE THE GOD TO WHOM ALL MEN MUST EVENTUALLY GO. ROMANS BELIEVED HIM TO BE THE GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD. IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY, HE IS KNOWN AS HADES
All about Pluto Pluto is known as the ‘Dwarf Planet’, what’s so interesting about this name was that it was named by a kid, and it was the first planet that was named by a young 11 year old girl who lived in Oxford, England. England. Pluto is smaller than 7 of the moons in the solar system; because it is too small, many scientists does not consider it as a planet at all. Pluto revolves around the Sun in an orbit that is not exactly circular like the rest of the Pluto's planets. Rather, Pl uto's orbit is more of an oval or egg shape. Because of this, Pluto will orbit inside of Neptune's orbit, which makes Pluto closer to the Sun than Neptune at times. Also, its orbit does not lie flat in the same plane as the rest of the orbit planets. Pluto's orb it is tilted so it orbits above and below the other planets' orbits in our Solar System.
Interesting facts about stars 1- The Sun is the closest star: Our own Sun is classified as a G2 yellow dwarf star in the main sequence phase of its life. The Sun has been happily converting hydrogen into helium at its core for 4.5 billion years, and will likely continue doing so for another 7+ billion years. When the Sun runs out of fuel, it will become a red giant
2- Stars are made of some stuff: All stars begin from clouds of cold molecular hydrogen that gravitationally collapse. As they cloud collapses, it fragments into many pieces that will go on to form individual stars. The material collects into a ball that continues to collapse under its own gravity until it can ignite nuclear fusion at its core. This initial gas was formed during the Big Bang, and is always about 74% hydrogen and 25% helium. Over time, stars convert some of their hydrogen into helium.
3- Most stars are red dwarfs If you could collect all the stars together and put them in piles, the biggest pile, by far, would be the red dwarfs. These are stars with less than 50% the mass of the Sun. Red dwarfs can even be as small as 7.5% the mass of the Sun. Below that point, the star doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the gravitational pressure to raise the temperature inside its core to begin nuclear fusion. Those are called brown dwarfs, or failed stars. Red dwarfs burn with less than 1/10,000th the energy of the Sun, and can sip away at their fuel for 10 trillion years before running out of hydrogen.
4- The biggest dwarf would engulf Saturn Speaking of red giants, or in this case, red super giants, there are some monster stars out there that really make our Sun look small. There are some stars thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so big that it can actually engulf the planet Saturn
5- There are many, many stars You might be surprised to know that there are 200-400 billion stars in our galaxy. Each one is a separate island in space, perhaps with planets, and some may even have life.
6- Stars are far away from each other There are so many stars out there, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing to consider the vast distances involved. In other words, it takes light itself more than 4 years to complete the journey from Earth.
VIDEO’S TO WATCH!! 1- Solar System video called ‘The Intellizeum Kids’, it teaches a lesson about the solar system and the planets environment. It also encourages people to reach the stars by featuring Danny Olivas, a NASA Astronaut who was raised in El Paso, Texas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQbPwf3OH68
2- This video shows the coparasion of size in planets, its quite interesting to watch as compare all planets and stars. The video is also shown in 3D.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEheh1BH34Q&feature=related
GAMES
Got Information From:1- The Planets in our Solar System Book, by Franklyn M. Branley, year 1999 2- Pictures from Google.images 3- Star facts:- www.universetoday.com 4- Games made by Mai selim, and Maze from google.com 5- www.solarviews.com
MLA Citation: Cain, Fraser. "Interesting Facts About Stars." universetoday. N.p., February 10, 2009. Web. 25 Apr 2011. <http://www.universetoday.com/25145/interesting-facts-about-stars/>. LastLord Tennyson, Alfred . "The Solar System." solarviews.com. N.p., 1842. Web. 25 Apr 2011. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm>.
SUNSPOTS
The sun becomes hotter when the numbers of sunspots increase on the surface of the Sun. Sunspots go through a 22 years cycle known as the Sun-Spot cycle. The sunspot cycle reaches it top in 11 years and then the numbers of
sunspots decreases again gradually in another 11 years and then the cycle begins again. The increased numbers of sunspots affect the Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s temperature as the more the sun becomes hotter, the more the Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s temperature will increase.
THE HELIOLAYERS
This picture shows the Helio-Layers of the Sun which consists of The Internal and the External structure.
The Internal structure consists of:
1. The Inner Core 2. The Radiative zone around the Core. 3. The Convection zone.
The External structure or the outermost layers of the Sun consists of:
1. Subsurface flows. 2. The photosphere. 3. The Chromosphere. 4. The Corona. Work Cited:
David H. Hathaway. "The Sunspot Cycle." NASA/Marshall Solar Physics. 4 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml>.
"The Heliolayers." NASA.gov. Ed. Brooke Boen. 4 Mar. 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hinode/solar_020.html>.
When does the moon become a SUPERMOON?
McCord, Tim . "'Supermoon' Photos from Around the World." space.com. N.p., March 19, 2011. Web. 26 Apr 2011. <http://www.space.com/11178-supermoon-photos-2011-skywatcher-images.html>.
This photo was taken by Tim McCord, a skywatcher, from Washington. He took it on March 19, 2011 when the moon was a full-moon, actually he called it as a supermoon as it was so huge becuase the moon was at perigee where the moon is in its closest point to the Earth. He used a camera-equipped telescope to capture this photo.
McCord, Tim . "'Supermoon' Photos from Around the World." space.com. N.p., March 19, 2011. Web. 26 Apr 2011. <http://www.space.com/11178-supermoon-photos-2011-skywatcher-images.html>.
The NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory was recorded a powerful Class X1.5 solar flare on March 9, 2011, which is a solar storm released by the Sun that could reach the Earth's auroras to make it supercharged. this solar flare appears in white spots as shown in the photo taken by the NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Malik, Tariq . "Amazing New Sun Photos from Space." space.com. NASA/SDO/GSFC, 10 March 2011. Web. 26 Apr 2011. <http://www.space.com/30-amazing-sun-photos-space.html>.
SPACE S I E S D Q X H U W S C D S S
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CORONA DARKSPOTS HELIOLAYERS SPACE SUNSPOTS SUPERMOON __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Across 4. when the moon is larger than usual Down 1. dark spots on the surface of the sun 2. layers of the sun 3. the outermost layer of the sun 4. a 22 years cycle of the sun