“Astronomers Find Earthlike Planet, but it’s Infernally Hot”

Sophie Kohlhoff                                                                                                      10.31.13

Earth Science                                                                                                            Current Events

“Astronomers Find Earthlike Planet, but it’s Infernally Hot”

           Recently, a new planet was discovered, Kepler 78b.  Kepler 78b is actually an exoplanet, which is planet outside our solar system. This newly discovered planet is roughly the size of Earth and has the same density, 0.2 pounds per cubic inch. This leads astronomers to believe that Kepler 78b and Earth have the same. infrastructure, an iron core with rocky outer layers. Kepler 78b however is entirely inhabitable. It orbits around the star Kepler 78 at incredibly close distance, less than 1 million miles, causing the surface temperature to vary from 3,500 to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A year on Earth in 365.3 days, whereas a year on this exoplanet is only 8 and a half hours. This is only of the many odd planets discovered in our galaxy. NASA’s Kepler Spacecraft discovered this planet, along with many of the others. The question left by Kepler 78b is how it got to where it is. Various possibilities have been thought up, all unlikely, but most likely it was a gas planet to start and as it got closer to the star the gas was burned off.

            The constant discovery of new planets is very important to the world. If another planet were discovered that has viable conditions to support life, finding it would be a monumental discovery. Or a planet could be discovered that not has the necessary conditions for life, but actually is inhabited by life forms. Finding another suitable planet for life would be important because we would then know if we can live there.

            Overall, this article was very informative. Before reading I didn’t know anything about the new discovery of this exoplanet and I did not even know exoplanets existed. Planets besides the ones in our solar system are not something people usually are thinking about, but reading about how many diverse planets are out there, just very distant from our own was very interesting. Although this article was very interesting, it was very difficult to relate to life. Also, there were some undefined terms making the article slightly more difficult to comprehend.           

Citation:

Chang, Kenneth. "Astronomers Find Earthlike Planet, but It’s Infernally 
             Hot."Nytimes.com. N.p., 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.                          <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/science/space/astronomers-find-earthlike-planet-but-its-infernally-hot.html?ref=science&_r=0>.

The Sun That Did Not Roar

Picture from the article: "On an otherwise blank solar disk, a single sunspot, dubbed AR1841, was the only visible activity in this Sept. 16 image."

Gabby Markola                                                                                                                     10/31/13

Earth Science C Block Odd                                                                                              Ms. Davies

Chang, Kenneth. "The Sun That Did Not Roar." NYTimes.com. The New York Times, 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/science/space/the-sun-that-did-not-roar.html>.

According to Kenneth Chang’s article entitled “The Sun That Did Not Roar,” our Sun is not following its expected cycle.  Currently, the Sun is at the height of its 11 year cycle, known as the solar maximum.  This cycle is recorded as the 24^th since scientists began tracking the solar cycles.  Almost everything is going as planned, however the minimal sunspots are raising questions among the science world.  While the Sun’s magnetic fields are on the cusp of flipping, as was expected, the fact that only one sunspot has flecked the surface of the Sun is confusing.  Some scientists had expected an active solar cycle, comparable to the recent ones of the past, and others predicted that this solar cycle would be less eventful.  The latter predictions proved to be accurate when the “lull of solar minimum” (Chang 1) lasted longer than was expected.  Data from 2008 shows that the sun was spotless for 266 days, which held the record for the blankest in half of a century.  In 2009, the Sun was blank for 260 days when it should have developed some sunspots.  Cycle 14 that occurred in the 1900s seems to have the same characteristics of Cycle 24 that is currently occurring.  The years of 2010 and 2011 showed a rise in solar activity, but then the amount of sunspots began to drop, which was no surprise to scientists.  Other cycles have proven that the Sun’s northern hemisphere becomes active first, then the beginning of the southern hemisphere’s active period signified another raise in sunspot activity, but that was not the case.  While there was a slight rise in solar activity, it has plateaued for the past year and is causing even more questions among scientists.  Dr. Biesecker is quoted to say that, “In all honesty, it really feels like the sun can’t make up its mind.  It’s just this flat mesa, and it’s not budging” (Chang 2).  His opinion is very similar to those of other scientists researching this event.  Even though many scientists are leaning towards the side of considering this a problem, there is some good that comes out of this situation.  A major worry of 21st – century technology is the fact that a huge solar storm could potentially hit earth.  This storm would possibly disable all satellites and harm wide bands of power grids.  The severity of this non-existent solar maximum has not yet been determined, but scientists are working hard to figure out why exactly this is happening.

The Sun is one of the many things that those who inhabit Earth take for granted.  Most people do not even think about the Sun unless they are trying to figure out the weather.  While the Sun seems to be pretty consistent, there are many different occurrences that have not been deciphered by scientists.  The inactivity of this solar cycle has not proven to be dangerous yet, but what if it changes the entire sun?  Something exactly like this has never happen, which is scary and an incredible learning experience at the same time.  Honestly, it is unknown what will happen in terms of the Sun, but this experience should be a wake-up call for those not concerned with any of the Sun’s activity.  As humans, there is not much we can do to help the Sun, but we can prepare ourselves for any occurrences of the Sun that might affect us.  Chang’s article mentioned how the fact that the Sun has been inactive is positive because it reduces the risk of colossal solar winds that prove to be quite dangerous.  Have there been any precautionary measures set up prior to this knowledge about figuring out a solution to this satellite problem?  The answer to that question is not known, but the human race should begin to prepare for some sort of occurrence.  That does not mean everyone should cease to use their electronics and such, but people should be comfortable without their electronics, because they may not always be as accessible. 

This article presented a lot of information about what exactly is going on with the Sun, which not a lot of people think about.  It was well written and had great facts, yet there were some terms left undefined which made it a little confusing.  It would have been helpful to have known a little background information about the 11-year solar cycles and what exactly they entailed.  Other than a small lack of background information, the article was written quite well.  It was able to make connections between some obscure Sun-facts and some more known sports facts.  The fact that both the worrying sides and the more relieved sides were represented showed how a major occurrence can have both negative and positive outcomes. 

Using Earthquake Sensors to Track Endangered Whales

Ally Minoli

           

            “Using Earthquake Sensors to Track Endangered Whales” explains how there are a number of seafloor seismometers, or devices that record vibrations that are located on the Juan de Duca Ridge off the Washington coast. Over the winter months, not only were lots of earthquakes were recorded, but fin whale calls were recorded, too. Fin whales are very hard to study. In 2008, William Wilcock, a University of Washington professor of oceanography, received funding from the Office of Naval Research to study the whale calls. The University of Washington group analyzed more than 300,000 whale calls. A UW doctoral student in oceanography, Dax Soule, compared the data recorded between eight seismometers. This ingenious idea served as a method for calculating the whale’s position. Soule discovered 154 individual whale paths. He also discovered three main groups of whales that swam south in the winder and early spring. Another group of whales that swam north in the early fall was discovered. It is believed these whales are young males who have no purpose for heading south during breeding season. The whale calls were further tested. Michelle Weirathmueller, a UW doctoral student in oceanography, determined a whale’s call is 190 decibels (a unit for measuring the intensity of sound), which is as loud as a jet engine.

            Using seismometers is a very effective way to track whales. This method is inexpensive and non-invasive. The data recorded can give hints of the animals’ movement and communication patterns. Also, fin whales are vulnerable to collision with fast-moving ships. By learning their swimming behaviors, ships could easily avoid the whales. The seismometers help scientists to understand how a whale reacts in relation to food availability, ocean conditions, and seafloor geology. Although seismometers are intended to track earthquakes, they are a very useful method for studying whales.

            This article is very well written, and it is packed with lots of information. I think it is so fascinating that something used for recording data of earthquakes has a dual purpose for tracking an animal. Also, the article was very interesting and enjoyable to read. I thought the article did an amazing job of explaining everything. However, I wish the article gave more information, including what the scientists are doing now. I would love to learn more about this topic.

University of Washington (2013, May 13). Using earthquake sensors to track endangered whales. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2013/05/130513152411.htm