March 19, 2014
Earth Science C/Even
Mrs. McClellan
"Colliding Comets"
Citation: "Colliding Comets." NASA. NASA, 6 Mar. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nearby-stars-icy-debris-suggests-shepherd-planet/#.Uyowfyi5IyF>.
The article I chose for my current event was about a star that an international team of astronomers were studying using an array in Chile. The star has a disk of gas around it, and the article writes that it the astronomers have also uncovered a compact cloud, which is made up of poisonous gas. This poisonous and gaseous cloud is made up of collisions of a swarm of icy, comet-like bodies, with tons of dust and carbon monoxide gas. The astronomers exploring this unusual cloud could be the following: a remnant of a crash between two icy worlds the size of Mars or frozen debris trapped by the gravity of a planet that has not yet been discovered. Scientists used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to discover this amazing star. Using the array, the astronomers found out the star is pretty far, being located about 63 lightyears away. However, the star is not very old at all. It is quite young, at being 20 million years old and has been discovered to be having the brightest, youngest, and even closest debris disks. Aki Roberge, a team member of the group of astronomers, reported that the gas is very toxic, and it is one of the many gases found in comets. Also much of the gas cloud is located at about 8 billion miles from the star. The planet to be discovered is named Beta Pictoris b, and then there is Beta Pictoris which is basically a large comet. Bill Dent, who is part of Joint ALMA Office in Santiago, Chile, studied the CO molecules around the large comet.
The discovery of this unknown star and its gassy clouds could be very good for NASA and other space-studying organizations to look at. The star is not very far so it can be easy to look for, and space programs can observe the collisions of the comet bodies in the poisonous cloud. This would be a very good example of a cloud to send a space probe to. Also, there could be an unknown planet, which could be amazing for scientists and astronomers to look at and study all around the world. For example, the planet could possibly (most likely not) be adaptable for certain types of organisms. Also, since it is in an icy atmosphere, there could be water, where very small forms of live could live. This is could be a great project for scientists. If they could, a space probe could possibly get materials from this unusual atmosphere and study it in their labs to look at their composition and their shape.
Overall, I thought this article was extremely interesting to read about, because there could be a new planet existing in our universe. It was a fun read because I learned that there could be a new planet and that a cloud was made up of colliding comets. Also the title really did explain itself in the article! They included a video which was very interesting to watch and to learn what else goes on in space. It was very fascinating to read about a huge cloud surrounding a small star, and then having it be a very poisonous cloud. Also, the array was new to me, and it seems like a very good piece of technology to study what happens very far beyond our solar system. Including pictures and a radar of the CO concentration was very interesting and helpful because it could help with getting a better understanding about this amazing event in history. Overall, this article was a very interesting read and I hope to learn more about what astronomers discover where the star is and its cloud.
Amazing article! This review presents the unusual nature of the icy cloud, and its interest to NASA well. The proximity of the cloud to a star, and the possibility that two planets collided pique the reader’s interest in the phenomenon. I also liked the way the cloud’s toxicity was emphasized and repeat. I’m not surprised it is poisonous, nor do I believe that is an outrageous claim, but I think that noxious gas is more interesting than most others. Finally, I’m glad that the author discussed the possibility of life in the cloud. Whenever an exoplanet is found, the most important question is if it can support life. We have found many dead planets, but they have little relation to Earth and are not important. If life were found however, the news would be revolutionary.
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated by the idea of planets colliding. I had never heard of this outside science fiction, and the fact that this cloud could have been created in a massive smashing of two planets is incredible. I can only imagine the tremendous forces involved. Another thing that interested me was that the telescope that found the cloud was in Chile. There must be a large network of cooperating astronomers for telescopes to be built around the world, and information from them shared.
My one critique of this article is that it used weak words such as “great” or “amazing” when more fitting adjectives could have been used. These didn’t serve to inform me, and stood out as I read. Overall however the report was well done.
ReplyDeleteYour review was very well written, and it explained and summarized the article in a concise and clear way. I could easily understand that you read and understood your article because of the depth you went into in the summary. I liked your connections about how this information is applicable to our society. You brought up an interesting idea about water being on a possible unknown planet because of the icy atmosphere, which could potentially mean the discovery of life on the planet (if it exists). It really got me thinking about how cool it would be if we discovered another planet, let alone life on another planet! I, like Charlie, am amazed by the idea of a collision between two planets happening. I honestly thought that such a scenario could happen only in movies, so the idea of this being a possible explanation for a real life situation in space is mind-boggling to me. Another impressive fact that I gathered from your review was that scientists were able to pinpoint the distance of the star from us as well as the age of the star. Not knowing what an array is or how it works, it is amazing that scientists can discover this information about something that is so far away from us. My one criticism of your review is that I was unsure of what an array is and how it works. I would have benefited in knowing that information so I could know in more detail how the scientists found the star. Overall, great job on your review and choosing a fascinating article!
I agree with Mallory that an explanation of an array or some further discussion of the imaging technology used to detect the presence of a CO cloud would be helpful. To be honest, I don't think the original article explained it, and perhaps that is a weakness of the article that Katherine could have critiqued. It is always important in reading about new scientific discoveries to ask HOW do the scientists know what they know. The best science articles are the ones that at least attempt to convey the basics of the science and technology used to the reader.
ReplyDeleteAlthough my interest in noxious gases may not equal that of Charles, I do agree with his criticism that some better adjectives would have enhanced the report.
As for the idea of sending a space probe to this star? Although 63 lightyears is close in the scheme of things, consider that we haven't even conclusively left our own solar system with a space probe yet. (Last year NASA announced that we had, but this is still somewhat debated. It is a little controversial about where exactly the solar system ends.) Our solar system is within 1 to 2 light years across I believe, and we haven't even traveled that far. So I don't predict we will see NASA launching anything to this "nearby" star within our lifetime.
However the implications that we can predict the existence of an unseen planet based on a the surrounding gas cloud is a pretty remarkable application of these findings.