Mars One (and Done?) Current event 1

Citation:

Chu, Jennifer. "Mars One (and Done?)." MIT News. MIT, 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

In the article, “Mars One (and Done)” by Jennifer Chiu the technical feasibility of humans living on Mars in the near future was discussed by the team at MIT. They debated about the “Mars One” project, that announced plans in 2012 to establish a human colony of Mars by 2025. Run by a Dutch non-profit, the mission would send 4 astronauts on a one-way trip to Mars to spend the rest of their lives building the first human settlement on another planet. It seems to be quite the daring mission as the company claims all the technology necessary for its success already exists. According to the company’s website this mission is, “the next giant leap for mankind.”  MIT engineers looked into the technology behind it and believe the company should take a step back and reconsider. According to these engineers, many new technologies would be needed before human life on mars could successfully exist. For example, if the food had to be grown only on Mars, which is a vision of Mars One company, there would be production of unsafe levels of oxygen leading to suffocation of any human inhabitants. A technology to remove that excess oxygen would have to be implemented, a technology not yet developed for use in space. Additionally, water is a huge issue. Although, the Mars Phoenix lander discovered evidence of ice on Mar’s surface, and it seems that it could simply be melted into fresh water, this is not as simple as it sounds. Another contradiction to the Mars One Company’s belief that all necessary technology is available is one that could melt this frozen water especially ice in space. Such a technology has not yet even begun its existence. Another matter to be dealt with is the cost, about 4.5 billion dollars. This cost would only grow with additional crews and supplies sent to Mars over the years. According to MIT Professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems Olivier de Weck, “The prospect of building a human settlement on Mars is an exciting one. To make this goal a reality, however, will require innovations in a number of technologies and a rigorous systems perspective.” There is no back and white right now about going to Mars and settling there. But, according to engineers at MIT it will not happen for a long time. “There are just so many unknowns,” says graduate student Sydney Do, “And to give anyone confidence that they’re going to get there and stay alive – there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

This article is consequential to everyone all over the world, including us here in Bronxville. The fact that there is even the slight possibility of a human colony on Mars is outstanding. It will encourage technology to improve and provide us with the ability to imagine. Just imagine life on a planet other than Earth. To see Earth in the night sky would be amazing. Thinking about life on another planet really gets us thinking about what we need to live. We take it for granted how well fit Earth is for life. We are so fortunate and this article really brings to light how precious all our natural resources are. There is no other planet like Earth. No other known liquid water in the observable universe. No other life as we know it, anywhere, but here on our exceptional planet Earth.

To conclude, this article was overall very well written. It included key quotes from students at MIT and information from the various professors working on the project. The author clearly explained everything in the article so that anyone could easily understand. I really enjoyed how the information was presented and the fascinating photo on the top of the article of what a colony on Mars would look like. This photo was a beneficial addition because it gives a great visual to what life could be like on the mysterious red planet. This article really leaves an air of mystery as I analyze all that I have read and the real possibility of living on Mars. It makes me appreciate the uniqueness of our home planet and how blessed we truly are to live here, on the Blue Planet.

'Death Star' Moon May Hide a Buried Ocean

Hannah Weirens 

'Death Star' Moon May Hide a Buried Ocean

Lemonick, Michael D. "'Death Star' Moon May Hide a Buried Ocean." National Geographic. National Geographic, 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fnews.nationalgeographic.com%2Fnews%2F2014%2F10%2F141016-space-death-star-moon-mimas-ocean%2F>.

            The article, “’Death Star’ Moon May Hide a Buried Ocean,” talks about the new plausible interpretation on Mimas’ wobble.  Mimas is one of Saturn’s many moons that has a large wobble in its orbit.  Many scientists were curious as to why this occurs.  They first looked at the giant Herschel impact crater on the surface of the moon for an explanation.  They theorized when an asteroid hit, the remains under the impact crater made Mimas more massive on one side, which would explain the wobble.  Unfortunately, they realized this would have permanently reoriented Mimas, so the idea of an asteroid and crater having to do with the wobble was rejected.  Their next theory was that there could be a subsurface sea between the core and the surface.  If this is true, it would explain why Mimas wobbles.  Since it is moving while orbiting, the water would move as well resulting in the moon wobbling.  Although this is not proved, this is the most realistic explanation for the wobble so far.

            If Mimas has a subsurface sea, it could provide an environment for life to exist.  Although it is not ensured, it at least raises the possibility.  Now that we have knowledge of another moon with a potential subsurface sea, scientists can use this to find ways to move life there if the conditions are safe enough, as well as find whether life exists there already.  This would be an important scientific discovery and could save humans if Earth were to become dangerous to live on.  I am personally very curious as to what scientists discover or learn after establishing this theory of the subsurface sea.  This can lead to finding other moons with a wobble like Mimas, along with Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Enceladus, and Titan.

            This article was well written, but it was hard to understand.  It made sense after I read it a couple times.  I was confused at first on how the wobble could lead to the explanations, but soon after rereading I understood.  Although some parts were hard to understand, the author, Michael D. Lemonick, did a thorough job on explaining some concepts.  For instance, he used a scientist’s model of a hard-boiled egg and a raw egg spinning to help readers picture how the subsurface sea could make the moon wobble.  In addition, the author did a great job of telling readers what this new theory can mean for the future.  This helped the article be relevant to my life along with many other readers and made me excited about this topic! 

Huge Solar Flare Erupts from Biggest Sunspot in 24 Years

Ethan Reich                                                                                                                        10/26/14

Core Earth                                                                                                Quarter I: Current Event 1

Malik, Tariq. "Huge Solar Flare Erupts from Biggest Sunspot in 24 Years (Photos)." Space.com. N.p., 25 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://www.space.com/27540-huge-solar-flare-from-giant-sunspot.html>.

I chose to do my report on the article “Huge Solar Flare Erupts from Biggest Sunspot in 24 Years (Photos)” by Tariq Malik of space.com.  During a partial solar eclipse that occurred the day before on October 23rd that could be seen throughout the United States, many distinguished photographers marveled at the sight of the visible, massive sunspot that is AR 12192. A day later, the sunspot produced one of the biggest solar flares of the decade. Last Friday, October 24th, a massive solar flare (a quick, powerful burst of radiation) erupted from a sunspot known as AR 12192, a previously active sunspot that has a history for producing some of the most repetitive, craziest, massive solar storms ever witnessed from Earth. In fact, quoting directly from the article, “‘This is the fourth substantial flare from this active region since Oct. 19,’ NASA spokesperson Karen Fox wrote in a status update.” Also, to put the size of AR 12192 itself in perspective, it is comparable to the volume of Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. How ridiculous is that? Below is an actual picture of the sunspot and flare taken from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which monitors the Sun. (Picture wouldn't paste in) The flare itself was classified as an “X” category solar flare, the most severe categorization possible. “When aimed directly at Earth, X-class flares can potentially pose a danger to astronauts and spacecraft in space, and interfere with navigation, radio and communications signals.”, says Tariq Malik. Interestingly enough, even though this solar flare was gigantic, it was not the biggest one of the year. The largest solar flare happened way back in February of 2014, when a solar flare over 1.5x bigger than this one blew up.

  The solar flares on the Sun themselves do not pose a threat to Earth or the species that inhabit it. However, large enough solar flares, like this one, can easily disrupt human systems and even humans themselves if they are caught beyond the safe realm that is Earth’s atmosphere. Astronauts and spacecraft somewhat close to the Sun in space can easily be affected by the radiation given off by solar flares, and flares also have a tendency to disrupt navigation, radio, and communications signals. Overall, solar flares are more of a inconvenience to modernized human life when they do happen to occur; they tend not to be a true long-term disturbance.

          Personally, I enjoyed reading this article because I not only found it interesting but because it was also something I knew fairly little about. Since this article was about the Sun, I felt a little personal connection to reading it, knowing that we as a class had just finished our unit on the solar system and our planets. Hence, this current event was not a tough assignment for me; I flew through it because I was interested the whole time. I knew absolutely nothing about sunspots and solar flares before engaging in my evaluation of this article, but afterwards, I felt much more informed on the topic. Also, I felt like the format of the article itself made it very easy to read and do a report on. The beginning of the article gave good background information on the topic the article delved into, easing the reader into a specific area of earth science largely unknown by the common person. Even though the ending paragraphs of the article felt a bit dull at times, they were still relevant to explaining the topic and evaluating further impacts the solar flares could have on humans. Perhaps the article could be improved by spicing up the final paragraphs and making them more reader-friendly.

Grace Stephens

Earth Science

10/24/14

Big Black Holes Can Block New Stars

This article is about how some of the black holes that have formed are preventing gas to heat up and cool, to form into baby stars. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University are wondering why they stop forming stars at some point and the question is: Why? Basically, these active black holes give a reason for why stars stop forming in the universe. The gas that is forming the black holes is not cooling. It is remaining hot, or becoming even hotter which is only making the black hopes become more massive. Therefore, no new stars can be formed. Scientists are using the “SZ effect” to see why this is happening. The Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect describes the scattering of cold cosmic microwave background photons off hot gas in the atmospheres of galaxy clusters. The SZ signal changes brightness with the mass of the cluster, but does not change as a function of redshift. This makes it an excellent tracer of large structures in the Universe, since it can be used to characterize the properties of a cluster at any distance. These scientists hope to find more answers beyond the temperatures of the black holes and so on.

I decided to write about this current event article because it has a lot to do with what we are studying in class. We just learned about the redshift effect and how stars die and form again. I also found this article really interesting because it is amazing to think about how we can find information about objects millions of miles away. Stars start off as stellar nebulas, become an average or massive star, then will become a red giant or red supergiant. The small stars turn into planetary nebulas, and the massive stars explode into supernovas. Lastly, after planetary nebulas those stars will become white dwarfs, and the supernovas will become black holes. We just discussed this in class, and its interesting to see it actually taking place in real life. 

I thought that this article was pretty well written. Although, at times it was pretty confusing because they jumped around a lot. I enjoyed learning about this topic because it gave me a broader idea of the universe and space. In the article they included a lot of quotes and names of scientists which helped explain to me more about this topic. In conclusion I recommend this article to anyone who is interesting in studying stars and astronomy.

http://www.astronomy.com/news/2014/10/big-black-holes-can-block-new-stars

Dr. Craig Spencer Tests Positive for Ebola

Review- Grace Randall

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/nyregion/craig-spencer-is-tested-for-ebola-virus-at-bellevue-hospital-in-new-york-city.html

The article, Doctor in New York City Is Sick With Ebola, discusses the recently reported case of Ebola in New York City. On Thursday, October 23, Dr. Craig Spencer was admitted to isolation at Bellevue Hospital after reporting symptoms of Ebola, including a fever of 103˚. Only just a week ago, the doctor returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea. From interviews with Spencer, we know he visited a bowling alley, rode the subway, and took a cab the day before noticing symptoms, but fortunately it is believed that he was not contagious during this time. As precaution however Health officials are still making sure to track down anyone he made direct contact with, as well as checking locations he traveled to. It has been confirmed though, that his fiancee and two of his friends are being confined to quarantine as precaution, as they are not yet showing signs of infection. It is also noted in the article that authorities are working hard to seal of areas such as his apartment and inform neighbors of the condition. Finally, its being assured that New Yorkers have no need to worry now because the space and people infected or at potential risk are in isolation.

This article is greatly significant to humanity, and especially to our personal location. For humanity as a whole, the spread of ebola is of widespread concern, and familiar to nearly everyone. The recent outbreaks in Africa , and reported cases in other areas of the world, are a great scare to people of all ages and cultures. Even authorities fear this virus has potentially devastating effects, and health organizations across the globe are taking an abundance of precaution. It’s important for people to be aware of the spread of this disease, as well as learn from cases how to better prevent this. Specifically to our location in Bronxville, this article has a great effect on us. The disease is closer to us than it ever has been, as the proximity of NYC and our small town is only about 30  minutes. Being informed about cases as relevant as this is important in raising precautious awareness and a better widespread knowledge for people. Until recently, Ebola has been centralized in Africa, however now that more and more cases are being reported, the idea of a fatal contagion is becoming more real.

Overall, I feel this article went into great depth with detail, while still providing information in varying aspects of the story. I think the author did a good job at informing the reader with enough detail to understand the situation, however I think they could have done a better job giving background information.  For those people who are unfamiliar with the basic information on Ebola, or also the what work with the victims is like, this article could somewhat hard to understand or fully grasp. I think it’s important that the author at least provide a bit of background on the topic so readers more unaware of the topics than others can still understand it. I also noticed that some the sentence structure was poor, espceially run-on. For example the opening line says, “A doctor in New York City who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea became the first person in the city to test positive for the virus Thursday, setting off a search for anyone who might have come into contact with him.” Coming from a prestigious newspaper, I definitely think they could have done a more diligent job in editing this text. As a whole, however, I think this article exhibits a thorough and good documentation of this case.

Earth Science D-ODD Ms.McClellan                                                                    Ellie Walsh

Current Event Quarter 1                                                                          10/23/14

California Institute of Technology. "Getting to know super-Earths: Using Hubble to study mysterious exoplanet." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 October 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141015152554.htm>.

In the article Getting to know super-Earths: Using Hubble to study mysterious exoplanet, the focus is on exoplanets named super-Earths. The study being done is of space beyond our solar system.  Astronomers only have been looking inside our planetary system for as long as they have been looking at the sky. The Kepler Spacecraft is beginning to change this, and the studies are finding that exoplanets compare to earth in a various amount of ways. The super- Earths are the most common exoplanets in the galaxy, but astronomers have still yet to discover what they are made of.  There are numerous possibilities of what their composition is, but there are obstacles to get around in order to make more discovers. Hopefully, soon there will be more discoveries on the composition, which will reveal more information about these exoplanets.

This study of exoplanets beyond our solar system will lead to more discoveries about our universe. If astronomers going further into this research in later years, it will have more of an impact on people. The article does not only give an insight of what is happening with these exoplanets, but also shows how big the universe is. This discovery is mostly important for the world within astronomy. I hypothesis that this discovery brought achievement and satisfaction to astronomers. They may not be satisfied with their findings yet, because they are not nearly done. I find this exciting to know that there may be atmospheres on exoplanets beyond our solar system, so I wonder how astronomers feel about this breakthrough of possible atmosphere beyond our solar system.

I found this article interesting to read because although astronomers do not know what the atmosphere is like, they are finding other earth-like qualities. I found the article to be a little misleading. The article is mostly full of assumptions. The author includes facts about these exoplanets, but I wish it were possible for them to know more. This article definitely was very interesting, and grabbed my attention and curiosity. The author knew what he was talking about and brought in the reader with quotes that helped grasp the points that were being made. I think the author did a really good job in constructing this article. The article is readable for someone who has little knowledge about this topic and someone with extensive knowledge. I believe this author did a good job with this piece. I do hope to see how the astronomers can further this discovery.

Comet Siding Spring Whizzes Past Mars

The article, “Comet Siding Spring Whizzes Past Mars,” which is on the Discovery News website, discusses a comet that recently nearly collided with Mars.  The article says that a Mars comet impact would be very exciting, and that it would be a very irregular chance to study the comet’s impact on Mars. Also, the article gives a background on the comet, where it originated and how long it will take until it passes Mars again.

The comet that nearly collided with Mars affects humanity in general because it’s very dangerous to our planet. If it nearly collided with Mars, our neighboring planet, there’s a decent chance that it could come close to the Earth. The discovery of this comet is significant because it an extremely rare sighting of this specific comet, as according to the article, the comet traveled over one million years to first reach Mars, and it won’t return for another one million years. Also, the comet was very close to making contact with Mars, as it was approximately 87,000 miles away from the planet. If it collided with Mars, it would’ve made a huge crater.

I felt that all the points in the article were well supported by the evidence. I enjoyed the article because it was very specific in describing where the comet was in space, and how fast it was traveling. Nothing was missing in the article, and the science is substantiated. None of the aspects of the research were overlooked or poorly explained. This research raises questions about whether this same comet will come close to colliding with any more planets of our solar system during its orbit.

http://news.discovery.com/space/asteroids-meteors-meteorites/comet-siding-spring-whizzes-past-mars-141020.htm

After a Two Year Trek, NASA’s Mars Rover Reaches Its Mountain Lab

In this article, After a Two Year Trek, NASA’s Mars Rover Reaches Its Mountain Lab, by Kenneth Chang, it is described that the Mars rover, Curiosity, has reached its destination (a 3 mile high mountain called Mount Sharp) where it will begin to perform its main scientific experiments. The rover was launched in January of 2012 landed on Mars in August of 2012. Since then, Curiosity has been conducting minor experiments, taking photographs, and has been driving around the dust planet looking for the perfect place to begin its real research. The article stated that the arrival time to the mountain took slightly longer than scientists thought because they did not want to damage any part of the rover. Also, the author mentioned how this project has cost over $2.5 billion so far and in the upcoming year, it will cost around $59.4 million for operations alone. Though Curiosity conducted an experiment suggesting that a huge crater was once some form of lake and it has found rocks that contain high silicone levels, meaning that they have been altered by water, the article seemed to suggest that the focus of the last two years was about driving the rover and not as much about the actual experiments.

The Mars rover project is a huge leap in the discovery of space and science and could further inspire NASA and other space programs to dig deep into new discoveries of our our galaxy. This project could also spark ideas and theories created by future generations who are eager to discover more knowledge. Curiosity is also the beginning of a new era of exploring and observing other planets. This could mean we find some sort of life on Mars or evidence that there was life at one time. It could even mean just collecting more rocks. Unfortunately, I feel that the only thing holding us back from more space research is the price tag that comes along with it.

In my opinion, I think that this article was not very well written. Though it was very easy to understand for anyone who doesn’t know a lot about astronomy and science, it only provided decent information. It is clear that the author knows about the topic he is writing about and that the facts and quotes were carefully researched. However, I do think that this article was missing a great amount of facts and was lacking details about the true mission of Curiosity and what experiments they will be conducting. Usually I am very interested in these sorts of topics but this article just wasnt very intriguing.

Chang, Kenneth. "After a Two-Year Trek, NASA’s Mars Rover Reaches Its Mountain Lab." The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 13 Sept. 2014.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/science/space/after-a-two-year-trek-nasa-mars-rover-reaches-its-mountain-lab.html?_r=0

“What It’s Like To Spend A Month Under The Sea” by Megan Gannon

“What It’s Like To Spend A Month Under The Sea”

by Megan Gannon

http://www.livescience.com/48334-fabien-cousteau-aquarius-undersea-mission.html

            In this article, by Megan Gannon, the amazing 31-day underwater mission taken by the 47 year old Fabien Cousteau and his team came to an end. The scientist traveled about 63 feet below the surface in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The team lived in the habitat, Aquarius, approximately the size of a bus or a New York City apartment. Cousteau said that he sometimes spent 10 to 12 hours a day outside the Aquarius, exploring the reef. The team was able to uncover three years of data in just one month on the effects of climate change and how the loss of marine predators can affect the coral reefs. Not only was the adventure educational, it was also an amazing experience. Cousteau says, “Every day was a new experience. It's very addicting to be integrated in an alien environment and surrounded by the fireworks display of life.”

            The new discovers that were uncovered could help explain the climate changes and provide more information on marine life. In addition, this mission could set a precedent for human civilization underwater. This could help bring back data and help get a better understanding on what the aquatic world means to humans. Although, the human body can suffer more issues undersea. The body is more prone to diseases and the air pressure can cause changes in voice patterns. Also, the sense of smell and taste can begin to fade away.

             I thought that the author did a good job presenting background information and made me want to read on. The article had many quotes that gave me first hand opinions of what the experience was really like. Although, the author barely provided the reader with any details. There was no data that was given to show what the science team did when they were in the Aquarius. Many times I had to assume some things, not knowing if they are correct. Overall, the article did not give me much information on the event and the author could have done more research on the topic before publishing it.

Fina Maldonado