Serina Aridi 5/23/14
Earth Science—C ODD Mrs.
McClellan
NASA’s
WISE Findings Poke Hole in Black Hole “Doughnut Theory”
NASA/Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. "NASA's WISE findings poke hole in black hole 'doughnut'
theory." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 May 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140522162314.htm>.
Many
scientists believe that the appearances of black holes are the result of its “doughnut”
position in space. “Doughnut” is the name given to a ring of dust that
surrounds a black hole, scientifically named “torus.” For many decades, scientists
have accepted the “doughnut theory,” which states that a black hole’s doughnut position
will determine whether or not the black hole is more or less visible. For example,
if the face of the doughnut of a black hole can be seen, then the black hole is
easily distinguishable. Conversely, if the edge of the doughnut of a black hole
is being viewed, then the black hole is hidden. The theory was developed in the
1970s to give a type of reasoning as to why black holes have different
appearances; however, NASA’s explorer WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey
Explorer) proposed new evidence that has prompted the questioning of this
theory. Although there is new evidence as to what determines the appearance of
a black hole, NASA has not yet figured out what the details are, but they are
sure that the doughnut position is not the sole determiner of the appearance of
a black hole. Scientists used the evidence from WISE and measured the degrees of
which objects clump together in the sky by obtaining data from 170,000 active
black holes. The accepted model suggested that the hidden black holes and
exposed black holes clump together in a similar way; however, the data showed
that the hidden black holes are more clumped together than the exposed black
holes. Therefore, the doughnut theory had to be relooked because the theory also
suggested that the doughnut structures are random. To further understand the
new evidence, dark matter also plays a part since every galaxy is surrounded by
dark matter, a substance that outweighs the matter of people and objects in the
galaxy. Since hidden black holes are more clustered together, they are found
more often in places that contain halos of dark matter. This could be a clue as
to why black holes occur.
Because of
the data obtained from WISE, scientists are now able to further develop
theories that can give humans more answers about what occurs in space. By conducting
experiments to learn about the appearance of black holes, scientists are also
able to learn more about dark matter, as well as scientific structures of
objects in space. Scientists are able to relook at theories surrounding the “doughnut
theory,” which can also give clues as to what can potentially harm planets like
Earth. By being aware of the structure and causes of objects in space, humans
are able to prevent threats from these objects. Since we know what types of
black holes are occurring and where they develop, scientists are able to manage
and keep track of intergalactic threats or changes. Additionally, with more
information about black holes and dark matter, scientists can develop more
information about similar objects, which would further develop the knowledge of
space for the public, including students studying earth science, or others who
could potentially find more evidence to support or disprove a theory.
I believe
that this article was well-written; however, some of the wording could have
been simplified. Some parts of the article were hard to understand, like the
explanation of the data that was conducted from the 170,000 black holes. I had
to reread this part multiple times to understand what the data had disproved,
since there was not a clear explanation of how the data does not support the
original theory. In order to improve the reader’s understanding of the data, I would
have stated why the conclusions of
the data go against the original theory, as well as using a more simplified
language at this point in the article. Otherwise, I was very pleased that the
article did provide background information of other scientific terms that the
reader may not have been familiar with, such as dark matter, and that the article
provided secondary explanations, such as the prime statement of the doughnut
theory.
I think that you did a really good job on this current event! It flowed well and was interesting to read. I think that you did a good job in explaining whether or not the black hole is visible due to the black hole's "doughnut" position. Overall, I also think you did an outstanding job at explaining exactly what the "doughnuts" are and how there information helps NASA figure out why the black holes have different appearances. You did an outstanding job showing me that even though these "doughnuts" help NASA figure our black holes, they are not the only reason. I think that it was smart of you to incorporate these details so the readers, like myself, will fully understand the theories. I was impresses on how just the rings of dust can help scientists discover the appearances of black holes that are so far away. It's hard to believe that we have the technology to do such an amazing thing. I also learned that this new information that is being obtained will help NASA learn even more about space, not just about the black holes. Lastly, I think that you could have cut down some of the wordy definitions so that it will be easier to fully understand what the article was trying to say. You picked a very interesting article and I learned a lot from it!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on this current event, Serina! I thought you did a great job of simplifying very complicated scientific ideas, especially since so little is known about black holes that discussing them can be rather difficult. Your writing flowed very well and I found your in-context definitions of scientific terms, such as dark matter and the "doughnut theory," to be very helpful in understanding the article. I also thought you did a great job of explaining the timeline of the "doughnut" theory, from when it was first believed to be true, and what facts led to its disproval. Also, I thought you wrote a very insightful "big picture" write-up, which really made me re-think the importance of all these new discoveries that we sometimes take for granted. I thought the topic you chose was very intriguing, with just the right amount of difficulty. I found the idea of black holes and dark matter being related to be extremely interesting, as I had never associated the two together, and as such, I'm looking forward to read more about future discoveries in the field. I also found it interesting that a theory that seemed to have been accepted for a long time could be completely disproved. This really made me think about how much we don't know about space and that what we think to be true, may just be another theory to be disproved. I thought you did a very thorough job with your article, but I did feel a bit confused at times due to some vague ideas, which is probably due to a lack of extensive information on the topic and a lack of thorough explanations in the article. Overall, I think you picked a very interesting topic to write about and I really enjoyed reading your review!
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