Emma+G


 * __The Search for Life on Mars __**

Fifteen billion years ago our universe exploded out of nothing and this event is now named the Big Bang. The Earth first was very small, compact and hot. In a fraction of a second, it expanded rapidly and particles of matter were created. When it was first created it was made up of radio energy and mixed particles. As expansion continues, the temperature falls. As protons and neutrons form, so does matter and anti-matter which are created from the radiation, these then get annihilated. Electrons orbited over them which created atoms. Galaxies are created from a huge sphere of gas. Two billion years after the big bang, galaxies began to form.
 * __From Big Bang to Galaxies __**

When it is dark out, you can see the Milky Way because it arches across the sky. Four spiral arms merge out from the bulge marked by bright bluish young stars and pinkish cloud s of gas. In the center of the disk are the reddish/orange old stars. In the nucleus of the bulge is a massive black hole. The arms of the Milky Way are not permanent they are just where the majority of the stars build up. It is surrounded by a huge, invisible corona which is made up of stars, gas and dust. Gravity pulls on the stars we see.
 * __The Milky Way Galaxy __**

Stars form in cold dark clouds of gas and dust in interstellar space. The larger the star the quicker it changes and forms because everything that is about the star, such as size, color, or what happens to it during its life time is depended on the mass of the star. The biggest stars are blue-ish white and are 40 times more massive than the sun, and 20 times bigger. In descending order from biggest to smallest it goes; White stars B and A, cream colored f stars and yellow g stars, orange k stars, and m stars. Stars that have a mass almost 8 times bigger than the sun have a life track that closely resembles the suns.
 * __Lives of the Stars __**

The sun is a star, which is not different from other stars but is nearer. The sun is a ball of hot gas made of hydrogen and helium. Energy radiates out from the suns core. Solar flares can blast atomic particles to earth and beyond. The particles add to the gas that constantly streams into the solar system. The suns own magnetic field is around five times stronger than the earth's. The sun spins once a month, but the rate that it spins changes with latitude.
 * __The Sun __**

The sun formed, when gravity pulled together a cloud interstellar gas and dust. The rotating sphere then collapsed into a thin disk that had a proto sun in the center. Inside of the disk were solid materials that began to collect and form large particles that continued to grow bigger turning into clumps called planetesimals. The ones that are closer to the sun are made of rock, though the ones farthest from the sun are called icy planetesimals. Over time some collided to create bigger planetesimals. In the outer solar system, four extremely large masses formed which are known as the giant planets, named Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Each grew their own disks, where moons were held. In the inner solar system the four terrestrial planets emerged which were Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The moon was thought to be created by a collision between earth and mars. Craters on the moon and other planets were made by heav y bombardment on their surfaces.
 * __History of the Solar System __**


 * __Hubble Academy Wiki Entry __**

Recently I have been learning a lot about the Hubble Space Telescope and the interesting things that astronomers are able to see when they look through it. While looking at these things, astronomers have so many questions that they want answers to. For example, some of the questions that astronomers have about the Deep Field images they study, include how the objects can be classified, how far away the objects are, how many objects there are in the HDF, and what they teach us about galaxies. While on the Hubble Deep Field Academy, we also got to estimate how many objects were in the HDF. My lab partner and I first estimated that there were 780 objects in the picture. After we got a closer look at the HDF picture we made an educated guess of 2,160 objects because there seemed to be 720 per square and there were 3 squares. Compared to the Astronomers estimate of 3,000 objects ours was fairly close. Also in the Deep Field image we classified objects. We put them in a chart in the categories of blue, white, red, or yellow and irregular, spiral, oval, circle, or small circle. Three objects that the astronomers and I agreed with were 1, 6, and 12. For number one we both classified it as white and a small circle. On number six we classified it as blue and irregular. Lastly, for number twelve the astronomers and I both said it was yellow and a circle. Next we estimated the distance from six objects in space, to earth. I arranged the objects as I did because I believed that the bigger the object, the closer it stretched towards the earth. However astronomers actually estimate distances in space not by the size because an object can be close and still appear small when compared with a much larger, more distant object. Astronomers also must study the light an object emits. Finally we did a little research and review, to learn about galaxies. I learned that the color of a galaxy indicates the age, chemical composition, distance from earth, and the speed which it's travelling away from us. I also learned that the shape of a galaxy indicates if it is a spiral, elliptical, or irregular galaxy. Another fact I found out is that to estimate the number of galaxies in the Universe, astronomers use a method called representative sampling. The sky is divided into sections of the same size, so once they count the number of galaxies in one section they multiply it by how many sections there are. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Hubble Space Telescope and I'm interested to learn even more during our unit on Astronomy.

To show you a little about the Hubble Space telescope here is a picture with the parts of it:

SLM – Wiki Entry 3 on Rocket History
== It all started with nothing, rockets didn't even exist. Today I will be discussing how we went from this leap from nothing to create some of the finest rockets ever, that have discovered and advanced many things in science and technology. One of the first devices that experience flight similar to a rocket was called a aeolipile which was invented by a Greek inventor called Hero of Alexandria. Basically, it was a kettle filled with water with a fire beneath it. This turned the water into steam which then traveled through tubes into a sphere. The sphere had L-shaped tubes on the sides, and allowed gas to escape which gave it a thrust and made the sphere rotate. ==

Picture 1: This is a model of the Hero E ngine

=== In the first century A.D. the Chinese had created the next big thing, gun powder. This was made from salt peter, sulfur and charcoal dust. At first this was used for fireworks, and explosions during festivals. Next, the Chinese experimented by attaching arrow to bamboo tubes and launching them with bows. Until they found out that they could launch themselves from the power of the escaping gas. This was referred to as the time when the true rocket was born. Finally, the Chinese started using them as a scare tactic against the Mongols. Where they would launch them in the sky towards them. It isn't known if they caused much actual harm to the Mongols, but it scared them a lot because they had never seen or heard of these "rockets". ===

=== Another lead contributor to modern rocketry was Konstantin Tsiolkovysky. Who proposed the idea of exploring space by rocket. He also suggested that liquid propellants were used in rockets because he believed that they would make rockets achieve greater range. From an immense amount of research he also said that the speed and range of rockets were limited by the exhaust velocity of escaping gases. Robert H. Goddard was also a figure in rocketry who achieved great things. On March 16, 1926 he achieved the first flight with a liquid propellant rocket. Although similar to the wright brothers first flight, it lasted only two and a half seconds, and climbed 12.5 meters. Even though this wasn't very long, it was a big achievement because it opened up many more ideas and possibilities for modern rocketry. V-2 rockets were the next big things which were created by German during World War II. They were created to be used against Russia. V-2 rockets had such a strong thrust by burning a mixture made up of alcohol and liquid oxygen, every ten seconds. ===

=== After using rockets for military use, the United States decided to create NASA which would use rockets to further space exploration. Many rockets were launched to space, astronauts orbited earth, and landed on the moon. As we continue our space exploration, we can be thankful for the production of rockets that help us achieve all of this.  ===


 * //Model Rocket Labeled // **

=__//**<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Rocket Experiment Summary **//__=

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">I believe that our rocket flew very well overall. During ignition we pressed the button and there was a small pause. After around 2 seconds smoke came out and it moved slowly off of the launch pad. It then lifted off upwards at a very fast rate. As it got nearer to the highest altitude it started coasting slower. When it then reached apogee it went at a slower pace and then suddenly came down drifting a little to the left. Next the parachute was ejected and it came down at a regular rate, not hitting the ground too hard.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">For this experiment we were trying to figure out if the mass of a rocket affects its maximum height. We performed the experiment by creating our rockets in class. The materials in the rocket included a launch lug, fins, parachute, rubber band, a nose cone, body tube, recovery system, recovery wadding, motor mount, and a rocket motor. Next after building the rocket we painted them. Painting the rockets was a key part in the mass of the rocket. Groups that put more paint on the rocket were typically ones that had a rocket of higher mass. The results of my partner and I's experiment were satisfying. Our rocket weight 45.6 g and had an altitude of 64.9 m.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">We performed this experiment by first going into an open field and setting down the launch pad. Someone then took a trundle wheel and walked for one hundred clicks or one hundred meters and stopped. For each persons turn, they would slide their rocket down the launch pad and attach the wires. Next their partner and them would back up waiting for the signal to launch. When they received the signal, they held down two buttons until the rocket went upwards, off of the launch pad. At the 100 m mark, two other people would be there with angle guns. While the rocket was on the launch pad they would pull down the trigger, as it flew upwards and reached the highest altitude the people would point their angle guns at that spot and release the trigger. This angle measurement was the highest altitude. To calculate the altitude for our rocket we took 100 m and multiplied it by the tangent of our angle. Therefore our equation was 100 x tan (33). Our altitude was then 64.9 m.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The mass of the rocket did affect the altitude overall because in most cases the lighter the rocket was, the higher the altitude. Such as when the mass was 43.5 g, the altitude was around 100 m. Then for another rocket the mass was 47 g and it had an altitude of only around 60, which is a much lower altitude.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;">Our hypothesis said that we believe that the lighter the rocket, the faster it will fly because it takes up less space. Such as it is for when people throw things that are lighter, I think that launching something lighter would mean it also goes farther. In conclusion, our hypothesis was correct because in the majority of data this applied. To improve the flight of our rocket, we could have applied less paint so that it would way less. Then as shown in the results, the rocket would probably have a higher altitude.

__**<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 25px; line-height: 1.5;">Mars Rover Egg Drop **__

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Our egg drop was very successful because I feel our vehicle was well thought out and held the egg well. Our team designed the vehicle with two cups, with each had cushioning inside. We put the egg inside and then taped the cups closed, then we had two strings tied to the cup that each had a balloon attached to them. Also attached to the strings were pipe cleaners that held together a zip lock bag, which served as our parachute. Lastly, we had Popsicle sticks taped together on the bottom of the cups. Our group designed our vehicle this way to protect the egg with cushioning, and to have the balloons and parachute slow down the fall so that the egg did not land hard on the target. I believe that adding the parachute and balloons helped a lot because if they weren't there, the egg would have dropped too fast and cracked. Although I believe that we should have used more padding for the egg because we had more to use but didn't add it. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">In the picture below is our vehicle before the egg drop, although after the egg drop it stayed intact and looked the exact same. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; line-height: 1.5;">Overall, our drop went very well because the vehicle landed on target, the egg didn't break, and we got it out on time.



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;">Motors can be programmed to move a robot with software such as Lego Mind storms NXT programming. To program the robot, you use different directions to tell it what to do. Such as direction, how long you want it to go in that direction, angle of direction, etc. You can also put directions in a loop so that the robot will continue to do that action until you stop it. Some of the challenges of using motors with a robot include when your programming that it's hard to estimate how many rotations the robot goes forward or backwards, and how many degrees the turns should be.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 29px;">Sensors are used to sense the environment and surroundings. Their are many different types of sensors including light, ultrasonic, touch, and sound sensors. An example is a sound sensor which measures decibels and adjusted decibels. A decibel is a measurement of sound pressure. When it hears the sound you can program the robot to react a certain way. Such as if a noise greater than 80 is played, then your robot could make a right turn. Then if a noise less than 80 is played, your robot could make a left turn. Sensors can help your robot perform tasks by making them react and respond.

__ //** In this image, is a picture of all the sensors that are used by a Lego Mind storms robot **// __



__ //** A **// ____//** bove is a picture of a full Lego Mind Storms robot. **//__

__**//<span style="color: #ab3030; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 220%;">Search for Life on Mars Curiosity Rover //**__

Minerals can be identified in multiple different ways. On earth, a geologist could pour acid on the item and if it bubbled, then it could be identified as a carbonate compound. Another way would be by tasting, because each mineral has a little bit of a different taste. Using the streak plate technique could also work. If the streak comes off on a streak plate a certain color, that could help determine which mineral it is. One other streak method is to rub your mineral on different things such as an iron nail, another mineral or a penny. This can help determine the hardness of the mineral, and by finding out the hardness then you can identify which type of mineral it is by looking at the Mohs scale of hardness chart. Light reflection is another way that you can identify a mineral. Depending on how translucent or non-translucent the mineral is then you can compare it to other minerals who have the same properties and identify the mineral. Also by observing you can see if a rock is the same throughout or if it looks like it is made up of other minerals. This doesn't help determine the type of mineral, but it does determine whether it is a rock or a mineral. Lastly, you can test if the mineral is magnetic or not to help identify the mineral. To do this you just have to place a fairly strong magnet next to the mineral and see if it attracts. Using all these techniques will definitely help you to identify a mineral!

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The NASA rover ,Curiosity is currently doing many neat geology experiments on Mars. With a laser, it shoots at a rock and the light reflects back and it can guess what the chemical composition is. Another experiment that can be done is that, the rover can drill into a rock face and then takes the dust from the drill and then half it. Puts half into a test for mineral composition. The other half goes into a test for biological life. These experiments will help to discover many things about life, minerals and rocks on Mars.




 * <span style="color: #973588; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 220%;">Detecting Life on Mars **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">A living thing must be made of cells, need materials, homeostatic, respond to stimuli, reproduce, grow, adapted, and respiration. To be made of cells means that it needs to be made up of living things. That is because cells are made up of multiple different living things. To need materials is because living things need water, air, and minerals. Other things that they need they just take from the environment. Next is that living things need to be homeostatic. This applies to internally living things, since they stay about the same despite environmental changes. Also living things must respond to stimuli which is anything that can cause living things to react. A response is the reaction to a stimulus. There are two types of responses which are positive and negative. Positive moves towards stimulus and negative moves away from the stimulus. Now on to reproducing, and to reproduce means the process by which organisms produce offspring of their own kind. Plants and animals reproduce in many different ways, but their is also sexual reproduction which involves two parents and asexual reproduction which involves one parent. Living things also need to grow. Even though not all things grow at the same rate or reach the same size, living things must at least grow in general. Another thing that living things must be is adapted. To be adapted means that they are modifications that make an organism suited to its way of life. Lastly, living things need to have respiration. This means they must be able to release energy stored in the chemical bonds of sugars (food).



<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">There are multiple was that I believe will help to detect life on mars. In 1976 NASA sent two space probes to mars to help detect life on the planet. The probes carried three experiments to help figure this out. The first experiment was called the Labeled Release apparatus. This experiment is performed by scooping up martian soil and adding water that contains nutrients and radioactive carbon atoms. The point of the experiment is that if the soil contained microbes, the life forms would take in the nutrients and release either the radio <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.5;">active carbon dioxide or methane gas. Other experiments that were performed included heating some of the martian soils to varying temperatures and putting the sample of soil in a dark place for a long period of time. The control experiment which was the labeled release apparatus came out positive for most scientist while the others came out negative. Even though these are only a few possibilities of how we can detect life on mars there are also many other ideas that could help to eventually determine if there is life on mars. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">