Emily+G

__ The Search for Life on Mars __ __ History of the Solar System __

The sun formed when gravity pulled in gas and dust. The ball started to spin and that is what created the sun. Soon the ball broke apart into one thin plate. The plate had a ball of gas in the middle of it. This plate was strong enough to hold big particles. At first the particles in the plate were small, but then they collided and this made them get bigger and bigger. Another name for these collisions of the particles is planetesimals. The temperature of the ball changed depending on the location of it. When all of the particles came together, they created four big clumps. These were planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The surfaces of all of these planets were always heated by bombardments of other particles slamming into them. The radioactivity inside of the planets also kept them hot. When lots of planetesiums collided, they made more planets. If planetesiums were close to the sun they would turn into comets because of how hot they got. In the inner solar system there were too many collisions for large planets to form. Inside of planets nearest to the sun, radioactivity generated heat. This is why the planets got ejected out to space, where they stayed for years and years.

__ From Big Bang to Galaxies __

The earth used to be hot, inside and on the surface. Then something happened, known as "The Big Bang". This is when particles made of matter formed. Then quarks and antiquarks were created. They were exotic particles. When these mixed with other particles and energy, the earth immediately dropped temperature. After a few minutes different particles collide and this forms helium nuclei. The universe continues to expand and drop temperature throughout years because of the electrons and protons and other molecules mixing and spinning around. After about 2 billion years after this happened, the galaxy began to form. There are 3 different kinds of galaxies- spiral, #|elliptical, and irregular. Galaxies colliding head on can merge into a big galaxy.

__ Lives of the Stars __

Stars are made of clumps of dust and other particles that collide. When a star is formed there are gasses around the outside of the star. Stars get hot enough for nuclear reactions to start. It gets hot because of gasses surrounding it. When the star flattens, gas pours out of it. it turned hydrogen gas into helium provides it with a big supply of nuclear energy. After this process, the gas is no longer around the star. The most massive stars are blue and white; they are 40 times more massive than the sun. Different stars have different colors; the color the star has depends on its mass. Some stars are bigger than others and some are smaller. This is because the amount of particles and dust clumps. Some stars gather more when being formed then others.

__ The Milky Way Galaxy __

The light in the Milky Way comes from stars at night. The dark patches in the milky way are patches of dust. The Milky Way is an insider’s view of our galaxy. There is a disc with a ball in the middle, this is the galaxy. The sun is located on the left side around half way to the end. Stars are scattered all around. Looking down it looks like four spiraling arms. They start in the middle of the ball and spiral out. There are dust clumps and stars inside of the spiraling arms. The stars inside of the circle in the center are mainly red and orange. They are packed together much more then the other galaxies. Located in the middle of the ball is the nucleus of the galaxy. It looks as if it is a black hole and it is surrounded by a layer of dust and gasses. While the whole spiral #|spins, each cloud and star inside is in their own orbit. The sun takes over 2 million years to go around the galaxy once. The galaxy is surrounded with more than we will ever see, as in stars gasses and dusts. The galaxy could be around 5 times bigger than it actually appears. The gravity pulls on the stars that we see.

__ The Sun __

The sun is a star. The only difference between the sun and the other stars is that the sun is much nearer to earth. The sun is a ball of hot gas, like all stars are. It is made of mostly hydrogen and a little bit of helium. The sun is more than 1 million degrees. Inside, the sun is 15 million degrees. Hydrogen and other protons crash into each other creating new particles. Every second four million hydrogen particles vanish, so they can generate the suns energy. The energy radiates to the outside of the sun, causing it to be millions of degrees. The sun’s surface is filled with gasses. Solar flares happen in the sun and can blast particles as far as down to earth. The earth’s magnetic field causes the particles flying downwards near the north and south poles. These particles crash making them glow. The suns magnetic field is about 5 times stronger than the earths.

__ The Hubble Deep Field __

Recently we have been learning about the Hubble Deep Field. We used a website called The Hubble Deep Field Academy. It has taught us how to understand the universe. It teaches us about all of the things astronomers see when they look in their telescope. We asked questions that we had and so did the astronomers. The astronomer’s questions and my lab partners and my questions were a lot different because we both knew different things. My lab partners and I also estimated how many objects were in the Hubble Deep Field. The astronomers estimated too, but our answers were not alike at all. We saw pictures of the Hubble Deep Field on the website and had to sort the stars into categories on their shape and color. They were yellow, blue, or white and oval, small circle, and circle. We took what they had in common and put them in groups. The astronomers and I agreed on three numbers and those were in a group. The astronomers and I didn't agree on much throughout the whole Hubble Deep Field Academy levels. At the last level we had to estimate how many galaxies there are in the Hubble Deep Field. My lab partners and my estimate was far off from the real amount, and the astronomers. To be able to estimate how many galaxies are in the Hubble Deep Field, we looked at pictures of parts of the Hubble Deep Field. We estimated how much was in the picture and then multiplied it by as many pictures that would fit in The Hubble Deep Field.

To see what the Hubble Deep Field Telescope looks like, here is a picture below.

__ Rocket History __

When it started there was pretty much nothing. There was no way to go up into space. Until the first rocket was created. The Greek inventor (Hero) invented the steam engine for gas. The steam engine for gas is a sphere on top of a water kettle. This produces steam. In 1898 a man named Konstantin Tsiolkovksy came up with the idea of exploring a rocket. While observing Konstantin suggested using liquid in the propellants of the rocket. These would help the rockets go higher and further. After they tried it and this idea worked he was named "the father of modern astronautics." Robert H (an inventor) came up with experiments that took place in rocket history. He had goals that he wanted to achieve with rockets such as reaching the highest altitude. He worked really hard to make a rocket that could succeed this goal. He ended up succeeded. He built a rocket powered by liquid gas. This method worked very well and he began to make more and more rockets. He made his rockets bigger and bigger. When he made them they would always fly for longer and go higher. He also invented something called the gyroscope system which became very popular. Rockets were used a lot in the wars and especially in Germany. People fought over Germanys rockets because people wanted them so badly. The Germans were amazed at the inventions of the people who made rockets and so were other countries that wanted Germany’s rockets. Many years later when a rocket landed in space people were amazed. They sent out a dog and unfortunately it didn’t live for long but this is how the rocket history began.

__ Rockets __ The nose cone guides airflow around the rocket. The body tube is the main part; in this case it is the paper tube. The recovery system is a device used to make sure the rocket is back to where it began and is able to use again. The recovery wadding is what recovers the rocket after it ejects the gases. The Launch Lug is what guides the rocket up straight into the air off the launch pad. The fins make sure that the rocket fly's straight. The motor mount holds the rocket motor in place. The rocket motor is the non-reusable device that makes the rocket fly.

__ Building Our Rockets __

We spent a couple days making the rocket. It took only a couple days to put it together though. We decorated our rockets with paint, and my lab partner and I decided to completely cover ours with many different colors. This resulted with it being the heaviest in the class. After the rockets were completed we headed outside to launch them. The launching process took a couple days because we had so many rockets.

To launch our rockets, we placed them on a launch pad. We had a controller connected with two red wires with clips at the end of them. We connected those clips to the bottom of our rockets. We pressed the button on the controller and the rocket launched. It went straight into the air, and then did loops.

On the other side of the field, were people measuring the angle of the rocket when it reached its highest point. They used a trundle wheel to get 100 clicks away, which was where the rocket was supposed to land.

We used trigonometry to calculate the altitude of our rocket.



__ Building Our Mars Rover Drop Vehicle __

We used Popsicle sticks; tape, paper, paper towels, 2 balloons, pipe cleaners, scissors, 2 paper cups, and bubble wrap to make a vehicle strong enough to keep an egg from breaking. We used the cup to put the egg inside. We did this because it would make the egg have more padding around it, so when dropped it could have more protection. Before putting the egg into the cup it was wrapped in bubble wrap. We attached a parachute made of paper towels and paper with pipe cleaners to the cup with the egg inside. We added popsicle sticks on the bottom of the cup so the landing wouldn't be so hard. To add extra protection we taped a balloon to each side of the cup. Our vehicle didn't land on the target, but after a couple tries it did. It kept the egg from breaking.

__ Programming Robots __

Motors help to create a moving robot. When things are programed into the robot, the robot immediately knows what to do. Some commands that people may give it is getting it to go forward and backwards and in a circle. To be able to make the robot do the commands all you do is press play on the robot. Sensors are also used on robots. They can be attached all around the robot. There are sensors such as a light sensor or a sound sensor and many more. The light sensor makes the robot do any commands that you have programed it to do. Instead of hitting play, the timing is dependent of when the robot is around. It is the same for the sound sensor.



Minerals can be identified in many different ways. They can be identified by the substance inside, the texture of the mineral, and sometimes the color. They can also be tested by streaking them (as picture shows below). Each mineral gives off a different color streak, so it is easy to identify them. To be able to tell if it is a rock or mineral they can see if the object has a chemical compound. A mineral is usually one color. This is because it is made of only one or two compounds. A rock has a chemical compound. This is because rocks are made of many different minerals all combined into one. Sometimes when it is hard to identify a mineral, geologists have to do tests to be able to see what kind of mineral it is.



Their first job is to find the mineral they have been looking for. To be able to find they need to know what it looks like and the structure. If they still can't identify the mineral, they can either drill a hole inside of it or take the powder inside the mineral and that can help identify what mineral it is. They could also use a laser to detect the chemical compounds inside.



__ The Characteristics of Life __

To have life there are many characteristics. Many different characteristics add up that forms a person or object. There are certain characteristics of life that people or objects need. To be living the person or object needs to be made of cells and need materials to be able to live. Some materials consist of food and water and other objects too. Another trait needed to live is to be able to respond to stimuli. Responding to stimuli is another way of saying reacting. If you cannot react to things you are not living. To be alive you need to be able to reproduce, grow, adapt, and respire. To be able to respire is to be able to release energy stored in the chemical bonds of sugar, which is food. Adapting is when the characteristics of the person or object change overtime. Things get more complicated as people or objects begin to age. Things get more complicated, and without that something cannot have life. Reproducing is when two people produce offspring of their own kind. Another part of being alive is being homeostatic. That means you stay the same no matter what the environmental changes are happening around you.