Spectroscopy The Search for Extraterrestrial Life Essay

Throughout history humanity has been fascinated by the existence of extraterrestrial life. Today such ventures are in the development process and the discovery of life beyond our solar system, no matter how primitive, may soon become a huge(important?) scientific breakthrough. The three basic things that are required to consider a place even remotely habitable are water, a source of energy, and organic materials. Habitability also depends on other factors that must also be taken into consideration such as how close the planet is to its star (in the case of our solar system, the sun), how long the water and organic materials existed there, and the size and mass of the planet. One must not confuse habitable with inhabited. The term†¦show more content†¦A red dwarf star’s HZ, for example, would be much closer to the star itself compared with that of our sun. It is also important to determine the planet’s size and mass, which is imperative in deciding whether it can sustain an atmosphere. Maintaining an atmosphere is essential for life to exist and small a planet with a small gravitational force at its surface may not be capable of retaining one. The Kepler transit data can only measure planet masses, diameters, orbital periods, and parent star types and although this information is useful for determining habitable zones, further data is required to determine true habitability. The latter can be done by studying the composition of the exoplanet’s atmosphere. The best technology available today for studying the chemical composition of stars and planets is spectroscopy, a scientific tool that dissects light into its component colours (Astronomy mag. P.31). â€Å"A planet within 100 light-years of Earth is close enough to provide sufficient light for scientists to dissect light into its component colors† (Ray Villard, Astronomy ). Spectrographs are used by astronomers to observe discrete spectra. Discrete spectra are produced by gases, such as †¦ when specific wavelengths of light are absorbed or emitted by the gases. This causes dark bands to appear on the spectrum where the specific wavelengths of light are absent. A scientist canShow MoreRelatedLife in the Universe Exercises and Questions779 Words   |  4 Pages1. Why are scientists interested in the possibility of life beyond Earth? The discovery of life of any kind beyond Earth would forever change our perspective on how we fit into the universe as a whole, and would teach us much more about life here on Earth. 2. People have long been interested in life beyond Earth. What is different today that makes this possibility seem scientifically reasonable? Today, technology has flourished and is more advanced than it was in the past. We are able to

Ghost Light from Dead Galaxies Sheds Light on Ancient Galaxy Interactions

Did you know that astronomers can learn about galaxies that died long ago? Thats part of the story of the cosmos that the  deep cosmos-gazing  Hubble Space Telescope  was built to tell. Along with other telescopes on the ground and on orbit, it fills in the story of the universe as it peers out at distant objects. Some of its most fascinating objects are galaxies, including some that formed in the infancy of the universe and are now long gone from the cosmic scene. What stories do they tell?   What Hubble Found Studying long-dead galaxies sounds like it would be impossible. In a way, it is. Theyre no longer around, but it turns out, some of their stars are. To learn more about early galaxies that no longer exist, Hubble observed dim  light from orphaned stars that lie some 4 billion light-years away from us. They were born billions of years ago and somehow were ejected at high speed from their original galaxies, which themselves are long gone. It turns out some kind of galactic mayhem sent these stars reeling across space. They belonged to a galaxies in a massive galaxy called Pandoras Cluster. The light from those far-flung stars provided clues to a crime scene of truly galactic proportions: as many as six galaxies were somehow torn to pieces within the cluster. How could this happen? Gravity Explains a Lot Each galaxy has a gravitational pull. Its the combined gravity of all the stars, clouds of gas and dust, black holes, and dark matter that exist in the galaxy.  In a cluster, you get the combined gravitational pull of all the galaxies, and that affects all of the members of the cluster. That gravity is pretty strong. In addition, galaxies tend to move around within their clusters, which affects the motions and interacts of their cluster-mates. Add those two effects together and you set the scene  for the destruction of some not-so-lucky small galaxies that happen to get caught in the action.  They get stuck in a squeeze play between their larger neighbors as they travel, Eventually, the strong gravity of the bigger galaxies pulls the smaller ones apart.   Astronomers found clues to this destructive shredding of galaxies by studying the light from stars scattered by the action.That light would be detectable long after the galaxies were destroyed. However, this predicted intracluster glow of stars is very faint and is quite a challenge to observe.These are extremely faint stars and they are brightest in infrared wavelengths of light. This is where Hubble comes in. It has very sensitive detectors to capture that faint glow from the stars. Its observations helped scientists study the combined light of about 200 billion stars that were cast out from interacting galaxies. Its measurements showed that the scattered stars are rich in heavier elements like oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. This means they are not the first-ever stars formed. The first stars consisted mainly of hydrogen and helium, and forged heavier elements in their cores. When those earliest ones died, all the elements were cast into space and into nebulae of gas and dust. Later generations of stars formed from those clouds and show higher concentrations of heavy elements. It is the enriched stars that Hubble studied in an effort to track what happened to their galactic homes.   Future Studies Zero in on More Orphan Stars Theres still a lot to figure out about the earliest, most distant galaxies and their interactions. Everywhere Hubble looks, it finds more and more distant galaxies. The farther out it  peers, the further back in time it looks. Each time it makes a deep field observation, this telescope shows astronomers fascinating things about the earliest times in the cosmos. Thats all part of the study of cosmology, the origin and evolution of the universe.

Mulan Free Essays

Hayden Ikerd Mr. Wheeler AP Literature 12 April, 2013 Thomas Foster’s Themes Traced in Mulan In his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster explains many reoccurring themes in literature, and shows how to recognize them and in some instances shows certain works where they occur. By reading this guide to literature, one may gain a deeper understanding of the work itself and of the author’s intent in writing it. We will write a custom essay sample on Mulan or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, Foster’s methods can also be applied to films. A film that contains many of the various themes, models, symbolism, and devices discussed in his book is Walt Disney’s Mulan. Mulan is a character type with which people are familiar. Foster discusses this process of association in the chapter â€Å"Now Where Have I Seen Her Before? † In his book, he asserts that no work is wholly original. The whole idea of a female Chinese heroine was not originally conceived by Disney. The character of Mulan can be traced back to The Ballad of Hua Mulan, written sometime in the 11th century. Still, most people may not be so familiar with this relatively dated ballad. Some people may associate the character of Mulan with that of Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird. Both Mulan and Scout are tomboys by nature, acting in ways more suited to boys. Also, they both do things they do for the approval of their respective father figures. Mulan is notably the heroine of her story, saving the Chinese empire from the attacking Huns. The ‘heroine’ model can also be seen in characters such as Antigone and Hester Prynne. Food plays some role in every work- namely the act of consuming it. Mulan is no exception. Foster talks about this in the chapter â€Å"Nice To Eat With You. † Towards the beginning of the movie, Mulan along with several other young maidens go to visit the match maker, who is in charge of determining each girl’s eligibility as a wife. This process by which she judges them is by partaking in a cup of tea with each one. Mulan’s ‘interview’ as it were went over horribly. This is to establish the fact that Mulan has a measure of difficulty coming into womanhood, and the whole idea of being ladylike does not come to her naturally. The second meal that plays a big part in the film is the one that takes place in the barracks. Mulan just met her fellow soldiers, and the next thing to occur is a meal with them. Trying to establish herself as a man, she accidently picks a fight with one, leading to a riot, and rice being spilled all over the camp. After this, they all held her in contempt. Mulan’s first meal with her comrades shows that she has just as hard a time fitting in with these men as she did with the women. Mulan’s two meals show the difficulty she has trying to find her place. The role of men and women play an important role in this movie. Foster touches this phenomenon in the chapter â€Å"It’s All Political. † The underlying message of Mulan is that of gender equality. As a woman, Mulan is looked down upon, and is not allowed to fight in the war against the Huns in the first place. To fight is to disgrace her whole family. This offense was so dire, that when she was discovered to be a woman on the battlefield, she was sentenced to death. She is also portrayed as being weaker and less capable than the other soldiers. However, she learns to keep up, and eventually excels in combat training and proves to be an invaluable asset to the Chinese army. In the end, Mulan portrays women as strong, and in the battle could not have been won without femininity. Towards the end, the Huns are ultimately overcome by the male soldiers dressing as women, who seduce them, then defeat them. In the end of the film, virtually all of China bows to Mulan in respect, showing that she is held in equal esteem as even the emperor, who is male (he also bows, of course). Another important element in Mulan that Foster points out is that of rain, which he mentions in his chapter entitled, â€Å"It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow. † Foster would have one to believe that often times when a character goes through rain, snow, or something of the sort, that he or she has undergone a figurative baptism. After Mulan has failed in her encounter with the matchmaker, she goes home and begins singing the marvelous, gripping song called â€Å"Reflection†. She asks, â€Å"When will my reflection show who I am inside? She realizes that her fair appearance does not reflect her feelings. Singing this song, she washes away her makeup, and gives up on becoming the perfect daughter and bride; it is a baptism. Maybe it would be key to mention that during this song, Mulan sings in a downpour of rain. Just like Foster describes in his book, Mulan is ‘baptized’ in the rain. Disney movies are not notorious for their violent nature. So, when so mething violent occurs in a Disney movie, or an individual (or animal in many cases) dies, it must carry some kind of importance. In the chapter of his book â€Å"More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You†, Fosters says that there is usually more to violence than just violence. When Mulan is struck by the sword of Shan Yu, many more things happen to her than a fatal wound. She almost meets her demise, and for the first time, the reality of war sets in. Mulan realizes that she is not invincible and grasps the perils of war for the first time. When she receives medical attention for her wound, she is discovered to be a woman. All she has worked for up until this point is now for naught, as she is expelled from the army and her family name is disgraced. Another instance where violence plays an important role is when Li Shang’s father is discovered to be dead. Li Shang’s father was the head general of the Chinese army; he was held in high esteem by everyone, especially his son. Li Shang aspired to be the general his father was. Shang’s father’s plan was to make an assault on the Hun army, and meet up with Shang after they had obtained victory, which they thought was inevitable. When Shang reaches the point at which he was to intersect with his father, he found him gone. Shang’s father’s death signals the time for Shang to take up the burden of leading the Chinese army and the time to become a man. The only way for China to be victorious was for Shang to surpass his father and to do what he could not: defeat the Huns. Without this loss, Shang would have never grown and would have never become the general that he was. One can see that Foster’s themes are very prevalent in the story of Mulan and are echoed in movies and books alike. Mulan is a real masterpiece to include so many elements of good literature. How to cite Mulan, Papers