Space Exploration

Stonehenge, about 3,000BC. Appears aligned to Sun and some of the Stars.

Machu Picchu, Peru, 15th Century, “Hitching Post of the Sun”

First model of the Universe: Ptolomy’s Geocentric Model.

Copernicus the first to propose a Heliocentric Model, or Sun-Centered Model.

The Catholic Church opposed the Heliocentric Model, stating that Earth had to be the center of all things. So, Galileo took one of the first telescopes and observed the night sky.

Seeing four moons (Ganymede, Io, Callisto, and Europa) orbit Jupiter, Galileo knew that the Geocentric model was wrong, wrong, wrong. The Heliocentric model of Copernicus fit Galileo’s observations. So, Galileo published a book with his findings.

Galileo was tried by the Church for heresy, and to save his life, he publicly agreed to support the Church’s view that everything moved around the Earth. However, he supposedly muttered as he got up from his kneeling position, “Eppur si muove”, ( And yet it moves.)

Isaac Newton’s discovery of the Law of Gravity, and other laws for bodies in orbit helped astronomers to map out the observable solar system.

New telescopes in observatories high in the mountains let us see farther stars than ever before. Einstein and Hubble at Wilson Observatory in 1931.

Before Hubble people thought that the Milky Way Galaxy WAS the universe. Hubble established that clusters like this (Andromeda) were actually separate galaxies, hundreds of millions of them.

Hubble also applied to light the Doppler effect, which explains why a siren in a police car moving towards you sounds higher pitched than when it is moving away from you.

Hubble observed redshift of starlight from galaxies, meaning that they are all moving away from us (and each other), and that the universe is expanding.

Building observatories on tall mountains was one way to get closer to the stars and space. The ancient Chinese showed that there was a different way.

Flights outside Earth required rockets – first liquid rocket was in 1926.

Some rocket flights were successful…

Other rocket flights were disasters.

Time to pretend that a pencil can act like a rocket. Trial #1 will be a pencil with NO MODIFICATIONS. Tests will be of accuracy and of distance. Safety counts, NO PENCIL launches when a student is down range.

Center of pressure must be aft (below/behind) the center of gravity for a stable flight to result.

(a)Mark your Center of Gravity, v.1 (CG1)by balancing the pencil on your finger

(b)Mark your Center of Pressure (CP1) by measuring halfway up the pencil.

(c) Modify your pencil by adding an eraser nose cone and fins as shown by your teacher.

(d)Find and mark your new Center of Gravity, (CG2).(e)Find and mark your new Center of Pressure (CP2)by

moving aft by a distance equal to ½ of the surface area of the new fins.

(f) When allowed to test your modified pencil rocket, proceed to the testing area.

If allowed, make and test Pencil v.2.

Back to….

Space Exploration

Fear of “The Bomb” was high.

Schools had more bomb drills than fire drills.

The U.S. felt superior to the Soviet Union.

The launch of Sputnik was a BIG surprise, stunned the U.S.

Sputnik II carried the first animal into space, Laika.

But, they didn’t cool the capsule properly from the heat of the rocket, so Laika died from overheating soon after the launch.

USSR continues its string of space successes: Yuri Gagarin, the first human to go to space.

First woman into space, Russian Valentina Tereshkova

The Sputnik scare caused a 1958 Act of Congress creating NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

US space program began to show results. Ham, the first animal sent to space, conduct activities in space, and return alive.

In 1962, President Kennedy vowed to land a man on the Moon, and return him safely. This was the Apollo Program.

Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11, first man on the Moon – 1969.

Near disaster of Apollo 13 mission to the Moon is saved by duct tape and quick thinking.

NASA’s Space Shuttle Program for manned flight to satellites, ends in 2011.

International Space Satellite, largest orbiter of all time. Some question its purpose.

Instead of placing telescopes on tall mountains (still in the troposphere), the Hubble Space Telescope avoids the entire atmosphere of Earth to provide awesome images.

Sample Images Follow

Cats Eye Nebula

Mystic Mountain Nebula

Disc of material swirling into a black hole.

Possible Dark Matter Map, Galaxy Cluster Abell 1689

Dance of the Spiral Galaxies

Cosmic Pearls Surrounding Exploding Star

Light echoes surrounding Red Supergiant Star

Halo for a vanished star: Supernova 1977A

Telescopes, such as orbiting CHANDRA satellite, “see” radiation other than visible light, such as X-rays.

STEREO: Two identical satellites orbiting the Sun at opposite sides to give us weather reports for the Sun.

Sun’s weather can go to extremes, and can affect Earth, both sunspots and Coronal Mass Ejections, CME

CME can damage unprotected satellites.

Power outage caused when a CME melted down some electrical transformers.

Exploration of the Planets, and possible colonization of Mars a whole different subject. Also, there are increasing efforts of other countries and of the private sector to commercialize space.

Space exploration has come a long way from

to

And we will probably discover a lot more in the future.

Why explore space?

Why explore space? it’s cool we HAVE to

If we sit and do nothing, here is our future….

That’s a billion years or more in the future

Sun as white dwarf…of course, the “Blue Planet” will be toast by then.

Last, sad, stage…the Sun as a black dwarf

But, let’s pretend….

Instead of the Sun growing to its Red Giant phase in a billion years or more, we find that the Solar Maximum of 2012-’13 causes it to start growing much sooner. Scientists predict that life on Earth will no longer be possible after 2030. You are selected to be a member of a group of scientists, policy makers, and citizens to decide on an expedition of humans to colonize another location in our solar system. See the handout for additional information. Be prepared to present to the class, and for a class vote on the best project to undertake. Remember, it’s “make believe” that Red Giant phase will begin soon, it should be long in the future.