Massive Black Hole Implicated in Stellar Destruction

Core Chem Honors - Block 2 Nick Proios
Dr. Charles Ippolito January 4, 2010

Massive Black Hole Implicated in Stellar Destruction

link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100104120148.htm

Scientists from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory believe that a star has recently been destroyed by a big black hole. The scientists suggest that this black hole is much more massive than the Sun. Supposedly a thousand times as massive. These Chandra observations showed a source of X-rays in a cluster of stars and mysterious elements which were in the emissions of X-rays. It is believed that these X-rays are part of the "ultralimonous X-ray source" or ULX category. This would mean that the ULX is more luminant than any stellar X-ray source but its less luminous than the bright X-ray sources that have to do with massive black holes. However the nature of the ultralimonous X-ray sources is still a mystery. The ULX source that was believed to be seen was in a cluster of old stars. Jimmy Irwin of the University of Alabama led the study. Him and his colleagues were able to pick up an optical spectra of the cluster using Magellan 1 and 2 telescopes in Las Campanas, Chile. The data showed emission from gas that had oxygen and nitrogen but not hydrogen. They believe that the gas is orbiting a black hole that has at least 1000 solar masses. Irwin concluded that the destroyed star was a white dwarf.
This article is important for kids who are studying astronomy and chemistry, It teaches about line spectras and how they can be used to identify gases when they are obtained. This current events article is important to me because I had no idea that X-rays, which contain large amounts of energy, could be found in clusters of stars.
I didnt enjoy this article too much. Although it did teach me more about astronomy. When I first came across it it seemed interesting, but I didn't find it very attention grabbing while I was reading it. It isn't the type of article that I would enjoy reading.

NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center. "Massive Black Hole Implicated in Stellar Destruction." ScienceDaily 4 January 2010. 4 January 2010 .

Private-space industry developing

Verhovek, Sam H. "Space Inc." Popular Science Jan. 2010: 34-41. Print.

Many Corporations, such as the company Virgin Galactic, are designing low-orbit craft for "space tourism" purposes. The private space-travel industry is growing; many passengers have already paid for tickets to later flights. The private space industry is increasing in size and now includes at least fifteen companies trying to build spacecraft. At least one group is promising to begin commercial launches as early as 2011. Companies with viable spacecraft stand to make even bigger gains when the space shuttle is retired by NASA. One group, Orbital Sciences Corp., already holds a $1.9 billion contract to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). A few other groups are vying to provide transport to the ISS once the space shuttle is retired.
I liked this article. It covers a very interesting topic and is well-written. However, the topic can be considered unimportant because of all the problems that we are encountering on the earth (e.g. global warming). Also, it didn't provide too much information about the companies themselves, and only mentioned seven of them.

First Wave

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/40789/title/First_wave

Halfway between Hawaii and Fiji lies a little-known nation called Kiribati. In the central Pacific ocean, it may not be a very popular destination for tourists but it has something other tropical islands don’t have; the world’s largest marine preserve harboring one of the last pristine coral reef ecosystems. However, soon these islands that make up the nation may be known for something less desirable than perfect getaways or a coral reef. This nation is among the lowest spots on earth, consequently leading to the first couple islands to vanish due to global warming. James J. McCarthy, the past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Harvard University biological oceanographer, states, “They are like the canary in the coal mine in terms of the dramatic impact of climate change on a whole civilization of people. They didn’t cause the problem, but they will be among the first to feel it.” In island and coastal countries, the impact of global warming may be so drastic that adaptation is not really an option, possibly forcing people out of their homes. Leaders in Kiribati are trying to get international assistance to plan for that worst-case scenario. This would happen due to the rising water level, which is caused when the water expands (thermal expansion) due to human caused climate change, or when the land-based glaciers and ice caps melt. At a meeting in Poland, organizations representing about 40 small islands and the poorest 50 developing countries pushed for industrialized nations to take tougher action against climate change, to prevent evacuation and submerged areas. The fate of these islands rest on the government. If they make touch climate controls to help stabilize the environment, then the islands can be saved. If we continue emitting gases and other harm into the atmosphere, these islands will surely be destroyed.

I thought this article was too long and provided way too much at times. The article continuously went off topic and I had to organize my review for the article to make sense. I didn’t like the way it was planed or the amount of writing in the article. It seemed that it wasn’t thought out enough. I hope that the government will finally take action to stop climate change and to save the many people in danger of being evacuated.

White Lizards Evolve in New Mexico Dunes

Deep in the White Sands of New Mexico, for the past decade, scientists have been doing research on these lizards that were brown, but over time became white. Professor Erica Bree Rosenbloom, from the University of Idaho says that brown lizards very rare and hard to find. Her focus is on three lizard species that have supposedly turned white so they can hide or escape from their predators. This is an example of convergent evolution, when all species aquire the same traits. But despite this the fact that they all have the same traits, the mutations and molecular mechanism is different, and the mutation has made the white skin trait dominant, and the trait spreads more quickly through the first species of Lizards than it does the rest. This article is very captivating and informative of the tough subject of evolution. It makes me think about all the experiments people will be doing on animals to test the theory of evolution, and how creatures adapt to new environments which some how can change their physical appearances that make them look somewhat abnormal.

Sorry, Vegans: Brussels Sprouts Like to Live, Too

This article is about the controversy over how extreme a human’s diet needs to be when it comes to being vegan. A vegan is someone who omits all animal products from their diet. Scientists have studied the products that vegans do eat, plants, in fine detail. Researchers of plants are still surprised about the information they observe about plants everyday. Information is being proven by in-depth studying of plants, such as, that they have many qualities that animals do. For example, plants can sense the presence of other chlorophyllated competitors nearby and try to grow in the opposite direction to avoid a conflict. Also, they recognize different wavelengths of light and can listen to chemical signals as well. These qualities are such that we normally associate with only animals. However, these abilities shown in plants are similar to those abilities obtained by animals. But a vegan is still only considered those who do not eat animal product and consume a great deal of plants in their diet.

This article affects not only vegans, but all humans. The consumption of plants/greens is a necessity to all humans. The fact that plants have many more significant qualities than most people know is very interesting, and is something everyone should be aware of.

Overall I think this was a very interesting science article. I would have never thought about how plants have so many qualities that are similar to animals that scientists have discovered. Although, it makes sense that plants do have so many significant characteristics because they are so important to the existence of human life on Earth.

Avatar's Moon Pandora Could Be Real, Planet-Hunters Say

James Cameron’s science-fiction film “Avatar” takes place on the moon Pandora. Though moons like Pandora that can bear life were considered fictitious, NASA’s Kepler mission, which is designed to detect planets that are like Earth, may change this. The atmospheres of planets that contain gases like carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane and water vapor can be studied over time to see if they can be truly inhabited by humans. So far, no Pandora or anything like it has been discovered, but many planets similar to Jupiter have been found. These planets cannot support life, as Jupiter is made of gas, but the moons orbiting them may be able to support life. The Kepler program looks for moons that pass by the host stars, which will lead to an eventual eclipse that can be seen and recorded by the Kepler program technology. Once the moon has been identified by the program, the scientists check to see if it has an atmosphere-if it does, it will absorb some of the star’s light, so it can be seen. Interestingly, Alpha Centauri A, the network “Avatar” takes place in, is a good network for inhabitable planets. However, red dwarf stars are better places to investigate; a potentially inhabitable place is usually closer to the host star. However, the red dwarf stars are so close that one side would receive continuous sun, while the other would have no light at all. This is called tidal locking, and this would prevent any life from forming on these planets.

This article is very relevant because one of the goals of the space program is to find habitable moons or planets which may be similar to Pandora. The new movie “Avatar” brings this idea of life outside of Earth to the forefront. We may be able to use these planets to find alien life, if they are already inhabited. The article’s subject matter was interesting, entertaining, and timely. I also like the idea that the planets from the science fiction movies we watch could be real. We will continue to watch for Smithsonian astronomer and project participant Kaltenegger’s research on alien moons orbiting gas giant planets as potential places where alien life can occur. This data may no longer be referred to as science fiction but just science.

“Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children”

Current Events Helen Parzick

12/14/09

The article entitled “Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children” written by Howard Markel, M.D., was very shocking. Before the case of Mary Ellen McCormack,abuse of children was not something that was really thought about as against the law. Thomas and Mary McCormack adopted Mary Ellen, and later after her adoption Thomas died. Mary became very abusive towards Mary Ellen. Neighbors and Investigators became very suspicious about the conduct in the McCormack household. The case was later brought to the A.S.P.C.A (American society for prevention to cruelty of animals) because there was no abuse prevention program for children. In 1874 Mary Ellen went to court testifying about her abuse to the judge and the jury. Finally her mother was put into an insane asylum of some sort and Marry Ellen went to live with the mother and sister of the investigator of her case, Etta Angell Wheeler. This article was interesting because it is an important event in the past that is often forgotten about. This article is not scientific but it is about the health and well being of children. This effects humanity because before this event child abuse programs were not developed and with out this we might never have had the programs we do today.

Citation:

Markel, M.D., Howard. "Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children." New York Times(2009): n. page. Web. 14 Dec 2009. .