Tuesday, December 18, 2012

My Astronomy Site Outline (and Links)
The Planets
  • Life in Space- Problems to Ponder
  • Jupiter: Largest Planet in the Solar System
  • Mars Colonization: A Very Non-technical Perspective
  • Is It Possible to Colonize Other Planets? : A List of Prerequisites for Exoplanetary Habitation
  • Uranus: King of the Ice Planets
  • A New, Nearby Earth? Gliese 581C

  • Astronomical Distances, Space Travel, Spacecraft Propulsion, Timelengths and Variables in Traveling the Cosmos
  • Quantum Teleportation and Quantum Entanglement
  • Interplanetary and Interstellar Travel: Distances Between Exoplanets, Stars, and the Search for Alien Life
  • Is Time Travel Possible?...If So, Then Not Like in Science Fiction
  • Force and Power of Space Propulsion- Mightier than Nature
  • Bussard Ramjet and Scramjet- Is This a Fantasy?
  • Project Daedalus: Possibility or Hubris?
    Matters in Relativity, Speed, Time and Space
  • New Theory Denies Time Dimension: Is Time the 4th Dimension or Not?
  • Time Travel?...Yes, But Not Like in Science Fiction
  • Time Dilation and Time Travel For the Average Reader
  • Relativity For Dummies and Discussing Universal Expansion
  • Speed of Light: Maximum Speed and the Passage of Eons
  • Faster Than LIght Travel: Neutrinos May Be Faster Than Light!
    Stars, Explosive Forces, Nebulae, and Blackholes
  • Neutron Stars- Formation, Mass and Size, Pulsars, Energy Output, Gravity and Temperature
  • Blackholes: Escape Velocities and Gravity's Dominion over the Universe
  • Sol: Our Glorious Sun and Sun Movies
  • Supernovae: Explosions of Dying Stars
  • The Magnetar: King of the Neutron Stars
  • Nebulae: Art of the Cosmos
    Miscellaneous
  • Voyager Probe Exiting Solar System into Interstellar Space Reveals Sun's Protective Shield
  • Atoms: From Boiling Water to Bombs- The Difference Between Atoms Colliding and Nuclear Fusion
  • Large Number Names for Those Who Wish to Understand My Blogs on the Universe

  • SCROLL THROUGH THE ARTICLES ON THE RIGHT SIDE TOO!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>





    Section 2: The Planets, Colonization and Supporting Life, and Factors in Space Travel

    Section 2:
    The Planets, Colonization and Supporting Life, and Factors in Space Travel
    (If you hot-linked to this article, just click here)

    Life in Space- Problems to Ponder


    My other blogs are:
    Life in Space
    Problems to Ponder
    Gravity and air pressure are vital to everyday life, yet if astronauts were to be launched into space these two factors that people take for granted in their everyday lives would become fatal issues if left unresolved prior to long term space travel. The thing is, it's actually earth's air pressure and gravity that hold blood and guts under the skin, but most people do not know this...they think their skin holds their guts in, which is dead wrong. The skin does virtually nothing to hold human bodies together, but rather is merely a shield against harmful elements that exist outside of the human body. While people talk about how scientists need to find special fuels to power their wild spaceship designs, actual NASA employees are trying to develop ways to simply live in outer space at all, let alone to fly at near-light speeds in fancy antimatter powered starships.
    In fact, interstellar space travel is hardly being talked about anymore now that scientists have discovered that even the most basic voyage would end in catastrophe since living in space is not possible yet, so even if humanity developed warp technology and could sail the cosmos like in Star Trek, it would still end in catastrophe if some of the most basic issues were not properly met. The two biggest hurdles faced in space travel for any period of time is the simple fact that contrary to sci-fi novels and movies, gravity and air pressure are not generally capable of being artificially produced (like centrifugal gravity), and generating the exact amount of air pressure to mimic earth's atmosphere pressing down upon the human body by artificial means would be not be energy efficient, assuming it is possible at all. Unfortunately, there is no one who can live in outer space for a lengthy period of time since the average person would most likely get sick immediately and astronauts (though trained and toughened) must face the music someday and come back to earth or risk shortening their life due to all the strenuous problems their bodies will be put through. Trained astronauts can only survive in outer space for short periods of time and the effects on their body can become extremely detrimental or even fatal if not kept in check.
    Atrophy In outer space and under low to zero gravity, muscles and bones can become atrophied due to lack of use, since zero gravity environment are extremely easy to maneuver in, causing the muscles to become weaker. Bones under atrophy as well in their own way as they lose bone tissue from similar non-use as the muscles undergo.
    Blood
    The human heart pumps blood to parts of the body by way of gravity as the guide, so without gravity our blood would not make it to certain parts of our bodies, causing them to become blood deprived. When this happens, astronauts have become much thinner in the lower half of their bodies while their faces, arms and chests puff up from excess blood, causing space sickness. For many astronauts, this space sickness can wear off once the body adapts, but this is the least of their problems.
    Balance
    Unfortunately, the earth's horizon and vertical lines all give rise to a sense of orientation. In outer space there is no true up, down, north or south or even east or west. Left and right can just as easily be up or down to someone else since it is all relative, and without gravity what might be "up" one moment can become down as your body floats around your spaceship's cabin. Suffice it to say that an astronaut's sense of balance is completely compromised, however, to make things more difficult the inner ear is non-functional in outer space. The inner ear requires gravity to function and properly coordinate movements, so astronauts must be patient and wait for their bodies to adapt and develop new ways to coordinate their bodies. This can give rise to a psychological disorientation which exacerbates space sickness.
    I've been a huge proponent of space travel and astronomy in general, although contrary to the opinions of pop-astronomers who love their publicity and to daydream of a life where humans are the gods of the universe, I've truly come to realize just how impossible it is for us to ever leave our solar system, let alone to live in space for any substantial period of time to explore our universe. I hope you take the time to read some of my other articles because they all attack various issues and problems astronomers are trying to grapple with in astronomy and their attempts to make space travel a reality. Unfortunately, none of them have solid answers, and the astronomers who do have "answers" have nothing solid to back up their claims. In the realm of science, theories are not answers but are more often just groundwork for searching out what answers "can" be found if some simple questions are just asked. This might sound a little confusing, but in astronomy, just being able to ask a legitimate question is difficult, so theories shape our thoughts and guide us to questions that might actually have answers that can be found by research. With this insight in mind, a theory is much more often "wrong" than it is right or and sometimes theories aren't even on target, since they most often serve the purpose of *creating questions* that demand answers, rather than being an answer in and of themselves.
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    In the end, pop-astronomers wish only to proclaim life without God and human sovereignty, which is the ultimate falsehood. Read my articles if you want to see the other side of the coin. If God does exist, then there may be a good reason why He put us on only one earth and made only one unique planet out of the entire cosmos. Even if you're atheist, what good is having a scientific mind if you are unwilling to explore new possibilities......even ones you don't like!

    Sunday, December 16, 2012

    Jupiter: Largest Planet in the Solar System

    My other blogs are:
    Jupiter
    The Largest Planet in the Solar System
    (and movie of clouds at bottom)

    While it may be the fifth planet from our glorious Sun, Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Having 2.528x earth's gravity, the gravity alone would crush even the strongest person, where a 150lbs. human would weigh  almost 380lbs. But there's no need to worry because going for a stroll on Jupiter isn't possible since it isn't solid...it's a gas giant, which is simply a planet that is made mostly of non-solid matter (such as gases) rather than out of rocks or ice or other more typical materials that most people think of. Jupiter is made primarily out of hydrogen and about one-quarter helium, which would make it more likely that landed objects would need to swim or hover rather than to walk on its surface like most planets that you might imagine landing on. Jupiter is also the #1 source of hydrogen that astronomers have found by far, which makes it astronomer's first pit stop for antimatter-powered star ships since hydrogen is easily found and easily used for fuels. If that day ever comes then we wouldn't have to go too far to find an easy fuel source to begin an interstellar voyage. But that day will never come.
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    As I've made clear in many of my other articles, size and mass do not always see eye-to-eye, since an object in space can be many times more massive yet be very small or tremendously large. Obviously having more mass means more gravity (usually) depending on the planetary makeup, yet Jupiter falls into this category where size and mass seem to contradict, since it is around 317.8 earth masses yet is about 120x bigger than earth, and it's gravity is only 2.528x earth's gravity. Imagine a human who is twice your size, wouldn't it seem logical to assume that the person is also twice your weight? Yes, but in outer space, size and mass and gravity sometimes seem like they don't add up correctly. Funny thing is, Jupiter is ~317% more massive than earth but has only ~2 1/2 times the gravity. And being 317 earth masses it might seem likely that it'd also be close to 300x bigger in size, yet it's size is 120x that of earth.
    Don't get too hung up on mass/size/gravity since those are advanced topics in astronomy. Only those who are very interested will get the knack of those concepts. They do make sense, but the average person lives on earth and thinks in earthen ways since we all experience earth's gravity exactly the same, which affects time, weight, speed, friction, and many other things that we experience in our day-to-day lives but never really think of. On Jupiter, things would be very different. First off, the orbital period for Jupiter around the Sun is over 11.8 years, while earth's orbit is ~365.25 days. And for a rocket to leave the earth's gravitational pull (escape velocity) the rocket would have to travel 25,022.411 mph, but on Jupiter the escape velocity would be around 133,80.08 mph. Our best probes and rockets could not even travel 3.8x that speed in the vacuum of space, let alone under the tremendous gravitational pull from Jupiter.
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    Jupiter's rings are a little interesting but are too easy to understand to be worth writing much about. All of the clouds circulate clockwise but some seem to move counter clockwise around the boundaries due to hurricanes which play tricks on your eyes. The huge spot in the middle is a gargantuan hurricane as well! Below is a clip of Jupiter's gases floating around similar to how earth's winds move only far more complicated due to Jupiter's makeup. (Video is from Voyager 1 probe shot at a distance of 36,039,529 miles and the videos ends at a distance of 22,369,362 miles away).
    AMAZING!!
    Read my other articles! They are much better than this dry one!