2012: at least astronomers will survive

Will the World Really End December 21, 2012? Pre-Columbian Maya civilization calendar completes a thirteen “great cycle” (periods of 144,000 days each) since the mythical creation date of the calendar’s current era. Is Earth and mindkind in danger? What is opinion of professional astronomers about myths what can happen in doomsday?

1 Myth: Nibiru planet. Sumerian documents tell us about a planet Nibiru orbiting the Sun every 3,600 years. Sumerian fables include stories of astronauts visiting Earth from an alien civilization called the Anunnaki.

Astronomers: If Nibiru were real, thousands of astronomers around the globe would be tracking it right now.

2 Myth: Alignment with the Galactic Center. This alignment occurs only once every 25,800 years.

Astronomers: It actually happens every December with no consequence.

3 Myth: Solar maximum of Solar cycle. The magnetic poles of the Sun are going to flip in the next few years. The next solar maximum will bring the largest solar storm in history.

Astronomers: This natural process occurs every 11 year. Solar flares can cause some interruption of satellite communications and … that’s all.

4 Myth: Earth’s magnetic poles will shift and all life will be destroyed.

Astronomers: The Earth’s magnetic cycle is 400,000 years on average. The shift can happen tomorrow or in ten thousand years. There were more than 12 000 shifts in Earth’s lifetime, but the planet still rotates.

5 Myth: Collision with an asteroid or a comet will destroy Earth.

Astronomers: We are tacking all large asteroids in Solar system. None will collide with Earth in 2012. If the local impact occurs, this won’t kill all human beings. But some comets travel from the edge of Solar system and can’t be predicted in advance. It’s true we live at tiny risk every day.

6 Myth: Supernova will explode and radiation increase.

Astronomers: We find a lot of supernovas in other galaxies each year. But there are no old super-massive stars -candidates to become a supernova – in the neighbourhood of the Sun.

7 Myth: Alignment of the planets. A coming planetary alignment in 2012 will start a chain reaction that will cause strange weather and events on the Earth.

Astronomers: Actually, …there is not going to be any major alignments of planets in our solar system in the next several decades!

8 Myth: Rise of the machines. Terminator will kill us all.

Astronomers: Mmmm…., theoretically…

Merging galaxies

A theory of galaxy formation — called the “bottom-up model” — says that large galaxies like the Milky Way attained their great size by swallowing up neighboring dwarf galaxies over billions of years. One in one hundred stars in the Milky Way belong to the stellar halo, which is much larger than the Galaxy’s familiar spiral disk. These stars are almost as old as the Universe. Many of the Milky Way’s ancient stars ancient stars, found in a stellar halo of debris surrounding the Milky Way, had been ripped from smaller galaxies by the gravitational forces generated by colliding galaxies.

The early Universe was full of small galaxies which led short and violent lives. These galaxies collided with each other leaving behind debris which eventually settled into more familiar looking galaxies like the Milky Way.

Milky Way has had a steady diet of smaller galaxies during its lifetime. Early in the life of the Milky Way galaxy mergers such as this occurred on a much more frequent basis, contributing substantially to the mass of the Milky Way.

In about three billion years, the Milky Way and other large galaxy of the Local Group – Andromeda – may also collide. The two galactic cores would orbit each other for another three billion years before merging. During that time, the stars making up the two spiral galaxies would slowly coalesce into a more elliptical combo galaxy, “Milkomeda”. It is possiblethat our Solar System may be ejected from the new galaxy some time during the collision. In other case, if the Solar System moves towards the centre of the collision, life on Earth could also end catastrophically. Though majority of astronomers suggests a more peaceful merger of the two galaxies.

Supermassive black hole (image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

If nothing, not even light, can’t escape, such an object is called a black hole. The black hole has no material surface. The original matter of the star is shrunk to an infinitely dense point, called a singularity. The perimeter of the black hole is called the horizon. Everything which could happen beyond the horizon is trapped, and can only increase the mass of the hole. But a black hole is not a monster: it can only catch objects which come very near. If we replaced the Sun with a black hole, we hardly notice the difference.

There are fourth basic types of black holes:

1. Stellar black hole. It forms when a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel and collapses under its own weght (supernova).

2. Supermassive black hole. These holes hide in the cores of galaxies (including our own galaxy, the Milky Way). They have mass of millions of Suns. They can form when smaller black holes merge together.  Because of their location in the centers of galaxies, close to many tightly packed stars and gas clouds, supermassive black holes continue to grow on a steady diet of matter.

3.  An Intermediate-mass black hole. Mass of such hole varies from a few tens to a few millions of the mass of the Sun. It is not clear how such a black hole would form.

4. Mini black hole. These have the mass of an asteroid or less. None has ever been detected, but they could form under the extreme conditions.

Watching vodcasts discover the beauty of universe (image by Inga Nielsen)

Video podcasting, or vodcasting, is the latest evolution of the podcast revolution and has become a competitor for traditional television. It is a digital recording made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal video player or a computer. Gateways like the iTunes and video community websites such as YouTube have created new content markets. Of all the sciences, astronomy is the most visual and is responsible for some of the most memorable images of our time. Video is a natural medium for astronomy communication because of the readily available image, illustration, and animation resources for production. The online distribution of vodcasts (video podcasts) offers significant advantages over the shipping of more traditional physical audiovisual products like DVDs. Digital products – vodcasts – are available on demand when the user needs them. To watch the feeds on your computer, you need to download vodcasting software (iTunes, Quicktime or Juice), and subscribe to an RSS feed offering vodcasts.
Astronomind will help you too discover top 10 video podcasts of the best astronomy and space exploration web sites :

10. Sky and Telescope Media’s Channel on Youtube.  Huge numbers of amateur astronomers flocke to the annual Northeast Astronomy Forum to sample the wares at one of the world’s largest telescope shows. You can whatch some video about new astronomy equipment (Meade, Celestron, Apogee etc.).

9. Astronomy magazine videos. The editors of  the magazine bring you the latest science, new products, hobby tips, and more.

8. Physics central vodcasts help to learn how the world and universe work. The American Physical Society’s website represents some 45,000 physicists. It describe the latest research and the people who are doing it. Enjoy the sights and sounds of physics with our podcasts and videocasts, always fun and always engaging – just like physics.

7. Science@ESA vodcasts explore the extraordinary Universe in which we live as it is seen through the “eyes” of ESA’s fleet of science spacecraft.

6. Universe Today (UT) is a space and astronomy news site. The Astronomy Cast section allows you to download vodcasts: these sessions are mainly discussions between editor Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay that cover and explain many Astronomical phenomena.

5. Sky at Night Magazine vodcast monthly gives you the latest news, interviews and features on astronomy and space. With contributions from world-leading astronomers and writers, it’s essential listening for both the experienced and amateur astronomer.

4. Ask an Astronomer Video podcasts are not only for kids. Real NASA astronomers answer questions about the exciting science of astronomy. Brought to You by NASA’s Spitzer Science Center (SSC) and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC).  

3. NASA vodcasts feature the latest news on space and science findings from JPL and NASA. Topics include discoveries made by spacecraft studying planets in our solar system, including Mars, Saturn and our home planet, Earth. Missions also study stars and galaxies in our universe. Other topics cover tips for amateur astronomers and updates from the Mars Rover and Cassini missions, episodes on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.

2. The Hidden Universe of the Spitzer Space Telescope video series showcases some of the most exciting discoveries in infrared astronomy. Looking beyond the visible spectrum of light, Spitzer can see a whole new universe of dust and stars hidden from our Earth-bound eyes.

1. The Hubblecast is produced by the Euro­pean Space Agency’s Hubble Space Telescope group. It features the latest news and images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

And what is your favourite vodcast? Leave a comment!

Oldfield's "The Songs of Distant Earth"

Space music is used by some amateur astronomers to enable states of relaxation, contemplation and inspiration. This style is a mix of New Age, Ambient and Electronic music. Space music appears in many film soundtracks and is commonly played in planetariums. The golden age for cosmos music were 60’s -  80’s. Since then, public interest in the space programs (also in sci-fi movies and space music) have dimmed a bit.

The best known and most popular space music artists are:

1. Jean Michel Jarre.  This French composer was a pioneer in the electronic genre, as well as an organiser of outdoor shows which feature lights, lasers and fireworks. Jarre has sold an estimated 80 million albums and holds the world record for the largest ever audience at an outdoor event -  3.5 million were watching his concert at Moscow’s 850th anniversary in 1997. The best space albums are: Oxygene (1976), Equinoxe (1978) and Rendez-Vous (1986).  A Main-belt asteroid 4422  (discovered in 1942 ) was named after Jarre.

2. Vangelis is a Greek composer of electronic and orchestral music. He composed more than 40 albums. The Chariots of Fire soundtrack’s single “Titles”, won Vangelis the Oscar in 1981. Best space albums are Albedo 0.39  (1976), Spiral  (1977), Direct (1988), Blade Runner (1994) – score to the 1982 Ridley Scott film. An asteroid 6354 (discovered in 1934) has name … Vangelis.

3. Mike Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer. Oldfield has had more than 30 charting albums. He is best known for his hit 1973 album Tubular Bells, and for his 1983 hit single “Moonlight Shadow”. Best space albums are The Songs of Distant Earth (1994) and Tr3s Lunas (2002). Oldfield is also immortalized  in the night sky – asteroid 5656 (dicovered in 1920) was named after him.

4. Didier Marouani is a French composer and musician. He is also one of the pioneers in the Electronic music genre. Didier Marouani and his band Space gained quite a large popularity in France and many Eastern European countries and sold over 20 millions records. Until now Didier is giving huge concerts in different countries. The best albums are Magic Fly (1977), Just Blue (1978)  and Space Opera (1987). As I know, none of asteroids carries name of Marouani yet…

And who is your favourite artist of space music?

Space with Sam Neill

These top 10 astronomy movies are must see for all those who want to understand the universe we live in.

The Privileged Planet (2004). Imdb rating  7.0/10. Directors: Ladd Allen, Wayne P. Allen. Utilizing stunning computer animation as well as the visual archives of NASA, the Hubble Space Telescope Institute, the European Space Agency, and other leading observatories throughout the world, The Privileged Planet presents a spectacular view of our planet, our galaxy, and the entire universe, and shows us that not only is the Earth perfectly suited for intelligent life, but that the Earth is in the perfect location in the galaxy for man to make scientific discoveries.

9. BBC: The Planets (1999). Imdb rating  8.8/10. Director David McNab.

During the last 40 years, human beings have broken free of the Earth and traveled out to other worlds orbiting the Sun. Spaceships have visited every planet , discovered dozens of new moons and put to rest the myths that have been accepted for centuries. This series chronicles our planetary travels, explains the creation and evolution of each planet and tells how our understanding of the Solar System has developed from ancient times to Galileo and up to the present.
 

8. Roving Mars (2006). Imdb rating  7.0/10. Director: George Butler.

 The feature tells the story of NASAs Mars Rover mission, which saw the construction of two incredibly complex robotic vehicles (The total technology involved in the rovers exceeds the brain capacity of any one person – best useless fact of the film) named Spirit and Opportunity and sent them to the surface of Mars, where they landed successfully in the summer of 2003. There is extensive footage of the surface of Mars, where both carefully accurate CGI and actual Rover footage, is used to give the viewer a nice visit to another world. Amazingly, the planned mission of 90 days has now gone on for over seven years and continues to this day.

 7. Space (2001).  Imdb rating  8.9/10 . Hosted by Sam Neill.

Also called “Hyperspace”, this three hour BBC astronomy documentary consists of six self-contained topical programs, each one about 30 minutes in length: 1) Star Stuff, 2)Staying Alive, 3) Black Holes, 4) Are We Alone…?, 5) New Worlds, and 6) Boldly Go.
The photography, visual effects, and computer graphics are stunning. And the sound effects and music are appropriately cosmic. All of which combine to create a production that entertains, and encourages interest in space exploration.

6. National Geographic: Journey to the Edge of the Universe (2008). Imdb rating 8.2/10 . Director Yavar Abbas.

National Geographic presents the first accurate non-stop voyage from Earth to the edge of the Universe using a single, unbroken shot through the use of spectacular CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) technology. Building on images taken from the Hubble telescope, Journey to the Edge of the Universe explores the science and history behind the distant celestial bodies in the solar system. This spectacular, epic voyage across the cosmos, takes us from the Earth, past the Moon and our neighboring planets, out of our Solar System, to the nearest stars, nebulae and galaxies and beyond – right to the edge of the Universe itself.

 5. The Elegant Universe (2003). Imdb rating 8.2/10 .  Directors: Julia Cort, Joseph McMaster. 2 Emmy awards.

Eleven dimensions, parallel universes, and a world made out of strings. It’s not science fiction, it’s string theory.

4. Cosmos (1980).  Imdb rating  9.6/10. 3 Emmy awards.

Astronomer Dr. Carl Sagan is host and narrator of this 13-hour series. Dr. Sagan describes the universe in a way that appeals to a mass audience, by using Earth as a reference point, by speaking in terms intelligible to non-scientific people, by relating the exploration of space to that of the Earth by pioneers of old, and by citing such Earth legends as the Library of Alexandria as metaphors for space-related future events. Among Dr. Sagan’s favorite topics are the origins of life, the search for life on Mars, the infernal composition of the atmosphere of Venus and a warning about a similar effect taking place on Earth due to global pollution and the “greenhouse effect”, the lives of stars, interstellar travel and the effects of attaining the speed of light, the danger of mankind technologically self-destructing, and the search, using radio technology, for intelligent life in deep space.

Al Gore's Inconvenient truth

3. Ecology thrillers: An Inconvenient Truth and The 11th Hour

An Inconvenient Truth (2006). Imdb rating 7.9/10. Director: Davis Guggenheim. Won 2 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 5 nominations.  A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way.  An Inconvenient Truth is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry to protect the one earth we all share.  “It is now clear that we face a deepening global climate crisis that requires us to act boldly, quickly, and wisely,” said Gore.  

Leonardo DiCaprio’s  The 11th Hour (2007). Imdb rating 7.0/10 . Directors: Nadia Conners, Leila Conners Petersen. Turn mankind’s darkest hour into its finest. It’s our generation that gets to change the world… forever. A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet’s ecosystems.

2. Stephen Hawking’s Universe (1997, Imdb rating 8.5/10) and  Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking (2010).

Stephen Hawking’s Universe is 6-part documentary series from arguably the greatest scientific mind in the world, the wheelchair-bound Stephen Hawking, which describes all current thinking on the Big Bang, origins of the universe, dark matter, black holes, etc. Includes interviews with leading astronomers and scientists, some commentary from the great man himself, and computer models of the theories. Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking is a 2010 science documentary TV mini-series: 1) Are We Alone? , 2) Is Time Travel Possible, 3)  The Story of Everything.

1. The Universe Seasons 1-4 (2007-2010). Imdb rating 8.8/10. Director: Douglas J. Cohen, Luke Ellis. 

This educational show explores many scientific questions and topics about the universe (Big Bang, the Sun, the 9 planets, cosmic holes, other galaxies, astrobiology etc.) through latest CGI, data and interviews with scientists.

Amateurs can analyse the data sent by space missions

There have never been so many planetary missions active at once as there are today. In 2010, spacecraft will explore the Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury and Saturn; many others are on their way to explore comets, asteroids, the cold worlds of the Kuiper belt and beyond. 

More and more nations are seek­ing to participate in the exploration of the Solar System, and particularly of our nearest neighbour, the Moon. Japan, China, India, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia are all now planning or operating missions on the Moon.

Many of the next steps in the exploration of our neighbourhood in the Solar System are so challenging that they seem daunting without the commitment and cooperation of many of Earth’s space-faring nations:

• Establishing a permanent station on the Moon;
• Further study of moons of giant planets;
• Returning samples of rocks from the surface of Mars;
• Human flights to the asteroids and Mars.

Space is not just what we see at the other end of a telescope, we live in space, too, and it is important to study our own neighbourhood. Amateur astronomers are invited to participate in exploration of Solar System together with profesional scientists:

1. “Messages from Earth”. Now everyone can send his name to space. The oldest example is still in orbit around Saturn: Cassini car­ries a DVD0 with 616 400 handwritten sig­natures from people living in 81 countries. 2 DVDs, each containing four million names, were sent with the Mars Exploration Rovers. A DVD containing “Visions of Mars”, a collection of Mars-inspired literature, art and personal greetings from leading space visionaries of our time was included with Phoenix. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter carried names to the lunar orbit.

2.  Analysis of scientific data. Members of the public helped examine more than 700 000 micro­scopic scans of the Stardust spacecraft’s interstellar dust collection plates, searching for a few dozen micron-sized grains of dust.

3. Watching the impacts. Two spacecraft of LCROSS in the early summer of 2009 and Japan’s huge Kaguya orbiter in the late summer crashed into the Moon. Observations of the plume raised by the impacts could confirm the presence or absence of water in these regions.

4. Analysis of images. Many missions now provide internet access to entire catalogues of raw image data (Mars orbiters, Cassini, Solar observatories) . Digital camera use in combination with increasing high speed internet access, has resulted in the birth of a worldwide commu­nity of armchair scientists who download, process, examine, and then discuss the images being returned by active planetary missions.

Prepared accordint to http://www.capjournal.org

Ice volcanoes on Enceladus (image: NASA)

A spectacular volcanic eruption in Iceland  on April 15 has forced airlines to divert flights to avoid flying through gas emissions from the blast. During the late 18th Century, continuous volcanic eruptions in Iceland heavily damaged a quarter of the island nation, and blotted out the sun’s light for several years.

Volcanic eruptions are perhaps the most dramatic events that occur on Earth. But our blue planet is not the only place in Solar system the vulcanoes erupt.

Volcanic activity has been significant in shaping the surface of the rocky planets and in some of the moons in the outer solar system.

Evidence of past volcanic activity has been found on Moon, Mercury, Mars and other planets or their moons.  The largest volcano in the solar system is Olympus Mons on Mars. These volcanoes were active millions of years ago – when our solar system was younger and the planets and moons had much higher internal temperatures.

 Active volcanoes are ones that are currently erupting or that have erupted at some time in human space exploration history.

Volcano is not only open surface through which molten rock material, gases and ash escape. The volcanoes in planets or moon beyond Mars are often cryovolcanoes. Instead of erupting molten rock they erupt cold or frozen gases such as water, ammonia or methane.

The most active solar system bodies (except the Earth):

1. Jupiter’s Moon Io is the most active body in our solar system. It is a very tiny moon that is enormously influenced by the gravity of the giant planet. Tides produce a tremendous amount of internal friction which heats the moon, and enables the intense volcanic activity. erupt sulfur, sulfur dioxide and silicate rock, and as a result, Io is constantly being resurfaced. The largest recorded volcanic eruptions in the solar system occurred on Io in 2001.

2. Cryovolcanoes (ice volcanoes) were first observed in 1989 when Voyager 2 made a flyby of Neptune’s moon Triton.

3. On Enceladus cryovolcanoes were discovered by the Cassini spacecraft in 2005. The spacecraft imaged jets of icy particles venting from the south polar region.

4. Recent infrared data from an instrument on the Venus Express spacecraft indicate there could be active volcanism on Venus.  In some places the lava flows are younger than 2.5 million years, possibly even as young as a few hundred to tens of thousands of years old and 9 ‘hotspots’ on southern hemisphere have been identified as possibly active. 

5. Moons of Jupiter Ganymede and Europa also appears to have an active cryovolcanic system. Cassini spacecraft also found evidence of a methane-spewing cryovolcano on the Saturnian moon Titan, which is believed to be a significant source of the methane found in its atmosphere. It is theorized that cryovolcanism may also be present on the Kuiper Belt Object Quaoar.

You don't need a spaceship to travel across the Solar System

Significant strides have been made in free Desktop Planetarium software for modern commercial computers. Applications range from the simple to the complex. Many of these astronomy applications can run on several computer platforms.

There is a wide selection of free astronomy software available to an equally wide audience. While several applications provide excellent all-in-one solutions to meet most astronomers’ needs, other tools feature narrow but focused functionality. Young students and novice astronomers may want to begin with MHX Astronomy Helper,  Solar System 3D Simulator or Asynx Planetarium. The next step up from these starter applications includes DeskNite and Deepsky Free, tools aimed at more advanced users. The best overall experience may be found in Celestia, Stellarium and Microsoft’s WorldWide. Integration between the sky surveys and the Hubble Telescope that make Sky in Google Earth a valuable educational tool.  Digital Universe Atlas has the opportunity to view objects in different types of electromagnetic radiation, ranging from radio to infrared radiation, visible light and gamma rays.

Read more at: www.capjournal.org

Evaporated planet (image: APOD, Inga Nielsen)

 To date, 443 exoplanets (extrasolar planets) are discovered orbiting other stars in our Milky Way galaxy. In  1992 the discovery of planets around another pulsar was announced. After 3 years the first definitive detection of an exoplanet orbiting an ordinary main-sequence star (51 Pegasi) was confirmed.

 Many known exoplanets are hot Jupiters: planets of  Jupiter-like mass on very small orbits with periods of only a few days.

 A hot Neptune is a giant planet in an orbit close to its star ( less than 1 AU). The mass of its core and envelope are similar to Uranus and Neptune.

 The majority of planets found outside our solar system have been gas giants since they produce more pronounced wobbles in the host stars and are thus more easily detectable. However, a number of extrasolar planets are suspected to be terrestrial (rocky).

 A Super-Earth represent the upper-end of the terrestrial planet with a mass between that of Earth and the Solar System’s gas giants (upper bound of 10 Earth masses). Smaller terrestrial planets can be Iron planets (similar to Mercury) or Coreless planets.

 A Chthonian planet is a class of celestial objects resulting from the stripping away of a gas giant’s hydrogen and helium atmosphere and outer layers (evaporated remnant cores). CoRot-7b may be the first in this class. 

 Goldilocks planet is a planet that falls within a star’s habitable zone, often specifically used for planets close to the size of Earth. Goldilocks planets are of key interest to researchers looking either for existing (and possibly intelligent) life or for future homes for the human race. Only two such planets are discovered, but finding Goldilocks planets is a key part of the Kepler Mission.

 An ocean planet ( waterworld) is a hypothetical type of planet whose surface is completely covered with an ocean of water. The oceans on such planets would be hundreds of kilometers deep.  GJ 1214 b is the most likely known candidate for an ocean planet.

 An Eccentric Jupiter is a Jovian planet that orbits its star in a highly eccentric orbit, much like a comet. Eccentric Jupiters may disqualify a planetary system from having Earth-like planets in it because a massive and highly eccentric gas giant may remove all Earth mass planets from the habitable zone. These planets more even common than Hot Jupiters.

 Cold Neptune is a type of planet with a mass ranging from about 10 Earth masses (a Super-Earth) to less than Saturn. Cold Neptunes should be located beyond a host star’s snow line where temperatures are much cooler. Only few planets of this class are discovered to date.

Cold Neptune (image: ESA)

 Cold Jupiters (Jupiter-twins) are a class of extrasolar planet whose mass is close to or exceeds that of Jupiter and orbit their suns in a roughly similar pattern. Within our own solar system, Jupiter and Saturn would be the prime examples of this planetary class.

 A rogue planet ( an interstellar planet, free-floating planet or orphan planet) is an object which has equivalent mass to a planet and is not gravitationally bound to any star and orbits the galaxy directly.

 An extragalactic planet is a planet that is outside the Milky Way Galaxy. One suspected planet is announced in the Andromeda Galaxy.