The oceans and seas of our planet are full of life and amazingly beautiful creatures. Just imagine, sitting on a beach watching the sun set over a breathtaking horizon...I bet you aren't thinking about what lives underneath that deep blue water. Well, there are many different types of creatures of all shapes and sizes that live in oceans.
Of course, there is the basic fish...ok take that back...no fish is really basic, they have thier own color, size, shape, appetite and temper. One of the most common fishes that comes to mind when someone is thinking about the ocean, thanks to the movie "Finding Nemo", is the clown fish. These fun little guys are orange in color and have two white rings around thier body. They have an interesting home as well. They actually make thier stay in anemones, which tend to sting really hard! Why would they stay there?? Actually, they have developed a way to not get stung, so they live there but if any other fish or predator tries to attack them, they will get stung and not the clownfish!
Another really interesting sea creature is the octopus. With it's eight long tentacles and enormous head it catches the eye of many. There are many different types of octopi, and some are even extremely dangerous! The most dangerous type of octopus is the Blue-Ringed Octopus. It is only the size of a golf ball, but its venom is powerful enough to kill humans. There is no known antidote. Pretty scary huh!?
Alright, the final creature we will explore is the Great White Shark...the king of the ocean. The Great White doesn't really have the greatest reputation, considering Jaws and everything, but they are still really interesting. They are generally found in the deeper regions of the ocean and can grow to be a whopping 21feet in length!! I don't know about you, but I definitely would freak out if I saw something that big swimming anywhere near me!!
So, now that we have explored a few of the ocean's many creatures, you wont have to wonder as much about what really is under that beautiful sunset you are watching!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Big Bang Theory
Our universe is a very large and interesting mystery. There are many controversies over how it was created as well as many different views on those theories. The most commonly known theory is the "Big Bang Theory".
This amazing discovery was made by a man by the name of Edward Hubble. He discovered that the universe is expanding constantly and was once very compact. Our universe is thought to have begun as an infinitely small, infinitely hot, infinitely dense...something. According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence around 13.7 billion years ago. Ya, hard to imagine isn't it? Well, believe it! After its first appearance, the universe began to get really really hot, really really fast. It exploded and what was left, is now our universe! Pretty crazy, huh?
A lot of people feel that way. They do not believe in the "Big Bang Theory" simply because they find it unethical or against thier religion. Although, this theory is backed by relavant scientific facts and phenomenon, many people still don't buy it.
Personally I think that this theory is kind of cool and interesting. I mean, our universe was supposedly creating from basically nothing! We are made of like...stardust and stuff...pretty sweet!
This amazing discovery was made by a man by the name of Edward Hubble. He discovered that the universe is expanding constantly and was once very compact. Our universe is thought to have begun as an infinitely small, infinitely hot, infinitely dense...something. According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence around 13.7 billion years ago. Ya, hard to imagine isn't it? Well, believe it! After its first appearance, the universe began to get really really hot, really really fast. It exploded and what was left, is now our universe! Pretty crazy, huh?
A lot of people feel that way. They do not believe in the "Big Bang Theory" simply because they find it unethical or against thier religion. Although, this theory is backed by relavant scientific facts and phenomenon, many people still don't buy it.
Personally I think that this theory is kind of cool and interesting. I mean, our universe was supposedly creating from basically nothing! We are made of like...stardust and stuff...pretty sweet!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Solar Systems & Galaxies
Oh, Space! So much to learn about and so much to see. Space is one of the most unexplainable things in the entire world and that is what makes it so interesting. Solar systems and galaxies form what we like to call space...so let's take a look!!
Our solar system consists of the Sun and the nine planets that orbit it. The planets are (in order from distance from the sun) Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune and Pluto. The planets orbit the sun at different speeds and rotate on different axes. There are many different solarsystems but obviously ours is the only one that is really well known, basically because we live on it, or in it, yeah you get it!
Our solar system consists of the Sun and the nine planets that orbit it. The planets are (in order from distance from the sun) Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune and Pluto. The planets orbit the sun at different speeds and rotate on different axes. There are many different solarsystems but obviously ours is the only one that is really well known, basically because we live on it, or in it, yeah you get it!
Now, as you know, we live in the Milky Way. No not the candy, the galaxy! That's right, we live in the Milky Way Galaxy. There are many different types of galaxies for example, there is the spiral, lenticular, elliptical and irregular galaxy. Each is very unique in its own way, but basically they all are composed of the same "material" so to speak. By definition, a galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system consisting of stars, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and dark matter. Kind of a mouthful, but that is exactly what a galaxy is made up of.
Galaxies and solarsystems are very different from each other. In a solar system, there is a center object that other planets or objects orbit around. It is really interesting though, that galaxies and solarsystems are so different because they are made up of each other! A galaxy has a solarsystem and the solarsystem has planets and the planets have life, well we know at least one does!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Red Giants, White Dwarfs, our Sun, Black Holes!!!
Stars are beautiful and miraculous things that scatter the night sky. These twinkling lights are what make us stop and look up on a clear night. Although they seem so small and simple, there is a lot that happens during the life of a star.
Let's start off by talking about red giants. A red giant by defenition is the remaining core or central region of a star that has run or "burnt out" of protons. This portion of the star is made up of alphas, which are helium atoms. Since the once lively star has run out of fuel, it starts to cool and contract. The outer layers fall inward and cause the star to heat up once again. This outer shell gets hot enough that it produces more energy for the star and the star begins to swell. Eventually it becomes giant and has a red glow to it, thus giving it the name Red Giant.
Now another form of a star is the white dwarf. This type of star is formed when a larger star at the end of its "nuclear" age explodes and leaves its remnants behind. The core of this once giant star gets extremely hot and as a result, forms a white dwarf star. These are the types of stars that we can see on a clear night. Our sun is a dwarf star, it is just a lot closer to Earth than all of the others.
Now for our sun, it is a dwarf star, formed millions and millions of years ago. The Sun is the largest object in our solar system, it makes up over 99.8% of the mass of our entire system. Just like any other star, the sun has many layers. They include the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. Our sun is the most important star in all of the solar system.
So what happens when a star as big as the sun burns out? A black hole!! It's true, a black hole is simply the space where a star used to be. In the movies they are portrayed as time travelling tunnels and even space vacuums that suck up everything in sight. In order to create a black hole, a star as big as the sun or even larger, at the end of its "nuclear" age must undergo a supernova explosion. When this happens, well basically a big huge hole is left in space!
I think all of this is really interesting. I didn't realize how all of these things could be tied together in one way or another. For instance, a red giant forms a white dwarf, our sun is a white dwarf, and when a star as large as our sun explodes, it leaves a black hole! They are also very different from eachother as well. They all have different characteristics and affects on the solar system as a whole. Space is a wonderful and fascinating thing that will be studied for years and years to come.
Let's start off by talking about red giants. A red giant by defenition is the remaining core or central region of a star that has run or "burnt out" of protons. This portion of the star is made up of alphas, which are helium atoms. Since the once lively star has run out of fuel, it starts to cool and contract. The outer layers fall inward and cause the star to heat up once again. This outer shell gets hot enough that it produces more energy for the star and the star begins to swell. Eventually it becomes giant and has a red glow to it, thus giving it the name Red Giant.
Now another form of a star is the white dwarf. This type of star is formed when a larger star at the end of its "nuclear" age explodes and leaves its remnants behind. The core of this once giant star gets extremely hot and as a result, forms a white dwarf star. These are the types of stars that we can see on a clear night. Our sun is a dwarf star, it is just a lot closer to Earth than all of the others.
Now for our sun, it is a dwarf star, formed millions and millions of years ago. The Sun is the largest object in our solar system, it makes up over 99.8% of the mass of our entire system. Just like any other star, the sun has many layers. They include the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. Our sun is the most important star in all of the solar system.
So what happens when a star as big as the sun burns out? A black hole!! It's true, a black hole is simply the space where a star used to be. In the movies they are portrayed as time travelling tunnels and even space vacuums that suck up everything in sight. In order to create a black hole, a star as big as the sun or even larger, at the end of its "nuclear" age must undergo a supernova explosion. When this happens, well basically a big huge hole is left in space!
I think all of this is really interesting. I didn't realize how all of these things could be tied together in one way or another. For instance, a red giant forms a white dwarf, our sun is a white dwarf, and when a star as large as our sun explodes, it leaves a black hole! They are also very different from eachother as well. They all have different characteristics and affects on the solar system as a whole. Space is a wonderful and fascinating thing that will be studied for years and years to come.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Science vs Pseudoscience
Science is a part of our everyday lives. Everything we do has to deal with some sort of science. There are two main types of science, natural science and social science. Natural sciences deal with natural phenomena and things that happen, well in nature. The other main type of science, social sciene, deals with human behaviors and societies. All scientific facts are backed by the research and development of theories. The knowledge of science must be based on observable phenomena and must be capable of being experimented on.
Pseudoscience is a body of knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that is claimed to be scientific. It is more of an idea than an actual fact. The ideas of pseudoscience may appear to be scientific, but in reality, they are just ideas. For example, these ideas lack supporting evidence to their "phenomenons" and do not contain any plausable information. Some examples of pseudoscience include palm readers and fortune tellers. They make conclusions and try to find evidence to back it up, basically they do everything backwards.
I was very surprised to find that pseudoscience is so much different from science. Basically, in my eyes pseudoscience is just a joke! All it is is ideas and conclusions based on, well pretty much nothing! I think they just put "science" at the end of it just so it might sound a little more interesting.
Pseudoscience is a body of knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that is claimed to be scientific. It is more of an idea than an actual fact. The ideas of pseudoscience may appear to be scientific, but in reality, they are just ideas. For example, these ideas lack supporting evidence to their "phenomenons" and do not contain any plausable information. Some examples of pseudoscience include palm readers and fortune tellers. They make conclusions and try to find evidence to back it up, basically they do everything backwards.
I was very surprised to find that pseudoscience is so much different from science. Basically, in my eyes pseudoscience is just a joke! All it is is ideas and conclusions based on, well pretty much nothing! I think they just put "science" at the end of it just so it might sound a little more interesting.
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