Sun Spots

In Aztec myths there is a legend of creation saying that there was a god with a scabby, pock-marked face who sacrificed himself to create the sun, which suggest that they saw spots on the sun. Galileo turned his telescope towards the sun and said that there were spots on it, and all of the European astronomers were puzzled. The discovery was ground breaking. The credit is usually shared by Johann Goldsmid of Holland, Galileo Galilei of Italy, Christopher Schiener of Germany, and Thomas Herriot of England all of whom said they saw sun spots at some point in 1611. By observing the sun for a period of time Galileo saw that the sun spots got smaller in size as they approached the visible edge of the sun. He figured that this could not happen if the spots were moons or planets moving between the earth and the sun.

Sunspots are made up of two parts: a dark, roughly circular central disk called the umbra, and a lighter outer area called the penumbra. The sun spot is essentially a part of the sun which is cooler than the area surrounding it. The reason that the sun spot is cooler is because of a magnetic field which hinders the transportation of heat from the sun. A sun spot has an average temperature of 4000 degrees Kelvin. The magnetic field has the power to cool down the surface of the sun by one third. An average sized sun spot is measured to be about the size of the earth. For over 150 years we've known that sun spots appear in cycles, increasing and decreasing on a regular cycle of between 9.5 to 11 years, on average about 10.8 years. Heinrich Schwabe was an amateur astronomer when he figured the cycle, he noted this in 1843.

Wilson and Penzias vs. Davis and Bahcall

I think that serendipity played a role in the discovery of the two topics discussed. It was just luck. Wilson and Penzias could have worked for 40 years they just got lucky and didn't have to.

Nobel Prizes tend to favor the experimentalists. Bachall didn't win the prize he was the theorist.

Types of Telescopes Chandra

a)the EM radiation range targeted by the following telescopes (there may be more than one)
X-Rays
b) a picture generated by this telescope (or, if it is a prototype, a schematic of the design)

c) how old the light coming into the telescope is, in light years or light minutes

d) if the telescope uses mirrors, CCDs, lenses, or a combination of all.
It uses mirrors.

Reflecting vs. Refratcing Telescopes

1.) In Newton's telescope you could see the color spectrum.
2.) It was showing that the earth wasn't the center of the universe like everyone had previously thought and the church didn't want to believe that.
3.) It paved the way for future astronomers.
4.) Changed the way we look at the solar system
opened the door to be able to research more things
allowed us to look at space more clearly

Notes on Stellar Spectra

1.) A hydrogen light spectra are more likely to appear on earth.
2.) Closer stars because the difference in position is more noticeable.
3.) Apparent brightness
4.) Hydrogen, many atoms fuse together to make helium which burns very hot and the interactions keep multiplying as more and more helium atoms are made, throwing off a hydrogen atom.
5.) Intensity is how bright the star appears and magnitude is how bright it actually is.

Escaping the Sun

Part A
Layers Interactions

5 22
10 212
15 182
20 265
25 822

As the number of layers goes up the number of interactions usually goes up. The only exception is for 15 layers. I don't see a linear or exponential pattern in the numbers.
Part B
Layers Interactions

5 30
10 99
15 250
20 408
25 639

The number of interactions went up per layer. More accurate because the more points of data you have to test the more accurate your results will be.

Part C
Energy(eV) Wavelength(NW) Photons sent: Photons Detected

1.5 828 15:12
1.8 690 15:11
2.0 621 15:10
2.3 540 15:11
2.5 497 15:12

1.) It gets smaller.
2.) The number increases consistently with the exception of the wavelength of 2.0, where it decreased then resumed getting larger.

Part D
Energy(eV) Wavelength(NW) Gas Atom Photons sent: Photons Detected
2.2 565 O 15:4
2.2 565 Mg 15:13
2.2 565 Na 15:9
2.2 565 Ca 15:13

1.) The different gas atoms have different consistences and that will effect the number of photons detected.
2.) A line spectra would have to be seen as if the element was used as a light bulb.
3.) Yes you would get the same patterns because the elements are still the same you would just have a higher wavelength.

Annie Cannon and the Spectra

As of right now i would like to go to college and end up running my own business.

What is it?

To me it sounds like a nuclear blast.

1. The way the patterns look and the how powerful the blast was sounds similar to what happened in Japan.

2. A UFO sounds ridiculous.

3. The way certain things are flattened and the amount of radiation sounds like a nuclear bomb.

Electromagnetic Radiation

Cell Phones- Cell phones have become a way to do many things. Without my phone I wouldn't be able to keep in touch with many of my friends or family. It makes life more convienent and accessable. With all of the things you can do with cell phones now many people would be lost with out them.