Another Earth?

Introduction:

Exoplanets are planets with host stars that are not our sun, in other words any planet outside of our solar system. While exoplanets, or extrasolar planets, were undetectable to us until recently (the first was detected in 1992), today almost 1,000 have been recorded (1). It is also estimated that generally all stars have at least one planet in orbit (2). For this reason, exoplanets play a large roll in the search for extraterrestrial life, though candidates are severely narrowed by stellar diversity.

There are many ways of detecting exoplanets, all of which fall into two categories: direct imaging, and indirect. While direct imaging can tell us more about a planet’s characteristics, because of light pollution from host stars, indirect is far more common. Aside from capturing visible light / infrared spectra, there are a number of indirect detection techniques. These include: Astrometry, Doppler shift, Transit/Eclipse, Gravitational microlensing, and Pulsar timing. Astrometry is a method in which one precisely measures the location of the star in an attempt to observe the wobble that results from orbiting the center of mass. A Doppler shift is when the stars orbital disk is in a similar plane to Earth and therefor during the times when the star is traveling toward or away from our observation the wavelength detected is either elongated or compressed. These alterations are referred to as red shift and blue shift depending on which direction. The Doppler effect is a common phenomenon and therefor a versatile detection method. Transit and Eclipse methods both take advantage of either the star or planet blocking the other from our observation. Each method measures the total light (visible or infrared) and how it changes over time. In Transit detection, when the orbiting planet comes in front of its star, it blocks some percentage of emitted light therefor our graphs demonstrate a regularly shaped dip in light detection. In Eclipse detection, there is a drop in infrared light when the planet moves from the side of the star to behind it since the planet emits infrared light. Gravitational microlensing detects the light of an object hidden from the observer’s field of view by an extremely massive body, as that light is bent around the body. Finally, pulsar timing utilizes the regular and precise movement of neutron stars to detect an orbit from imprecision. The very first exoplanet was discovered by pulsar timing detection.

Kepler-22b was discovered transiting its host star in 2009, and then confirmed with a third transit detection in late 2010. The planet’s radius is approximately two and a half that of Earth, though its mass and composition are still unknown (3). It orbits a G5 spectral type star very similar to our own sun. Found 600 light-years away, the host star (Kepler-22) has a mass of about 0.97 solar masses, a radius of about 0.98 solar radii, and a luminosity of about 0.8 times the luminosity of our sun (4). Kepler-22b was an important discovery for the Kepler mission as it was the first exoplanet found orbiting a star similar to our sun within the specific habitable zone.

Habitability:

Though the potential habitability of Kepler-22b is still largely unknown, from the information we have gathered so far, it seems to be a promising candidate for sustaining life. The planet orbits Kepler-22 at an average distance of 0.85 AU (1), which correlates with a similar position within it’s habitable zone as Earth. Earth is located at 1 AU and our sun’s habitable zone is between 0.95 and 1.4 AU. The habitable zone of Kepler-22 is located between 0.82 and 1.21 AU as calculated using the following equations: D_inner = 0.95 AU √(L/L_sun) and D_outter = 1.4 AU √(L/L_sun)

(http://kepler.nasa.gov/images/Kepler22bDiagram.jpg)

The bond albedo and atmospheric conditions of Kepler-22b are unknown; therefor the actual temperature is incalculable using the following equation: T_equilibrium = 255K   D^-1/2

However, models have estimated the planet’s equilibrium temperature under 3 different atmospheric conditions. The first of which is an atmospheric greenhouse gas effect similar to Earth’s, which results in an average temperature of 295°K. Should the planet have experienced a runaway greenhouse gas effect similar to that of Venus, the planet should have an average temperature of about 733°K. Lastly, if the planet has been stripped of its atmosphere completely, it likely has an equilibrium temperature of 262°K. These values are very earth-like and appear to be potentially supportive of life. (5)

            The planet was detected and confirmed using the method of Transit. Since Transit detection measures the decrease in light picked up as the planet crosses in front of its host star, the dip in luminosity can be described as:

(πr_star² – πr_planet²)/(πr_star²) in terms of the percentage of total light still detectable when partially blocked by planet. For Kepler-22b, the light from Kepler-22 should decrease from 1.00 to 0.999337.

            Since Kepler-22 is a G5 spectral type star, it is slightly less massive and luminous than our very own G2 spectral type sun. Kepler-22 is young at only 1 billion years old, compared to our sun’s age of 4.57 billion years. Since it is a much younger star, it has more stellar life left than our sun, though it can be expected to follow the same fate as our sun once it is old enough. The habitable zone will continue to widen and distance itself from the star before fusion is complete, at which point it will expand and cool before evolving into a giant.

Science Fiction

            Kepler-22b is the closest you can find to home, away from home! If you aren’t already dying to take a trip with the family to Kepler-22b, you’re about to be! While 22b is home to tropical warm weather and white sand beaches, there are entirely new aspects to the world that will excite the whole family. First of all, the beaches are made of crystal sand instead of boring old earth minerals! Second of all, the beach water isn’t even water, it’s methane! What could be better than a decade long getaway to swim in the methane oceans of 22b with the kids? The only thing I can think of is CALLING NOW to get 15% off on your next seat booking. Survival not guaranteed.

Works Cited:

1. http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/
2. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v481/n7380/full/nature10684.html
3. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepscicon-briefing.html#.UmUyFJTwLtg
4.  Kepler-22b, NASA Ames Research Center, retrieved 2011-12-06 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-22#cite_note-nasa_ames-2)
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-22b#cite_note-bbc20111205-9

 Systems that create energy from human fecal matter are not new. The idea has been around for a while now, yet never efficiently enough to spawn serious use. The mechanism is called a “microbial fuel cell” (or MFC for short) and it basically uses live electrogenic bacteria that create electricity using the organic material from human byproduct. Generally this sort of system demands an initial power source, driving the production cost considerably higher.

Another idea that has been around for a while is the photoelectrochemical cell (or a PEC) which uses sunlight to separate water into pure hydrogen and oxygen. Similar to MFCs, PECs also necessitate an initial power source causing the same disadvantages. The innovation brought by Yat Li’s research group comes from the synthesis of these two mechanisms to create a “hybrid solar-microbial device”.

By combining the two systems, no supplemental power source is necessary and the average hydrogen gas output is greatly improved. The mechanism works essentially the same as either component would by itself. Electrogenic bacteria begin the process by breaking down organic material in one container, which creates an electrical charge simultaneously. This electricity is used to expedite the electrolysis of water, which occurs in another container with the help of solar energy.

(This is an image of the first hybrid solar-microbial system. http://scitechdaily.com/images/Newly-Device-Uses-Sunlight-and-Wastewater-to-Produce-Hydrogen-Gas.jpg)

The utility and relevance of this creation are extremely prevalent. Aside from the obvious benefits of pursuing reliable and sustainable clean energy, this solution also addresses the issue of waste management. Essentially, the mechanism kills two birds with one stone. The creators of the device are eager to take it to the next step commercially. A much larger scale version is in the workings to be tested on a citywide level.

Source:

University of California – Santa Cruz. “New device harnesses sun and sewage to produce hydrogen fuel.” ScienceDaily, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

A very young planet with a couple of unique characteristics was spotted using a telescope in Hawaii. The planet is only about 12 million years old, and seems to resemble Jovian planets like those in our solar system. The biggest difference being that “PSO J318.5-22” does not appear to have a host star, or anything to orbit at all. A planet has never been found appearing to remain still in space, therefore this discovery opens the door to a whole new conception of what is possible in the universe.

The planet, PSO J318.5-22, is comparable to an extremely young Jupiter, which makes it a valuable research subject. It could provide us with insight into the baby years of gas giants. Now you might wonder why this distant planet is an advantageous research opportunity, and it has to do with the lack of gravitational orbit. Because PSO is not orbiting any host star, it is easier to study with ‘direct imaging’ than other directly imaged objects because usually the host star’s luminosity disrupts data.

After years of detecting the planet’s position, it was resolved that PSO was created by a “moving group” of baby stars that match PSO in age. It is unclear what the exact process was that created this planet and caused it to end up so far out of orbit.

Source:

Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “A strange lonely planet found without a star.” ScienceDaily, 9 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

Stars are formed in cold cosmic clouds. Most of the time they form in groups as “clusters”, and scientists believe that this is in denser areas known as Infrared Dark Clouds. When the temperature of one of these clouds surpasses -160 °C, it is classified as a “hot core” and there is a large concentration of organic compounds. Wait, that doesn’t seem very hot, does it? Well even though it seems ridiculously cold to us, it’s roughly 100 °C hotter than the regular cloud.

(Different infrared dark cloud) – http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Cepheus_B.jpg

Recently, a very young small star was seen to have an extremely massive hot core by radio telescopes in Chile. The age of the protostar is estimated to be 740 years as calculated by the speed of gaseous output. It isn’t known why exactly this star is so hot, or why the surrounding hot cloud is ten times the average size of what we have observed before. One potential explanation is that the extreme mass of the cloud caused the large hot core by increasing the rate at which gravitational potential energy is converted to thermal energy. Another potential explanation is that there are more than one protostar inside the hot core. 

The lesson that should be taken from this new observation is that there is more opportunity for variety in the creation of stars than we originally thought. Perhaps we do not understand nearly as much about the star formation process(es) as we thought. The next question to investigate for these scientists is: what is the cause of this young star’s extremely large infrared dark cloud?

Sources:

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. “Astronomers discover large ‘hot’ cocoon around a small baby star.” ScienceDaily, 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.

One theory of how life began on Earth is that asteroids brought microbes and other simple life forms to the planets surface early on. We have gathered evidence of pre-existing life inside asteroids before. The question is, how did asteroids from the belt between Mars and Jupiter have the heat to sustain liquid water and therefor life? This has long been explained by the same radioactive chemical processes that heat Earth’s core. While this is certainly a somewhat prominent factor, models estimate temperatures that do not align with the observed reality.

http://uanews.org/story/asteroid-belt-found-around-vega

Two scientists named Roberge and Menzel were able to reevaluate another theory of how the asteroid got all of the heat that they did at one point before cooling. The alternate theory has to do with the electrical current that is created from the movement of plasma (in the asteroids) through the magnetic field of our solar system. The idea isn’t completely new, but Roberge and Menzel reworked the theory using more modern knowledge of the solar system and were able to create a consistent model. This new theory of what provided the heat to allow asteroids to become habitable changes our understanding of the universe. The calculations require the application of multi fluid magneto-hydrodynamics, which is an extremely narrow field of physics pursued by a very select few people.

Sources:

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “Researchers propose new theory to explain seeds of life in asteroids.” ScienceDaily, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 2 Oct. 2013.

Scientific advancement has allowed researchers to focus on analyzing exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) now, as opposed to simply discover their existence. With the help of the new Spitzer telescope, Astronomers were able to create the very first cloud map of an exoplanet. This exoplanet is Kepler-7b, a large Jovian gas giant originally observed by Johannes Kepler himself.

The important advancement for the field comes with how the Spitzer telescope enhanced the usefulness of Kepler’s discoveries and observations. Spitzer collected infrared imagery of Kepler-7b, therefor estimating it’s temperature. It is relatively cool for being almost twice as close to it’s star than we are to ours. The planet is extremely non-dense; in fact it is less massive than water. Kepler made observations of visible light, and likely unknowingly observed the reflection of the star of orbit off the planet surface, rather than the actual planet. The clouds on the planet explained this phenomenon. Using Kepler’s data in conjunction with data gathered by Spitzer, we have the power to study the make-up and other details of extrasolar atmospheres.

This is Kepler-7b (which orbits the star in 5 Earth days):

 http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20100104/Exoplanet.jpg

Sources:

NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “First cloud map of a planet beyond our solar system.”ScienceDaily, 30 Sep. 2013. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.

In Kurt Vonnegut’s 1959 novel, The Sirens of Titan, he stresses the importance of perceiving purpose in one’s life while criticizing humanity for expecting a singular definitive answer to the meaning of life. Amidst this idea, lies Vonnegut’s comment on humanity’s conformity and lack of freewill, despite the inherent tendency to believe in and treasure the idea of their freewill. Almost every character in the novel is somehow searching for meaning in life, or the universe. While the novel answers the meaning of human life in the universe of the story, it focuses on the idea that there is no inherent or intrinsic purpose to life, merely an individual search to satisfy oneself. While the plot depicts an outside force’s tight influence over all of human history, the normality of perceiving one’s own freewill is also emphasized.

The Sirens of Titan tells the story of a very wealthy and very lucky young man, named Constant, who is manipulated into enlisting in the Martian Army by a man named Rumfoord. Rumfoord is an aristocrat who accidentally flew his private spaceship, with his dog, through a location in space known as a chrono-synclastic infundibulum. Ever since that happened, the two of them have been able to see the future/past, read minds, and materialize/dematerialize in different spots around the universe on a regular schedule.  Both Constant and Beatrice, Rumfoord’s wife, are cleverly manipulated into conceiving a child (Chrono) and traveling to Mars where their minds are erased and they are separated. After the Martians invade Earth, they are slaughtered as a result of unpreparedness for modern human weaponry. This was part of Rumfoord’s plan; he uses the guilt of the humans as a weakness making them vulnerable to manipulation. This is when he reveals his new religion, teaching that God is indifferent to human existence and plays no part in luck. Constant, stuck on Mercury with his partner Boaz, finds a way to escape by spaceship about three years later. When he leaves for Earth, he arrives in the yard of one of Rumfoord’s new churches and is made a fool of with Beatrice and Chrono, whose identities are revealed. The three of them are exiled to Titan (a moon of Saturn) by means of one-way spaceship. When they arrive it is revealed to them that Rumfoord himself was also being manipulated by the inhabitants of a planet called Tralfamadore. The only other inhabitant of Titan is Salo, a Tralfamadorian robot. Salo crash landed on Titan trying to get as far as he could with a message to deliver to a distant population. Tralfamadorians have the ability to cast the control through the universe at three times the speed of light. This is the skill they used to get a replacement piece for Salo’s ship over to him on Titan. It becomes clear that the entire history of human life on Earth has been manipulated and controlled by Tralfamadorians. The culmination of such influence appears to simply be the small metal lucky charm that Chrono has possessed since finding it when he grew up on Mars. Rumfoord disappears for good due to solar flaring, and Salo disassembles himself in sorrow, as the two had become very close friends.

The characters Constant, Boaz, and Beatrice each demonstrate their own transformation during the novel and find a purpose to their own lives. Toward the end of his life, after the passing of Beatrice, Constant finds peace with the control exerted over his life by deciding that “a purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved” (320). This realization is the resolution to Constant’s character arc, leaving him a transformed man with complex morality and self-understanding that could not have been capable of at the beginning. After Boaz and Constant fight over Constant’s destruction of the remote that allowed Boaz to control him, Boaz reaches the climax of his own character arc. It is a momentous moment for Boaz who has demonstrated twisted pleasure in controlling others for quite some time. “Not to be lonely, not to be scared—Boaz had decided that those were the important things in life” (185). From this time on, Boaz exemplifies humbled morals and becomes a friend of Constant’s. When Constant finds out how to escape Mercury, Boaz remains behind because he has found valuable meaning in his life simply by taking care of the animals that live in the caves and feed off of vibrations. While discussing her book with Constant, Beatrice comes to the self-satisfying conclusion that “the worst thing that could happen to anybody, would be to not be used for anything by anybody” (317). This shows the idea that allows Beatrice to come to terms with the fact that none of her life has been in her control. This is echoed later when Beatrice thanks Constant for using her, shortly before her death. Each of these three characters found a purpose to their life, and as a result found satisfaction and peace.

The novel sends a clear message criticizing human civilization for concerning itself with discovering a simple and perfect solution to the meaning of all life. Vonnegut uses the legend of how the first Tralfamadorian was created as an allegory of his predictions for humanity. Salo relays the legend, explaining how the original Tralfamadorian creatures ended up becoming overrun by the machines they created. He says that the “poor creatures were obsessed by the idea that everything that existed had to have a purpose, and that some purposes were higher than others” (279). This obsession with finding a purpose is common within society and exemplified by many in the book. Despite the fact that the Tralfamadorian machines have coexisted in a stable and seemingly permanent government for hundreds of millions of years, the descent of the original inhabitants to being slaughtered by their creations is surely an intended warning message. These same concerns are later referred to in the description of one of the sculptures Salo carved to pass his time on Titan while watching Earth through his spaceship monitor. The statue is described as appearing “above the beastly concerns of mankind.” (294). Vonnegut also insults human mentality through the narrator’s description of Salo’s interest in humans, stating that “Earthlings behaved at all times as though there were a big eye in the sky,” and that “the big eye was the only audience that Earthlings really cared about” (281). This notion of constantly trying to appease some higher being is a common human trait. The expectation to find simple answers to complex questions, as well as the instinct to appeal to a greater being, are denounced by Vonnegut as he deems them counterproductive and pathetic.

Vonnegut also uses the novel to suggest that humanity lacks freewill, and therefore luck and responsibility. In the story, Rumfoord explains to Constant, Beatrice, and Chrono that “everything that every Earthling has ever done has been warped,” it was planned and influenced for a specific purpose by another planet running on a much longer timescale than Earthlings (302). As a result, these characters struggle with the fact that they haven’t had true freewill their entire life. Not only that, but they also struggle with the fact that the entire Earth has been completely manipulated for the past 200 thousand years with the relatively trivial purpose of helping an alien machine deliver a message somewhere past our solar system, a message they later find out to be ‘Greetings’. The intention of this plot line is not literal, of course, but a comment on humanity. Vonnegut uses alien mind control as a metaphor for the systematic influence of human society, essentially having one’s path in life predetermined by the culture in which they are raised. The final words of the book (excluding the epilogue) come after Salo disassembles himself in sorrow. Chrono decides to leave his lucky charm (Salo’s replacement piece) in the pieces of Salo, because “the magical forces of the universe would put everything back together again. They always did” (307). This implies an inherent natural state or resolution that is destined to occur. While predestination is a recurring motif throughout the novel, the desperate human necessity to defend and value one’s freewill is also clearly depicted. Rumfoord demonstrates this point when he explains, “I take a certain pride, no matter how foolishly mistaken that pride may be, in making my own decisions for my own reasons” (290). It is natural for humans to believe in their own unlimited choice, but the impact that social and cultural pressures play on humans inhibits our freewill.

Kurt Vonnegut answers the question of the meaning of life with The Sirens of Titan, proclaiming that it is merely a perception of purpose that is achieved on a personal and individual level. Not only this, but he reprimands society for their expectations. Additionally, he parallels conformity in humanity to predestination. A further question would be why Vonnegut chose to communicate the points that he did given the context of his life.

Bibliography:

Vonnegut, Kurt. The Sirens of Titan. New York: Delacorte Press, 1959. Print.

Well, according to a study conducted by six Swiss scientists last month, the lunar cycle does have a clear effect on melatonin levels and therefore many aspects of our sleep. The folklore might be correct after all, as there is now evidence supporting it. The study was performed eliminating error from outside factors such as fluctuating daylight hours and knowledge of the study details.

The data collected showed a 30 percent diminish in EEG delta activity during non-rapid-eye-movement sleep at the tine of full moons which manifests as less deep sleep. Data also suggested an average of 5 minutes longer to fall asleep during these phases of the lunar cycle. Lastly, there was also evidence collected that the average complete sleeping time is reduced around these phases as well. Quantitative melatonin hormone levels support the finding that the lunar cycle likely affects human sleep.

Here is a graph of sleep latency versus the lunar cycle. The sinusoidal relationship between the two is clearly visible.

This graph shows multiple sleep factors graphed against the cycle of the moon. A clear symmetrical pattern is observable in each.

So, if the moon’s cycle really does affect our hormone levels and our sleeping abilities, what does that mean? Why do we have bodily systems in place that react to lunar phases? Is this reaction purposeful or merely a trivial product of some unexplained physics? If the reaction has some purpose, is it an outdated evolutionary characteristic that no longer applies? This study raises a number of questions to be asked about the apparent correlation between the moon and our sleep. Perhaps the next step is to further investigate the connection. Who knows what we could discover about human biology, history, and lunar physics.

Works Cited: 

1.         Christian Cajochen, Songül Altanay-Ekici, Mirjam Münch, Sylvia Frey, Vera Knoblauch, Anna Wirz-Justice. Evidence that the Lunar Cycle Influences Human Sleep. Current Biology, Volume 23, Issue 15, 5 August 2013, Pages 1485-1488, ISSN 0960-9822, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.06.029. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982213007549).

http://www.cygy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/san-andreas-fault-line.jpg

The San Andreas Fault is an extremely well known fault running roughly 800 miles through California. A fault is anywhere that slippage has caused rocks to split and create a fracture or crevice. The San Andreas Fault is a 10-mile deep type of strike slip fault, meaning that the direction of grinding is horizontal, as opposed to a normal fault in which the rocks grind in a near-vertical direction. It’s along two tectonic plates that were responsible for the famous San Francisco earthquake in 1906. When the sides of the fault get pinned while rubbing against each other, tension builds until it breaks causing an earthquake.

This video helps one visualize how a strike-slip fault works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrrLJ4vXHCs

This video shows a more detailed depiction of the San Andreas Fault specifically: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tIuk2blBzHs#t=16

The sides of the fault are sliding against each other at a reasonably steady rate of two and a half inches every year. It has been sliding for the past 28 million years, since it’s inception. Calculations estimate that in another 25 million years California will be a completely contorted unrecognizable mess due to the rate of slippage. It is also understood that the current appearance of California is drastically different than it once was due to the fault line.

The most significant characteristic of the San Andreas Fault is the fact that it runs over the gap between tectonic plates yet is on dry land. This is not usually the case with faults like this and it allows for greater research opportunity than if it were along the seafloor.

Sources: 

Lynch, David K.. “Information and resources about the San Andreas Fault.” San Andreas Fault Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. <http://www.sanandreasfault.org/Information.html>.

“IRIS – What are the 4 basic classes of faults?” IRIS – Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. <http://www.iris.edu/hq/programs/education_and_outreach/animations/2>.

Red: 502 nm filter

Green: 656 nm filter

Blue: 673 nm filter

Above is an image that I created in Photoshop by layering and color-coding three different wavelength filters from a European Space Agency website. Each of the three images is filtered to show only a specific wavelength of electromagnetic emission. By layering these images and assigning each a representational color, one can create a single image that describes what general frequencies of light are being emitted. Looking at this information by filtering telescopic photos to specific wavelengths is extremely useful in astronomy. It allows us to understand what exactly we are looking at, what elements make it up, and how far away it is.

The images that I used are photographs of Messier 17, a star-forming nebula more commonly known as the Horseshoe Nebula or the Omega Nebula. It can be found here in the Milky Way near the Sagittarius constellation. The brightest part of the cloud appears roughly 15 light years long, but the actual length is closer to 40 light years. The distance from us is estimated at 5 to 6 thousand light years. The nebula can be seen by the naked eye from most places, though not easily.

Sources:

• Frommert, Hartmut, and Christine Kronberg. “Messier Object 17.” SEDS Messier Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.<http://messier.seds.org/m/m017.html>.