Messier Object 17 or the Omega Nebula is one of the larger star-forming areas in our galaxy. It was first discovered in 1745 by Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, but did not gain much recognition until being re-discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It is around 5,000 to 6,000 light years away from Earth, has a spread of 15 light years, and has a mass of about 800 solar masses. With great viewing conditions it can even be seen with the naked eye.

Composite Image of the Omega Nebula

So why does this all matter? Today in class we had to make a colored image of a space object of our choice. I chose M17, as you can see in the image above (colored by yours truly). First we chose a nebula or other object in space from the list on this site and then followed the directions here to make a composite image. Next we downloaded three image versions of the object we chose. Each version was captured through a different light filter, meaning that it captured that wavelength of light specifically, but the three images were all still only in black and white. Next we used a tool called FITS Liberator, provided on the site, to open each image and adjust the contrast so all of the features of the nebula were visible. To make a more colorful representation of what the nebula looks like I took all three pictures and layered them in Photoshop. Then we colored each wavelength of light red green or blue, starting with blue as the smallest wavelength and ending with red.

Resources:

“Messier 17.” Messier Object 17. N.p., 17 Aug. 2007. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.

“Galaxy Map.” Eagle and Omega. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.

http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/

District 9 is not your average take on a sci-fi film. Instead of focusing on the aliens in the movie the main character is actually a human who quickly becomes one of the most wanted men in South Africa. Let me take a step back. The film starts out with a man named Wikus van de Merwe going into the slums of Johannesburg where an alien mother ship hovers overhead. The area referred to as District 9, below the ship, is inhabited by the aliens who made an emergency landing there over twenty years ago. The aliens are disliked by humans and derogatorily deemed ‘prawns’ because of their appearance.

Wikus’ works for a private military company, which has been tasked with the job of relocating the prawns to a more interment camp like area out side of the city. During his trip in District 9 he releases an unknown substance onto himself and is infected with an alien virus of sorts and subsequently begins to transform into one of the aliens. The transformation is grotesque and involves his fingernails and teeth falling out, while his left hand turns into a claw. He is taken into custody by the company he works for because only aliens(and now Wikus) can operate the highly advanced alien weaponry. While in holding he is tortured and forced to shoot many of the weapons at live targets. He eventually escapes, seeking shelter in the trash ridden slums of District 9. I won’t ruin the rest of the movie, but he ends up finding one of the extraterrestrials named Christopher who promises Wikus a cure and the possibility of being human again. In turn Wikus must help him to reach the mother ship and leave for their home planet.

Now onto some science. The alien technology showcased in the movie is impressive, but there are certainly aspects that are not believable. While the mechanized suits or the many weapons used are much more reasonable, the virus which completely mutates Wikus or the tractor beam used are less realistic. Obviously the alien ship is also something far beyond our current powers of engineering and science, but maybe in the future will too will be able to construct massive space faring vessels.

Even though the film could be simply viewed as an action movie with an alien twist it absolutely has clear themes commenting on the human condition. The awful conditions in which the aliens are living are taken directly from the actual slums in South Africa. According to Richard Corliss of Time, District 9 is loosely modeled after District 6 where more than 60,000 non-white people were forced to leave in the 1966. The discrimination of the aliens can also be viewed as a reflection on the racism towards people of different races in the real world. These aspects of the film coupled with an action packed story line made it particularly interesting to me.

Today in class, we were assigned this New York Times article to read that basically brings to question what roll science plays in our modern society. There were two main themes that stood out for me: How is religion affecting science as a whole, and how do scientists view the world compared to the average person? It was disturbing to read the statistic on people’s willingness to believe in ghosts, miracles, and astrology, but this shock is probably due to the fact that I consider myself to be a logically mined atheist, or at least an agnostic.  The fact is, though, that if this many people truly believe in these concepts, with no scientific proof, it is going to be difficult to make people understand why science is so important. Take a look at this Gallup poll, for example, which suggests that even in the modern year of 2012, 46% of Americans still believe in the idea of Creationism opposed to evolution.

It is totally fine for people to believe whatever they want about how humans came to be or how the universe was created, but this just goes to show that religion is definitely not beneficial in regard to science.

On the other hand, this article reminds me of the stereotypical, uncaring scientist, such as the ones portrayed by Rebecca Skloot in her book about HeLa cells. Maybe scientists are being too logical and thus they cannot relate to the average person whose ideas are more emotionally driven. Because of this gap between the average populace and those conducting scientific research, science will never be thought of as importantly as scientists want it to be, at least in the mind of the average person.

This is unfortunate because science is such a crucial part of our everyday lives and many people are oblivious of that fact. In the ideal world, I think the way to solve this issue would be through better education. Maybe, just maybe, we can devise a way to have scientists better comprehend how the average person reasons, and vice versa, so that we can use each other’s views to strengthen science, not disregard it.

Hello people of the internet. This is my first blogging experience ever. My name is Emilio Izquierdo and I was born and have since lived in Santa Cruz, California my entire life. Last week I made the move to Colorado Springs to further my education at Colorado College. This will be a blog that follows me through my first college course, which focuses on life in the universe. I have never had any formal experience with astronomy except a few nights backpacking out in the expanses of Escalante and admiring the beauty of the Milky Way with zero light pollution. I plan to study economics here, but I feel that my real passion lies in entrepreneurship. My interest in this field began two summers ago when I attended a program at Stanford that focused on business and entrepreneurship. Since then I have always had the idea in the back of my mind to be part of a start up.

As I said earlier I am from the coastal town of Santa Cruz. No this does not mean I surf, as many will ask. I do enjoy mountain biking though and luckily I have moved from one town with amazing trails to another with even more possibilities. Another passion of mine is music, but not in the sense that I play any instruments. I do however spend quite a lot of time searching for new music and trying to discover new artists. I’m always up for checking out something new.  I would also describe myself as a very hands on person. I love doing ceramics to help me get my mind off of school or other stresses. All of the jobs I have had to this point in my life have also been hands on such as construction or working this past summer for a mechanical contracting company.

All though I did not plan on taking this class I am very excited for it. Space and what is out there besides us have always been topics that interest me. Through this class I hope to learn more about what exactly the cosmos is and what is necessary for life to exist in it. The idea of where the Universe ends or if it does has always fascinated me. It’s one of those things that causes my mind to be instantly overwhelmed when trying to process.  If it does end what is outside of that? Is there a shape to the universe? The general topics of the boundaries of the universe are ones that I would love to learn about in depth.