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PHYS 1404: Chapter 4 – Origins of Modern Astronomy –Assignment
© 2018-2023 Lone Star College. All Rights Reserved.
Write your Name.
Do not alter header or question numbers. Abide by LSC Academic Integrity.
Name: Alexis Diaz
1.
Go to Content -> Current events tab in your course. Read the article “Uh, Earth’s Inner
Core Just Stopped Spinning”. Write a 10-15 sentence summary of the video including the
details of the ISS.
A new study published in Nature Geoscience by geophysicists Yi Yang and Xiadong
Song of Peking University in Beijing has found that Earth's inner core's spin has
slowed and "paused" approximately every seven decades. The study, which explores
the movement of Earth's inner core, largely made up of iron and molten liquids,
found that the core's movement recently reduced enough to be considered "paused."
This is part of a gradual turning back of the inner core as part of an approximately
seven-decade oscillation. The last turning point was in the early 1970s. The speed of
spinning may be due to the inner core remaining in a constant state of flux and
switching directions roughly every seven decades due to electromagnetic imbalances
and gravitational forces. The study further tracked seismic waves through the core
to see how they played out on the other side of Earth, suggesting that inner-core
rotation has recently paused. The authors believe that there is an interplay between
the spinning of the core and Earth's mantle, and that this multidecadal periodicity
coincides with changes in geophysical observations, such as the length of day and
magnetic field. These observations provide evidence for dynamic interactions
between Earth's layers, potentially due to gravitational coupling and the exchange
of angular momentum from the core and mantle to the surface.
2.
List three prominent discoveries of Galileo with the use of telescope.
PHYS 1404: Chapter 4 – Origins of Modern Astronomy –Assignment
© 2018-2023 Lone Star College. All Rights Reserved.
Write your Name.
Do not alter header or question numbers. Abide by LSC Academic Integrity.
a)
Surface structures on the Moon
b)
The Milky Way contains many stars too
faint to see with the unaided eye
c)
Four new planets circling Jupiter
3.
Describe Geocentric universe and Heliocentric universe.
Geocentric is the idea that the
Earth is the center of the universe and other objects go around it, Heliocentric a
model in which the Sun is assumed to lie at or near a central point while the Earth
and other bodies revolve around it.
4.
What is the average distance from Sun in AU of an object with a planetary object with
orbital period of 350 years?
49.7
5.
What is retrograde motion?
Retrograde motion is the orbital motion of a spatial body
in a direction that is opposite of what is normal in each system.
6.
Describe Tycho Brahe’s, Ptolemaic and Copernican models of the universe. What are
their similarities and differences?
The Ptolemaic model says that the universe is geocentric and planets, the moon, and the
sun move at a uniform speed around it. The Tychonian model says that earth is at the
center of the universe with the sun and the moon orbiting it, with the planets orbiting the
sun. The Copernican model says that the universe is heliocentric, with all planets orbiting
the sun.
7.
Kepler abandoned the principle of perfect circular motion, and instead hypothesized that
planets traveled around the Sun in
elliptical
paths with the Sun at one
focus
.
8.
Which planet’s orbit is closest to being circular?
Venus
9.
A certain asteroid is approximately 55 AU from the Sun.
According to Kepler’s third law,
what is the orbital period of this asteroid in terms of Earth years?
807.5
PHYS 1404: Chapter 4 – Origins of Modern Astronomy –Assignment
© 2018-2023 Lone Star College. All Rights Reserved.
Write your Name.
Do not alter header or question numbers. Abide by LSC Academic Integrity.
10. What are Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion?
A)
The
orbits of the
planets are ellipses
with the Sun at one
focus
b)
A line from a planet to the Sun sweeps over equal areas in equal intervals of time
c)
A planet’s orbital period squared is proportional to its average distance from the Sun
cubed
11. Go to Content -> Current events tab in your course. Read the article “"We're touching
history": NASA opens untouched Apollo moon rock sample sealed for more than 40 years”.
Write a 10-15 sentence summary of the article.
NASA scientists have opened a sealed sample of rock and regolith from the moon, which
had been sealed and untouched for over 40 years. The samples were part of NASA's Apollo
Next-Generation Sample Analysis initiative (ANGSA), which uses advanced technology
that was not yet available when the samples originally returned to Earth. The tests will
serve as practice for studying future samples collected on Artemis missions, NASA's plan to
land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. All of the samples returned to
Earth from the Apollo program have been stored and preserved for future generations. The
analysis of these samples will maximize the science return from Apollo and enable a new
generation of scientists to refine their techniques. The samples collected by Apollo 17
astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt will be studied using techniques such as non-
destructive 3D imaging, mass spectrometry, and ultra-high resolution microtomy. Scientists
hope that studying the unopened samples will provide insight into the origin of lunar polar
ice deposits and help design tools for future lunar missions after understanding how well
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PHYS 1404: Chapter 4 – Origins of Modern Astronomy –Assignment
© 2018-2023 Lone Star College. All Rights Reserved.
Write your Name.
Do not alter header or question numbers. Abide by LSC Academic Integrity.
Apollo tools worked. The findings from these samples will provide NASA new insights into
the Moon, including the history of impacts on the lunar surface, how landslides occur on
the lunar surface, and how the Moon's crust has evolved over time. NASA plans to send
new tools and technology to the moon with Artemis astronauts in 2024, with hopes of
establishing a sustained presence by 2028. Those missions will lay the foundation for the
next leap in space exploration sending astronauts to Mars.
12. Go to Content -> Current events tab in your course. Read the article “"Abandoned Apollo 17
lunar lander module is causing tremors on the moon”. Write a 10-15 sentence summary of the
article.
A new study has revealed that a spacecraft left behind by US astronauts on the lunar
surface could be causing small tremors known as moonquakes. Researchers used modern
algorithms to analyze Apollo-era data and discovered that massive temperature swings on
the moon can cause human-made structures to expand and contract in a way that produces
these vibrations. The lunar surface is an extreme environment, oscillating between minus
208 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 133 degrees Celsius) in the dark and 250 degrees Fahrenheit
(121 degrees Celsius) in direct sun. The entire surface of the moon expands and contracts in
the cold and heat. The analysis offers new insights into how the moon responds to its
surroundings and what can affect its seismic activities. The rumbles were not dangerous
and likely would be imperceptible to humans standing on the moon's surface.
Understanding moonquakes could be essential for future exploration, especially if NASA
and its partners build a permanent outpost on the moon's surface, a goal of Artemis, the
agency's lunar exploration program. Dr. Angela Marusiak, an assistant research professor
PHYS 1404: Chapter 4 – Origins of Modern Astronomy –Assignment
© 2018-2023 Lone Star College. All Rights Reserved.
Write your Name.
Do not alter header or question numbers. Abide by LSC Academic Integrity.
at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, said that understanding
moonquakes could help answer questions about the strength of building structures and
other hazards to mitigate for. She noted that every Apollo mission carried instruments for
detecting moonquakes, but the Apollo 17 mission, launched in 1972, was noteworthy
because it left behind an array of seismometers capable of detecting thermal moonquakes
or the tremors induced by the drastic heating and cooling of the lunar surface. The
researchers revisited the data for the first time in decades, and the fresh analysis allowed
the research team to conclude that a certain type of moonquake, called an impulsive
thermal moonquake, did not come from natural sources but rather from the nearby
spacecraft heating and cooling. These tremors differed from another type of moonquake,
called emergent thermal moonquakes, which are likely caused by the ground's natural
reaction to sunlight exposure. Apart from thermal quakes, the moon has also been known
to have deep and shallow tremors as well as activity believed to be caused by meteorite
strikes. It is important to note that on the lunar surface, there are no shifting tectonic plates
that might cause catastrophic events. India's lunar lander mission, Chandrayaan-3,
included a seismometer, which was confirmed to detect a moonquake. Researchers will
attempt to awaken the spacecraft for further data collection on September 22, when the
Chandrayaan landing site reenters sunlight.