Astronomy
Astronomy is one of the many interesting topics in the world. To me, it is one of the most fascinating sciences to study! Some people don’t know much or anything at all about this topic. Astronomy is the scientific study of objects in the universe and the events that shape them. It is actually one of the oldest sciences there is. An incredible astronomy website says, “Astronomy started when people first looked up at the sky and began to wonder about what they saw.” This is basically saying that astronomy tells how the universe works by looking at what it is showing and what it contains.
The Moon
The moon is earth’s natural satellite. It is also the only other planet that humans have set foot on. The moon has been fascinating people since we first discovered it. The moon has helped us in so many ways, and will keep on helping us as we figure out new things and keep learning and exploring it. Did you know that there has been 24 astronauts that flew to the moon, and 12 that have reached the moons surface? Amazing, right? A big topic about all planets, not just including the moon, is water. Water on the moon? Yes, there is water on the moon. There are no oceans full of water on the moon, no. But there is water. “Several missions have found the chemical fingerprints of water, indicating that water either exists in rocks, or there may be ice deposits near the polar regions.”, says an astronomy website. The discovery of water is important for us. If the amount of water reaches a certain point, it could be useful to humans. Another topic that gets recently brought up about the moon is, when will people be able to visit the moon? This answer is more complicated than most people would think. This would also cost a whole lot of money. You would have to wear a space suit, and you would obviously need oxygen. There is a lot involved then more then just taking a space ship up and boom you are on the moon.
Meteors
Have you ever seen a shooting star? Ever heard someone describe one? If you have, it is not an actual star! It just looks like one. A “shooting star” is actually a piece of solar system debris vaporizing in earths atmosphere and leaving behind a visible path called a meteor. If there is anything left from that trip and it has fallen to the ground, the remaining small little rocks would actually be called meteorites. Believe it or not, some people say they have found one of these little rocks left over, a meteorite. This website all about these types of things have described meteorites as, “very dense and feel quite heavy”. They are usually magnetic and may have small “inclusions called chondrules embedded in it”. Thats a lot of confusing things you’ve never probably heard of right? Let me break it down. Most meteorites have whats called a fusion crust, which is a black, ash like, darkened interior. The surface also has smoothed depressions and cavities that look like thumbprints. Cool, right? Try looking up some pictures and compare them to that description!
Asteroids
People get meteoroids and asteroids mixed up quite often. There are millions bits and pieces of solar system debris which are floating around all the planets. They are called asteroids. The same website states that “they represent a class of objects called planetesimals. Jagged-looking little bodies that existed in the early solar nebula as the planets were forming.” Its a lot, I know. There are actually different names for the asteroids. When somebody finds a new asteroid, its given a name. They are actually quite simple names, C-type asteroid, S-type asteroid, and M-type asteroid. C- type asteroids are carbonaceous. S-type have a composition that is close to a stony meteorites, and M-type are mostly made of a nickel-iron mix and could be from the metallic cores of larger objects broken apart by impacts. Very confusing I know, but don’t worry about it too much.
Stars
Every single night there are stars in the sky. They’re there during the day too, you just can’t see them. Since the beginning of time, stars have fascinated us. Imagine the first human beings thinking about them. What are they? What do they do? They just saw a bunch of shiny little glittery things floating up above them. They have eventually made up stories and made the stars something that would be remembered by millions of people. Did you know there are actually star names and also different types of stars? Astronomers classify stars by their color, which also reveals the temperature of the stars photosphere. A lot of people wonder, how do stars last so long? How do stars still exist after all this time? Let me tell you, a stars lifespan can be measured in millions or even billions of years! Most of the stars we see in the sky right now are between 1 and 10 billion years old. The more massive the star is, the shorter its lifespan. Weird right? Wouldn’t you think its the other way around?
Black holes
Everybody has heard of black holes. They are one of the most popular topics in astronomy. Even in movies, because they add great drama to the story. In real life though, black holes are pretty scary and very dramatic. So what exactly are black holes? A black hole is a massive, dense object with gravity so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape out of it. That being said, black holes are impossible to look inside of. This lead us to find a way to figure out where they are. When you are around a black hole, activity around the black hole heats up its local environment, so astronomers can use instruments sensitive to infrared, x-rays, radio waves, and ultraviolet to trace what happens in the actual black hole.
Wrap up
A lot of people think that astronomy is boring and for super smart people, don’t think that because it isn’t. Astronomy is full of fun topics and there is an endless amount of things to learn! You never really know whats out there in the world, it is incredible and full of endless opportunities. Get out there and see for yourself.
