Search For The Begining

After 16 years of preparation, NASA is ready to launch the 8 ton bundle of electronics which make up their Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. There are high hopes that this device will be able to gain valuable information on the origin of our universe. The $1.5 billion project has been the center of attention for many scientists as they prepare it for a February launch.
There have been mixed opinions from the very beginning of this project. Some believe it is a catastrophic waste of money while others see it as a key to the future. The proof will be seen in the pudding, luckily for us only a few months away. The primary objective of building this Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is to detect dark matter which is believed to exist through out space. If the device dose its job correctly, we will prove the existence of dark matter in some sort of measurable form. Others hope that it will turn up something entirely new. In the words o Samuel Chao Chung Ting, "Real discovery is outside the ring o existing knowledge."
The laws of physics stipulate that following the Big Bang, an equal amount of dark matter and common matter were released. Further more, these two types of matter, on contact will explode releasing a tremendous amount of energy. This is one of science's great mysteries

"The discovery of a single atomic nucleus heavier than anti-helium could mean there was an anti-star or maybe a whole anti-galaxy somewhere."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/science/space/17dark.html?_r=1&ref=science

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJN2X3NrQAE

Farther into Space; Farther into Debt

Over the past several decades we have come a long way in the study of outer space. Since the time of Copernicus, Bruno, and Galileo we have discovered not only things in our galaxy, but we can begin to study others as well. On Wednesday November 10^th NASA announced that in 2014 they plan to launch their new telescope; The James Webb Space Telescope. This new telescope will use infrared light to find ancient galaxies that formed in the wake of the big bang.

“Webb will have a large mirror, 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in diameter and a sunshield the size of a tennis court. Both the mirror and sunshade won't fit onto the rocket fully open, so both will fold up and open once Webb is in outer space. Webb will reside in an orbit about 1.5 million km (1 million miles) from the Earth” (NASA).

Critics at CNET news propose that this new space telescope will cost upwards of about $6.5 billion and does not fit into NASA’s budget. CNET speculates that the close launch date of 2014 is too early, and would require NASA to come up with an additional $250 million in both 2011 and 2012.

On April 24^th 1990 NASA launched a space telescope into outer space called Hubble. In the past twenty years since then, it has led astronomers to estimate, with high certainty, the age of the universe at about 13.7 billion years old. It has also given photographic evidence that what Ptolemy thought was a star called Omega Centauri, is actually a cluster of about 10 million stars. Click here to watch what Hubble has recorded of the Omega Centauri.

Though one might argue that the US doesn’t exactly have enough pocket change to cover this hefty $6.5 billion bill, I would argue that it is something worth exploring. If Hubble, costing only about 4 million dollars, is any indication of what the James Webb Space Telescope can do, I would say it is worth the expense! During the Renaissance our ancestors spent a lot of their time and money into studying unknowns of nature on earth, and began to skim the surface of outerspace. Now with the technology we have access to, we are able to do what they never could. Looking deeper into space, to find something that can answer our questions about how we got here, why, and if there is life sustained somewhere else in the universe.

“To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.” -Copernicus

for more information go to NASA's website.

Harwood, William. "Management Blamed for Space Telescope Cost Overrun | The Space Shot - CNET News." Technology News - CNET News. 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

NASA - Hubble Data Used to Look 10,000 Years into the Future." NASA. 26 Oct. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

Jumping for Juno

As a curious species we always look ahead and into the stars for what’s coming next. It was not until Greek civilization that we as a collective intelligence cherished and preserved the knowledge of the past. When we have information of past events we can partially predict what will happen in the future by recognizing patterns. In 2016 NASA will look back into the creation and evolution of our galaxies fifth planet, Jupiter, by examining the atmosphere’s composition and temperature, cloud migration, and the magnetic fields and auroras with a satellite named Juno.

In August of 2011 Juno will be launched into space, the satellite will complete an orbit around the earth, when this is finished the main propulsion system will be initiated and a 5 year trek to Jupiter will begin. In July of 2016 the Juno will have reached Jupiter and will make a total of 32 full orbits of the planet that will last for one year. Data collection will be done at this time.

Jupiter has an interesting atmosphere made primarily of dense clouds of various gasses, this shield safeguards information on the governing laws that our galaxy followed in its creation and early existence from outside forces. Nine incredibly advanced tools aboard Juno will carry out the uncovering of this data. These instruments will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras on either magnetic pole.

Juno has many obligations on its journey, but I find the investigation for water in the planets atmosphere very interesting. The possibility of finding water could solidify a planet formation theory, and give us a more correct understanding of large planets in surrounding galaxies and their possible behavior.

Juno is currently under construction by Lockheed Martin in Denver, Colorado and is on schedule for its date of completion and launch. Although the process of gathering, examining, and understanding information from sky and beyond has always been tedious, complicated, and frowned upon we will continue to advance our collective intelligence until our appetite for knowledge is satisfied.

NASA website,

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/news/juno20100405.html