Thursday, September 26, 2013

Stars!
Hello everyone! Did you like my last blog? This one will be even better. Anyways, welcome to... Meapz4science! Today we will talk about STARS! We will talk about the different lives they lead. Yes, stars lead different lives too. And it might not be what you think. Let's go find out what they might be!

We will also have to time travel a bit. I apologize. Hold on!

Okay, we are here now. Where are all the stars, you say? Well, that will be coming up soon. As you can see, all of these clouds of gas and dust are what make up a Stellar Nursery. This is what makes the stars. It really is what the name implies. It is a nursery for stars. Take this one, for example.

 
Oh look! Gravity is creating a clump of the dust! The clump is getting bigger! And hotter! Oh, and you don't have to call it a hot clump anymore. It is now a Protostar. It is really small right now. It is hard to believe that this is how all stars start their lives. And it will get so dense and hot, that gas will start spurting out of it! Look! There it goes!

Oh my! Even when stars are little babies they are a riot! Eventually it will stop doing all of this. It will ignite because of the immense heat.

Anyways, it is inly producing light and heat right now. Oh look! Nuclear fusion is taking place. Nuclear fusion is when two hydrogen atos fuse to create a helium atom.

You know how I didn't tell you why we time traveled? Well, it turns out that this is our very own sun. I know. Isn't it crazy that our sun is that little ball? Anyways, when nuclear fusion happens, it enters its Main Sequence. This is the longest part of a star's lifetime. Our sun, in regular time, is in this stage. It is about halfway through it. our sun is 4.6 billion years old. So let's travel to when it dies, because it won't happen for a very long time.

 
Okay, we are here. It is now way bigger, and more red? That is because it is now a Red Giant. They start to cool down, and expand. They grow bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Eventually the sun will engulf the inner planets, incluing Earth! Don't worry. We will all be long gone before that happens. Eventually, the outer layer will drift off, forming a Planetary Nebula.

What is left of the actual star is the dead core. A small, but SUPER dense object called a White Dwarf. Other stars will collapse into itself to also form a white dwarf.

 
Anyways, that isn't the only way a star can die. It depends on its mass and size. Kind of like humans! Oh, I just said that, didn't I? Oh gosh. Anyways, let's just move on.

Larger stars can collapse in itself so quickly, it can bounce off of itself and EXPLODE into a Supernova. Some supernovas last for a MONTH, and can outshine our whole galaxy!

 
Others collapse into a Black Hole. It is a super-dense result of a collapsed star that not even light can escape! My last blog post was on black holes. If you would like some more information on black holes, you can check that post out.


 
Anyways, when a supernova occurs, it spits out the raw material to make new stars. Then, we start ALL over again! Anyways, let's go back to our own time, then head home.
 

 Okay, now let's travel home.
 
 Alright everyone, we are at home. Remember, for our sun, the end ISN'T near. Also, other stars are always being made, and always dying. So, we are balanced out. Anyways, I hope you learned a lot today. I'm Emma The Meap, and I will see you next time. PEACE!!!
 
 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Black Holes!!!
Hello everyone! This blog post is going to be a little bit shorter than my others, but I'm doing my best. Anyways, welcome to... Meapz4Science! Today, we will be talking about black holes! Very mysterious! I would travel, but you wouldn't be able to see it. Oh what the heck? Let's go!
Here we are! Now, what are black holes? No one can really say, but we think they are regions of the universe that are so dense, it sucks a bunch of stuff into it! It will stay there forever! Oh no!!
 Now, here is a question we all have: How the heck did that thing even GET here? Scientists believe there are two ways a black hole can form:
1)The death of a really big STAR. A star is like a fire. They need fuel to burn. When the fuel runs out, the star collapses in on itself, forming a black hole.
 
2)This happens when TONS of matter comes together in one dense spot. It could get so tight, it too collapses.

Can you really see the black hole? If you answered yes, you are lying. You cannot see a black hole, well, because it is black. What makes it black is that its gravitational pull is so strong, not even light can escape! Black holes have what is called an EVENT HORIZON. It is basically the point of no escape. If you go past there, you're toast.

No person could ever survive a trip down there. You would get ripped into the little atoms that make you up in no time. Let's not even try! Well, either that, or  you would go through a thing called "spaghettification". I know, crazy name. What happens is you go in head-first. Your head exhibits more pull than your feet. It begins to stretch you out like a long thin strand of pasta. All we need now is some sauce!
 
Do you see the universe around you? That, my friend, is something scientists call "Space-Time". It's like the fabric that makes up space. That's it! Think of a cloth. If we put a tennis ball on the cloth, (representing the sun) it would deform the fabric a little, right? Ok, now imagine we put a bowling ball on the cloth(representing a black hole). It would deform it a LOT! Oh no! I think it just... might... *RIP!* Oh my gosh! It tore a hole through the cloth! That is what happens with a black hole. It creates a hole in space-time.
 
 All this talk about blankets and stuff rally is making me tired. Let's go home.
 Alright, we are back on Earth. Away from all those black holes!
Anyways, I hope you learned a lot from this. I'm Emma The Meap, and I will see you next time. PEACE!!!
 
 

Thursday, September 5, 2013



The Milky Way Galaxy!
Hello everyone! As far as I know, now time traveling today. Anyways, welcome to... Meapz4Science! Today, we will be talking about the Milky Way Galaxy! And not the candy bar! So, yeah! Anyways, Lets get started! This time, we will be traveling outside the Milky Way Galaxy! Why do I keep doing that? Anyways, let's go!

THIS IS REALLY LOUD!!!
Oh my gosh, that was amazing! Anyways, we are here, looking down on our Milky Way Galaxy! Jeez, I REALLY need to stop that! Anyways, look at our home galaxy!
Isn't it just BEAUTIFUL? There are somewhere around 200 to 400 BILLION stars in it! Think about back on Earth. At night,  our galaxy looks white and milky. That is why it is called the Milky Way Galaxy! Why do I do that?! Anyways, see how it is all spiraly? Can you also see the bar around the middle? That is why it is called a Barred-Spiral Galaxy. Such as this one:

Can you see the giant clump in the middle? That is called a Spherical Bulge. It contains a bunch of stars.The outside of our galaxy has a giant halo.

No, not THAT kind of halo. A halo of stars.

There we go! Also, four major arms,( the spirals that you see) and several minor ones, spiral around the bulge in an area known as the Disk. We are located in the Orion Arm.


Our galaxy is made up of Dark Matter. I won't go into detail about what dark matter is. It is matter that has gone to the dark side. I'm just kidding. It is really an unknown substance. Scientists really don't know what it is. And NO, I did not JUST FORGET IT!

This right here all around you is dark matter. Even though it's very bright! Hold on. Let me check something.... Aha! Today is your lucky day! we get to time travel. This time, to the FUTURE! Here we go!


Woah! Deja Vu!!!
We are 150 million years into the future! Where do see our Earth now? Not where it was before? That is because it is all the way over there.

Let's travel a little further.

This will never get old. HA Ha! Get it? Oh well. Anyways, we are now 250 million years into the future! Now it is back where it was! The time it takes for earth to orbit our galaxy is a Galactic Year. The reason it takes that long is the Milky Way Galaxy is a true giant. It would take light 100,000 years to get across it. Oh, and yep, Our galaxy spins. Let's go Back so I can show you why.

Back... TO THE PAST!
Alright. Remember, we are still in space. Let's ZOOM IN on the bulge.

I'm going to be sick!
Here we are. Oh my Gosh! Look! the stars are getting sucked into that BLACK HOLE!

Wow! Scientists believe this is why our galaxy spins. A black hole is the result of a star that has collapsed.

Awwww, the black hole is a little baby! Anyways, I think we covered everything. Time to go home.

 
I am getting used to this also.
Alright, we are back. I hope you learned a lot today. Don't forget this. Also, don't forget to check out my good friend Alex. her blog is Science Meap. Anyways, I have to go. PEACE!!!

 Links
Link 1:  http://www.howstuffworks.com/space-shuttle.htm
Link 2: http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic0910s/
Link 3: http://www.jcschroder.com/phy111/credits.htm
Link 4: http://www.sdss.org/news/releases/20030106.milkyway.html