A recent image taken by the Hubble Telescope offers a glimpse at what scientists are calling the oldest object so far discovered in the Universe – a young Galaxy. Well, it was a young Galaxy: Estimated at 13.1 billion years old, it may be just 600 million years of age. Remember, when looking at star light, one is really looking back in time as it takes millions if not billions of years for light to cross the galaxy and find Earth (depending on the lights origin). Our solar system did not even exist when this Galaxy was formed. Looking at light signatures of cooling hydrogen gas, Astronomers can determine the age of stars based on the heavy metals that accompany stars – especially as they age. Coupled with Red Shift, one can estimate not only the age of a specific group of stars but also where they reside in the universe. The farther away, the younger they are (or were). This specific galaxy yet to be named, sits nears what scientists coin the edge of the Universe. According to current Big Bang calculations, the Universe may only be 100 million years old from the onset of this galaxies formation – truly the infant stage of our universe.
This means we could be close to taking our first glimpse of the edge of the universe. What then? Is that God? What exists beyond the edge? Is there an edge? According to Stephen Hawking, a renowned astrophysicist, “It obviously matters because if there is an edge, somebody has to decide what should happen at the edge. You would really have to invoke God.” He also has remarked, “if you want a complete theory, then we would have to know what happens at the edge. Otherwise, we cannot solve the equations”.
I have read several theories that speak about a gravitational boundary at the edge of the universe. This gravitational boundary actually causes light to bend, arc or even reflect in a circular path around that invisible border. In theory this idea would be similar to the way that light hypothetically tries to escape the event horizon of a black hole? It certainly could explain an edge.
Are we living in the confines of a black hole? A Universe within a Universe? Is the center of the Big Bang a point in space or a point in time? According to a Sten Odenwald's article, "the center of the Big Bang was not a point in space, but a point in time! It is a center, not in the fabric of the balloon, but outside it along the 4th dimension...time. We cannot see this point anywhere we look inside the space of our universe out towards the distant galaxies. You can't see time after all. We can only see it as we look back in time at the ancient images we get from the most distant objects we can observe. We see a greatly changed, early history of the universe in these images but no unique center to them in space."
Hawking has also been on record stating, “At the moment there's not much evidence either way. It seems that we can explain the present state of the universe on the assumption that there wasn't any edge”. Another statement expresses this,” It's very difficult to prove that there isn't any edge, but if we could show that we can explain everything in the universe on the hypothesis that there is no edge. I think that would be a much more natural and economical theory”. The Universe is infinite right? Therefore in theory, there would be no edge? Yet, recent observations show that very little exists before 13 billion years ago; And what about before the Big Bang? Is that space before what would constitute an edge? What defines space that is made up of nothing?
I am confident that in my life time, we will be able to see to the edge of the Universe. What will we learn? What conclusions might we find? I am sure there will be many theories abound – many unexplainable ideas and concepts. Make no mistake, not only is this the final frontier, it is the key to understanding everything – it may even prove or disapprove the concept of God. Though, maybe such concepts are not meant to be understood. How is one to exist in a world with no unknown? What would be left to live for?
Monday, October 25, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Double Stars do not suck!
9/13/2010
8:30pm CST
Partly Cloudy - Calm
65 degrees
10" Dobsonian
Wauconda, IL
Last night at dusk it was clear and calm - well, at least until I got my GPS dialed in and I was ready to computer navigate the summer heavens for the first time in a couple months - then, enter the clouds... Before, I was able to dive deep into the Messier catalog, a cloudy haze revealed itself first coming from the west and slowly carpeting the heavens to the east. After a quick accidental bump of the telescope mount, knocking it out of alignment, I had about 5 minutes before the clouds overtook the sky. Still, the Big Dipper remained unscathed, and I instinctly scanned the telescope to the second star from the handle tip - Mizar. Mizar is a double star: Its smaller pair is called Alcor. I have read that on a dark night and with keen eyes, one can make out the seperation between the two stars which are thought to be seperated by as many as 3 light years (the pair sits about 78 light years from Earth) - I had no such luck with the naked eye. With a 25mm lense using my 10" Dob, I could easily make out the seperation. Then using a Barlow I rolled on the the pair with 5mm power and really got a nice view of the two. Mizar is clearly larger and both exhibit similar color. Mizar and Alcor are not binaries - though, Alcor actually is itself a binary, consisting of Alcor A and Alcor B, and that this binary system is most likely gravitationally bound to Mizar, bringing the full count of stars in this complex system to six. Always a nice view!
I also struck luck and caught the International Space Station zooming west to east as the sun just set. It was difficult, but I was able to track it with my 25mm lense panning the telescope as it raced across the sky. I could easily make out a rectangle shape which was clearly the solar panels.
A glass of red wine, the space station and a double star... I guess life could be worse...
8:30pm CST
Partly Cloudy - Calm
65 degrees
10" Dobsonian
Wauconda, IL
Last night at dusk it was clear and calm - well, at least until I got my GPS dialed in and I was ready to computer navigate the summer heavens for the first time in a couple months - then, enter the clouds... Before, I was able to dive deep into the Messier catalog, a cloudy haze revealed itself first coming from the west and slowly carpeting the heavens to the east. After a quick accidental bump of the telescope mount, knocking it out of alignment, I had about 5 minutes before the clouds overtook the sky. Still, the Big Dipper remained unscathed, and I instinctly scanned the telescope to the second star from the handle tip - Mizar. Mizar is a double star: Its smaller pair is called Alcor. I have read that on a dark night and with keen eyes, one can make out the seperation between the two stars which are thought to be seperated by as many as 3 light years (the pair sits about 78 light years from Earth) - I had no such luck with the naked eye. With a 25mm lense using my 10" Dob, I could easily make out the seperation. Then using a Barlow I rolled on the the pair with 5mm power and really got a nice view of the two. Mizar is clearly larger and both exhibit similar color. Mizar and Alcor are not binaries - though, Alcor actually is itself a binary, consisting of Alcor A and Alcor B, and that this binary system is most likely gravitationally bound to Mizar, bringing the full count of stars in this complex system to six. Always a nice view!
I also struck luck and caught the International Space Station zooming west to east as the sun just set. It was difficult, but I was able to track it with my 25mm lense panning the telescope as it raced across the sky. I could easily make out a rectangle shape which was clearly the solar panels.
A glass of red wine, the space station and a double star... I guess life could be worse...
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Mars revisited
3/23/2010
7:35pm CST
Clear - Calm
52 degrees F
10"
10mm
3/23/2010
7:35pm CST
Clear - Calm
52 degrees F
Clear - Calm
52 degrees F
10"
10mm
with #25 Red Filter
Images by Ethan Bader (8 years old)
Images by Ethan Bader (8 years old)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Spring is in the air...
Last night (3/17/2010) was absolutely beautiful. At dusk, it was clear, crisp and calm. Temperatures ranged in the mid to lower 50s. The winter constellations of Orion and Taurus are slowing slewing to the west as spring constellations begin to rise from the east like Virgo and Coma.
Mars is still sitting high in the sky and unmistakable at sunset. I took extra time in viewing the 4th planet from the sun. After close inspection for about five minutes (letting my eyes further adjust to the darkness) I began to see what appeared to be slight dark patterns. They would come and go as the planet moved in and out of focus due to atmospheric conditions. I felt a little like Percival Lowel, a famous Astronomer about 110 years ago who thought he saw canals on the red planet and thus was convinced there as life on Mars. Still, I was disappointed that even with a 10” aperture there is not much detail to observe. I also experimented with a #25 red planetary filter and though it isolated Mars nicely, it was inconclusive that more detail was discernable.
Venus is now visible in the western sky at sunset. Our 2nd planet from the sun should begin to rise in March. On previous observations, Venus was in varying degrees of phase much like our moon. I have noted in the past that both Mercury and Venus have phases due to its relation to the sun and earth. This time Venus was at full exposure but there was something very interesting to observe: Whether it was because of its low position near the horizon and atmospheric conditions were involved; a very discernable orange shadow was visible – much like a crescent, it was quite a contrast as compared to the usual bright yellow color that is Venus. So in essence, the planet exhibited it normal yellow, featureless color but on one edge there was almost a burnt orange crescent color that blended into the majority of yellow – possibly a shadow? The start of a phase?
I also viewed M78 in Orion, a diffused nebula at 8.0 mag. This object has proved elusive in the past. I was able to make out two bright points within the object and some evidence of gas which appeared to be surrounding proto stars? I also enjoyed M93 in Puppis. M93 is a dazzling open cluster at magnitude 6.5.
Mars is still sitting high in the sky and unmistakable at sunset. I took extra time in viewing the 4th planet from the sun. After close inspection for about five minutes (letting my eyes further adjust to the darkness) I began to see what appeared to be slight dark patterns. They would come and go as the planet moved in and out of focus due to atmospheric conditions. I felt a little like Percival Lowel, a famous Astronomer about 110 years ago who thought he saw canals on the red planet and thus was convinced there as life on Mars. Still, I was disappointed that even with a 10” aperture there is not much detail to observe. I also experimented with a #25 red planetary filter and though it isolated Mars nicely, it was inconclusive that more detail was discernable.
Venus is now visible in the western sky at sunset. Our 2nd planet from the sun should begin to rise in March. On previous observations, Venus was in varying degrees of phase much like our moon. I have noted in the past that both Mercury and Venus have phases due to its relation to the sun and earth. This time Venus was at full exposure but there was something very interesting to observe: Whether it was because of its low position near the horizon and atmospheric conditions were involved; a very discernable orange shadow was visible – much like a crescent, it was quite a contrast as compared to the usual bright yellow color that is Venus. So in essence, the planet exhibited it normal yellow, featureless color but on one edge there was almost a burnt orange crescent color that blended into the majority of yellow – possibly a shadow? The start of a phase?
I also viewed M78 in Orion, a diffused nebula at 8.0 mag. This object has proved elusive in the past. I was able to make out two bright points within the object and some evidence of gas which appeared to be surrounding proto stars? I also enjoyed M93 in Puppis. M93 is a dazzling open cluster at magnitude 6.5.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Copernicus
"So far as hypotheses are concerned, let no one expect anything certain from astronomy, which cannot furnish it, lest he accept as the truth ideas conceived for another purpose, and depart from this study a greater fool than when he entered it." - Copernicus
Friday, March 12, 2010
Rough winter for viewing
It has been a difficult winter in the midwest. This explains why I have posted so few blogs through the winter months of January and February. We have had snow on the ground since Christmas and when it was clear, viewing was marred by a bright moon or severe cold.
Astro-Imaging has also proven to be a challenging task, especially in the cold of the winter. I am new to the prospect of taking deep space images and I have not been granted the luxury of sitting outside for long periods of time to figure out my image train and the incredible complexities of polar alignment, focal length and imaging with my new SCT 8" scope. Infact, it has been a frustrating venture especially when you begin to add up the amount of money spent to take my love for astronomy to the next level. It takes time and patience, both I will have more of when the air warms and Spring brings promise of longer session outside under the stars. Eventually, everything will click and progress should come with more ease and success.
Still to come, my first images using my new image train, new reviews and hopefully the conclusion of my Messier object catalog project.
Astro-Imaging has also proven to be a challenging task, especially in the cold of the winter. I am new to the prospect of taking deep space images and I have not been granted the luxury of sitting outside for long periods of time to figure out my image train and the incredible complexities of polar alignment, focal length and imaging with my new SCT 8" scope. Infact, it has been a frustrating venture especially when you begin to add up the amount of money spent to take my love for astronomy to the next level. It takes time and patience, both I will have more of when the air warms and Spring brings promise of longer session outside under the stars. Eventually, everything will click and progress should come with more ease and success.
Still to come, my first images using my new image train, new reviews and hopefully the conclusion of my Messier object catalog project.
Mars sits high in the evening sky
Spring has greeted the midwest with warmer weather and the planet Mars in the eastern sky near zenith. After sunset the orange/red planet is easily spotted as it tracks to the south west before midnight. Mars is in retrograde motion and resumes an eastward motion through April as it nears conjuction with M44 next month.
Using a 10" Dob with a 5mm eyepiece, the red planet is impressive in size but unimpressive in its detail. Though viewing conditions have been terrible, I was unable to make out any dark or light patterns or the pre-noted polar ice caps. Nevertheless, Mars is unmistakable and beautiful even without detail. Darker skies will no doubt reveal more secrets.
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. Unlike the Earth, Mars is now a geologically inactive planet with no known tectonic activity. It is the site of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon - wikipedia
Using a 10" Dob with a 5mm eyepiece, the red planet is impressive in size but unimpressive in its detail. Though viewing conditions have been terrible, I was unable to make out any dark or light patterns or the pre-noted polar ice caps. Nevertheless, Mars is unmistakable and beautiful even without detail. Darker skies will no doubt reveal more secrets.
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. Unlike the Earth, Mars is now a geologically inactive planet with no known tectonic activity. It is the site of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon - wikipedia
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