Star Goes Black After Rare Celestial Event

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/340914/title/Evening_star_goes_black_in_rare_celestial_event

This article talks about a rare event that will happen on June 5^th of this year. It will be the last chance for astronomers to see the passing of Venus between the Earth and the Sun. The planet will take six hours to march across the star’s face, and will appear as an inky black dot against the solar disk. The outline of Venus will disappear until 2117, because the planet’s orbit is slightly off, and this causes its solar transit to come in pairs spaced eight years apart with more than 100 years between pairs. During the most recent transit pair, the scientists tried to focus on timing when Venus entered and exited the Sun’s disks, in order to calculate the Sun’s size. On 2004, it was revealed that large portions of Venusian atmosphere could be seen in Earth during the transit. Scientists are hoping to not only study Venus itself during transit, but also, with the same method, observe far off exo-planets that are not seen when passing between their star and Earth.

I found this article interesting, because astronomy is a very interesting subject that has always been developing. 100 years ago no astronomer could have anticipated this transit question, or how to measure the size of the Sun by using the transit of Venus around it. The fact that we can see planets, or even determine the size of a planet because another is orbiting around it, is very impressive and is new technology, a hundred or two hundred years ago, no one would have imagined this to be possible, and because of the technology we have today we can actually evaluate this rare events. I think that it interested me because of the title, I saw the title and I opened it to read it because I found it interesting.

I don’t know if I can relate this to my life, I think that up to some level I can, because I’m really interested in astronomy, and I have always found Space very interesting and I think that studying it is very interesting. I think that the only way I can relate it to my life is the fact that I like astronomy, because it doesn’t affect my life to any level, its just something that I’ve always been interested in. The area of interaction that I can relate this to is to Human Ingenuity, because scientists that work with space and space technology have changed the way we think and the way that we see things from outer space. They have basically changed the way that we perceive things and this is very important, because we can see how new technology has changed the way that we actually see things. 

A Star Is Torn

A Star is Torn

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/340380/title/A_star_is_torn

This article talks to us about one of the wonders of space, how a black hole swallows a star. In 2010 NASA spotted a brightening around a massive back hole found in more than 2 billion light years from Earth. The flare continued to grow in brightness but then it died out. On May 2, an online article came out explaining how black holes engulf stars, and it said that by the time of the of engulfment, the star is just a helium-rich core, that probably had lost all of its layers in previous encounters with the black hole. The black hole ingests the star but leaves some stellar material into space. In 2010 this is most likely what happened, scientists suggest, that the light shown was the evidence that the black hole was shredding a star that wandered too close to it. Such disruptions are said to be rare, occurring only once every 10,000 years per galaxy, and it can also be helpful for astronomers to spot hidden black holes.

I chose this article, because at first I had seen a short notice on a National Newspaper that same morning, and I thought it was interesting, then when I was going to do the blog I saw it, and I decided I was going to use it. The way I chose it and how it is related to my life are closely related, because I’m very interested in the way the things of outer space work, and black holes are just something that are not really common, and the fact that they can eat up stars is just beyond the common thing you hear about space. I think that everything about this article interested me, and I hadn’t done an article related to space since a while ago, and I think that it is just something that is always going to be a part of me, and it was just a very interesting article.

I think that the area of interaction to which I can relate this article is Environments, because outer space is just another environment that we know little of. So I think that it is closely related to the way we can perceive our own environment. 

Bat-killing fungus is a European import

Monday, April 9th, 2012

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/339816/title/Bat-killing_fungus_is_a_European_import_

This article talks about a disease in bats, that was mainly happening in Europe, but has now spread to the United States and some Provinces in Canada. Little brown bats that are healthy, may suffer of white-nose syndrome. This is a lethal disease that has devastated hibernating bats in 16 U.S states and four Canadian provinces. Some test results have shown that the fungus is spread in the shared hibernation spots, this fungus is widespread in Europe, but hasn’t caused a big impact like in the United States, most probably, because the bats have had time to develop ways to cope. Scientists are trying to pinpoint the exact cause of the syndrome, and are focusing on how to help with the scourge.

This article interested me, because I really didn’t know that the fungus that bats got on their nose was a lethal disease, so I thought that was interesting. I also wanted to make an article about animals, because I normally focus more on space and earth things instead of something more specific. I also find bats really interesting animals, I think that they are really amazing, that they are mammals and they can also fly, so they are very rare in my opinion. Mainly it also interested me, because we are studying biology in class, and even though ecology wasn’t one of my favorite topics I really like animals, I always have, so I think that is one way of how I can relate it to my life. In relationship with my life, the only moment when I have had a close encounter with a bat, was when I was in the farm, and my aunt woke up with a bat on her shoulder and I had to help her get it off her. In general I think that bats are really interesting and that’s like the main reason why I chose the article.

The area of interaction that this article focuses on is Environments, because its something that is going on in the environment of these bats. I think that it can be related to it, because of the fact that the hibernating environments in which the bats live is being damaged because of this disease, so I think that it is the area of interaction that the article really relates to.

Less Sea Ice Brings More Snow

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/338792/title/Less_sea_ice_brings_more_snow

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Global warming is responsible for the Northern Hemisphere’s recent severe winters. As the artic melts, it sends cold air towards the equator and tries to produce snow. Despite the rising temperatures of the world, the Northern Hemisphere has had extreme winters during the last decade. There have been large snowstorms, and higher snow levels, also the Venice canals froze, which is a very unusual thing to see. This is explained by scientists, who have turned to natural climate changes, such as El Niño, which is the periodic warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean. By studying the atmosphere, scientists have been working out how changes in the sea ice could chill far away places. When the ice disappears, the darker ocean absorbs the sun’s energy, meaning that both the surface of the water and the air above it heat, which changes the ways that winds circulate through the atmosphere and forming a high pressure system. Disappearing sea ice may also provide more moisture for forming snow. Also, disappearing sea ice isn’t only thing driving the cold and the snow. Still, if sea ice melts further, big snowstorms may be in the forecast more often than not.

I chose this article, because it interested me, because it talks about a worldwide issue, it’s not just about a single place in the planet. I really like knowing what is going on in the planet, because I find it interesting. The article mainly interested me because I didn’t know that sea ice affected the way that the planet worked, and I didn’t know that the ice could actually make the sea and its surroundings hotter, instead of cooler. I can’t really relate this to my life, because I don’t live in any of the places that are being affected by this issue. Nevertheless I think that its very interesting and that everyone should be aware of these issues even though they aren’t living any of these phenomena.

The area of interaction to which I can relate this article to, is Environments. This is because it is something that is happening in our world, it is something that is happening in the environment of these animals. Environment is the one that fits the best with the article.

36 whales die after stranding in New Zealand

January 24, 2012

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-01-23/New-Zealand-whale-stranding/52762286/1

John Mason, manager of the Department of Conservation said that 99 pilot whales were stranded on Monday on Farewell Spit on the South Island. By Tuesday, 36 of the whales had died and another 40 remained stranded and were in danger. The conservatory staff and the volunteers successfully refloated 17 of the whales, which swum to the deeper water. Six whales remained unaccounted for. The 40-beached whales were swimming in the shallow water on early Tuesday afternoon but became stranded again at night when the tide went out. The volunteers will try to keep the whales cool and wet until dark, and that all they could hope for was that the whales would swim away on the next hide tide during the night. Pilot whales are about 6 meter and regularly large numbers are stranded during the summer months in New Zealand. The beach is described by experts as a whale trap due to the way its shallow waters seem to confuse the whales making them unable to navigate.

This article interested me, because it is amazing that big animals such as whales can become so defenseless when they are taken out of the water. It is also impressive the fact that there are so many whales every year that are stranded in the beach, which means that every year a large amount of the whale population die. Volunteers and staff are trying to do everything that they can but it is not enough because of the size of the whales and that they come back to the shallow waters after they are put back in the sea, this is also impressive, because it is as if the whales come back to help the others. I think that I chose the article because it was a big shock to me, hearing that out of 99 whales, 36 had already died, which means that the population of the whales decreased again.

I don’t think that the article relates to my life in any aspect, I just think that the facts of realty, the fact that people in New Zealand have to deal with this every year is really amazing, because in Venezuela we never hear about so many animals stranded in the beach, you might hear about one or two sea dolphins stranded and they are small enough to be moved, but the whales are just so big that moving them is probably a big problem. The area of interaction that this article is related to is Environment, because it is something that is happening in our world, it is something that is happening in the environment of these animals. Environment is the one that fits the best with the article.

Western Black Rhino declared Extinct

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/11/142245106/western-black-rhino-declared-extinct

November 11, 2011

This article talks about the Western Black Rhino becoming extinct. Apparently since 2000 there were only 10 of these animals in Cameroon and they were the last ones of the specie living outside of zoos. They were hunted for their horns, which are used as trophies and in traditional medicine. This loss is grave, because the Western Black Rhino is genetically distinct from other rhinos and introducing an animal that was born captive to the natural world is almost impossible. There are experts trying to save other Black rhino subspecies in Eastern and Southern Africa, which have been slightly more successful, but the rhinos are still hunted for their horns. There is research stating that other rhino populations such as the Northern White Rhino are also at risk of extinction. Experts are trying to work along zoos in order to preserve these animals in natural reserves so they reproduce and can carry on the genes.

This article interested me, because I thought that it was really shocking to just see a specie disappear all of the sudden. I was looking for my science article and this one popped up, and I thought that it was really amazing how an animal can just disappear because man kind is selfish and all they want is the money and the glory no matter what. Hunters should know what they are doing, and I think that this was the thing that shocked me the most, the specie didn’t disappear because the animals were old and started dying without reproducing, but it died just because it was killed by somebody to have the horn to display in his/her living room or to give it to somebody as a present.

I think that this relates to my life, because I am against animal cruelty, and most people don’t know that rhinos are half blind, meaning that their only was of surviving is their horn because they go around and hit anything that comes in their way, because they are not sure what is coming for them. it has been thought that maybe hunters could just shoot tranquilizers to the rhinos and cut to horn off and the animal could live happily ever after, but after hearing that they are half blind and their only way of surviving is their horn I think that this would just be cruel because they wouldn’t have any way of surviving either way.

I can relate this article to the MYP Area of Interaction of Environment, because this is something that is happening in the world out there and its affecting the environments in Africa, because the food webs will be disrupted when you take out one of the consumers and some of the food of other consumers, meaning that if many other species disappear there will be a big disruption in the environments.