Week 8: Origins and the Universe

1. What did you do in lab today? 

Today in lab, we listened to many presentations given by our classmates regarding many different important space science topics: 

Life Cycles of Stars:

-Misconceptions

stars are made of fire

stars are white

stars never die 

-Current Understanding

the larger the mass, the shorter the life

stars are formed by molecular clouds 

sun is a "main sequence star" 

average star is between 1 and 10 billion years old 

Galaxies: 

-Misconceptions

milky way is the center of the universe 

galaxies are randomly distributed

-Current Understanding 

consist of stars, planets, and clouds of dust all bound together by gravity 

come in a variety of shapes: spirals, ellipticals 

most are between 10 billion and 13.6 billion years old 

Black Holes: 

-Misconceptions

black holes will eventually suck in the entire universe

they are black 

they are all the same size 

you can see them

-Current Understanding

They are not fully understood 

They are not really holes, they are huge concentrations of matter 

The History of Space Travel:

-Misconceptions

Humans have traveled to other planets than just the moon. 

-Current Understanding 

Neil Armstrong first man on the moon 4/12/1961

requires technology to get to space safely and efficiently

2. What did you learn in Thursday's discussion? 

In Thursday during lecture, we discussed more on the concepts we were introduced to in lab on Monday. Many of the items that were discussed were originally brought up in lab, which made me feel like I could make sense of them better since it was sort of like review. In addition to this, we discussed a new topic called "Future of Space Travel." This gave a new perspective, because I feel like all the other topics we discussed were referencing the past of science. 

 3. Pressbook Chapter 13: Origins and the Universe 

• While reading this chapter, I was able to learn about the ins and outs of what the "Big Bang Theory" is. Growing up, I had always heard about this concept, but I never learned about it in grade or high school. I was not aware that it was created over 13 billion years ago and that it is the theory of the universe's origins that most scientists and astrologists back. 
• I think the graphics under the "Stars" section were most helpful for me. Since going through this week of science, I had never know of the many misconceptions I had about stars. I thought for sure they were all white and had 5 points, but now after this week, I know I was terribly mistaken for quite some time. 
• I think I would need some additional information on how the future of space travel would be made possible. The idea of people landing on Mars to go through exploration just seems so far out of reach for me. 

4. What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have?

This week was a very interesting one to me! I really enjoyed becoming aware of all the many space misconceptions I had, because I genuinely had no idea of them. I am looking forward to helping my future students to break down their misconceptions.