QCQ: Chapter 3

Quote: “Glance at the night sky and what you see is history and lots of it—the stars not as they are now but as they were when their light left them.”

Comment: This fact has always been very interesting to me. To think that not only did the “twinkle” we see in the sky happen years and years ago, but that the star that the twinkle came from, had such a massive amount of energy and light that we would be able to see it from so far away. Toward the beginning of the article, the author introduces something called a supernova. These supernovas are essentially giant blast of energy succeeding from a death of a star. To this point, the author mentions the power of one of a supernova “a trillion hydrogen bombs”.  After learning this, I thought about how insignificant I am to the universe. I mean of one hydrogen bomb can wipe out a city (and me easily). A trillion can effortlessly wipe out the earth. Furthermore, there would be no way to tame this power, for it is more powerful than anything of this earth.

Questions: What is the possibility of a supernova occurring close enough to earth that it may have some effect on the planet’s well being? Can this power be tamed? Has it been thought of?

QCCQ: Welcome to the Solar System

Quote: "Lowell’s other abiding conviction was that there existed, somewhere out beyond Neptune, an undiscovered ninth planet, dubbed Planet X. Lowell based this belief on irregularities he detected in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune..."(Page 2) 

Comment: This quote is refering to the genius of an astronomer named Percivel Lowell. According to this article this man, coming from one of the wealthiest families in his time, proposed many famous astronomical theories. The article briefly explains a few, but seems to add a certain comical tone when referring to one of Lowell's most remembered theories, "belief that Mars was covered with canals built by industrious Martians for purposes of conveying water from polar regions to the dry but productive lands nearer the equator."Even though this idea seems out there I believe this theory shows the "Craziness" geniuses can at times posses. The coolest and most revered theory that Lowell ever had was his thoughts on a ninth planet - Planet X. As stated in the quote above, Lowell noticed a pattern of irregularities in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. This theory would open the door to the discovery of the ninth planet pluto, which would later be deemed a moon. It's interesting how crazy people can discover ground breaking things.

Connection: Lowell's observation of the irregularities in the planets reminded me of patterns we try to identify in math. Like math, astronomical observation take extensive speculation and usually a process. When solving linear equations (and more, just cant think of any at the moment), mathematicians always have to examine the problem and use their process to reach their goal. In the same sense, astronomers face problems with given hints and have to examine the facts and use their process to solve the problem.

Questions: What is the point of identifying planet's and space so far away from us?

QCCQ: A Short History of Nearly Everything

Quote: “This is one reason that some experts believe there may have been other big bangs, perhaps trillions and trillions of them, spread through the mighty span of eternity, and that the reason we exist in this particular one is that this is one we could exist in” (pg 15)

Comment: This quote speaks to a very interesting theory that the reason for our existence on this planet is due to the correlation or coincidence of environmental conditions. To me it implies the idea that our existence was bound to happen due to the number of "Big Bangs" this statement claims to have occurred. Who knows maybe we are part of a divine cycle that every once in while creates a universe that could accommodate evolution.  The most interesting idea that comes to mind is that we, being all the living organisms ever to survive in this universe, may not be the only species in the history of universes to ever exist; according to this quote it is quite possible that trillions upon trillions upon trillions of years ago life forms similar to ours could have existed.

Connection: This theory made me think of our universe and our unlikely creation as a probability equation. Even though I do not quite know the exact details to said equations, I do know the probability of our existence is very slim. Even more so, the probability of my existence in this universe is slimmer than slim. From simple concepts like probability, which can be used to predict the likelihood of occurrences, to more complicated concepts like fractals and fractal dimension, which can be used to describe the irregularity of nature, math is relatable to everything.

Question: What is the physics behind the creation of our universe? What is the optimal conditions, on an molecular level, for our species to survive?