Journey to the Beginning of Space and Time

The search for planets capable of acting as a cradle for a new human genesis has begun. Astronomers are searching the night sky above you for planets circling distant stars within what space scientists refer to as a stars life-zone or habitable-zone. This zone is an area at an orbital distance from the star in question that allows for the formation of the elements of life and in the search for planets capable of supporting Earth-based life astronomers are mainly looking for water.

Only looking for planets with the elements we know can support Earth-based life could be putting human made limitations on the search for habitable planets and the creation of life that will prevent us from seeing the whole picture. Life on Earth has always shown itself to be adaptable, unpredictable and totally uncontrollable, and the environments life could evolve in are probably beyond current human imagination. Space scientists conducting computer simulations of planetary systems indicate that the variables that determine the life-zone of a star and its suitability for human life are just being studied and discussed. Water could exist in a usable form for the creation of life during specific periods of time on a planet's surface for Earth-like planets close to a Jupiter-size planet orbiting in a highly elliptical orbit. A description that fits many of the exo-planets discovered, so far, space scientists note.

A highly perturbed orbit could result in an Earth-like planet experiencing long time-periods of freezing and heating temperatures, with a period of ideal weather for the creation of life, squeezed in between. Hardly the ideal situation for human life, and this simulation is only one of the possible exotic habitats we could find on our journey to the beginning of the universe. Human life could be walking on planets in the centuries ahead where the length of day varies wildly, the seasons are unrecognizable, and the year just seems to go on forever.

The crazy zoo of planets astronomers are discovering in the night sky is threatening to break the human made shackles we have attempted to put upon them. The environmental conditions on one or some of these planets could one day provide the elements for a new human genesis that could shatter the foundations of belief systems across planet Earth. Environments capable of supporting human evolution and the development of higher life forms? Astronomers and space scientists have taken another step forward to discovering an answer to this question and astrobiologists are currently continuing the search for a second-Earth for humankind.

The James Webb Space Telescope Takes Mankind to the Edge of Infinity

Once on location at L2, the James Webb Space Telescope will fully deploy its 18 hexagonal, gold-coated mirror segments to form a primary mirror with an effective diameter of 6.6 meters (259 inches). This is a full 6 times the light-collecting area of the Hubble Space Telescope, but the designers and engineers have also added systems driven by software that will analysis the in-coming image, and allow astronomers to fine tune the view by controlling the mirrors overall shape.

Out orbiting L2, the James Webb Space Telescope will be far from problematic heat sources, and with a tennis-court sized sunshade shielding the telescope from Sol, the heat-sensitive instrumentation of the telescope will cool passively in the cold darkness of space and time, to the required operating temperature of -388 degrees Fahrenheit (-233 Celsius).

Astronomers believe the first stars created after the Big Bang possessed as much as 100 times Sol's current mass, shined millions of times brighter than Sol, but only lived a few million years, before exploding in the first supernovae. The James Webb Space Telescope will be capable of allowing mankind to Journey to within about 180 million years after the Big Bang, if astronomers are correct, and possibly view the first moments of the universe in space terms. Astronomers will also use the James Webb Space Telescope to view celestial objects that have been exciting the human imagination since they were first discovered in the time of the first star gazers. Astronomers are currently preparing for the beginning of the era of the James Webb Space Telescope. They'll soon be proposing all kinds of journey to the beginning of the universe that will hopefully provide a few answers to these questions that have been exciting mankind since the first time a human looked upward into the night sky.

Comet Halley dust rains down upon Earth in the early mornings of October

Orionid meteorites are small dust grains thrown off by Comet 1P/Halley, during its many trips through the inner solar system. These dust grains are traveling at a speed generally in the area of 70 km/second, at this speed the surrounding air will glow with heat as a dust grain travels through Earth's atmosphere, and viewers will a brief flash as the meteorite vaporizes in the atmosphere. Astronomers estimate that about 25 million particles of comet dust enter the Earth's atmosphere worldwide on a daily basis, burning up as meteorites and adding hundreds of tons of comet dust. During a meteorite shower Earth is being bombarded by numerous grains of comet dust as the Earth travels through the orbit of a comet. Meteorite showers occur annually due to the fact that the Earth travels through the orbit of a comet at the same time each year. Typically viewers can see a few meteorites each hour on a clear night, but viewers can always be treated to an extra special show.

During a good performance viewers could see upwards of twenty meteorites per hour radiating from one direction in the sky generally, just as heavy rain or snow appears to radiate from one direction in front of a moving vehicle. The Earth is moving relative to the comet dust, as a result more comet dust will hit the Earth's atmosphere in the part facing in the direction of the Earth's movement, and viewers will get a better show in the pre-dawn sky, when part of their sky is facing in the direction of Earth's rotation.

"Journey to the Beginning of Space and Time" to view the planetary zoo

Considering the volume of bodies circling in the solar system one might think that collisions between bodies in the solar system is commonplace, but in fact collisions between bodies circling in the solar system are relatively uncommon. This is what makes a recent report by NASA of a possible collision of one of their spacecraft with a meteorite a highlight of sorts, or at least something relatively unusual. NASA reported a possible collision between a meteorite and part of the sensitive instrumentation on board their THEMIS-B spacecraft, which is one of the two ARTEMIS spacecraft, at 0605 UT on October 14. Apparently, the flight dynamics data collected on THEMIS-B indicated that it might have been struck by a meteorite, which likely means the meteorite made a slight change in the flight path of the spacecraft. According to NASA, everything is still a go with THEMIS-B's insertion into Lissajous orbit, and up coming simultaneous measurements of particles and the electric and magnetic fields in two different locations, using both ARTEMIS spacecraft. This will provide astronomers with the first three-dimensional look at how energetic particle acceleration happens near the Moon's orbit, in the solar wind, and in the distant magnetosphere.

                         So many planets, so much diversity! Can life really be limited to Earth?

The galaxies you'll view during your journey to the beginning of the universe are like grains of sand on the beach, or snowflakes, with no two galaxies looking exactly the same to viewers. Astronomers have also viewed a number of different types of galaxies on the human journey to the beginning of the universe that they have each given a specific name, usually based on the overall shape of the galaxy. Composed of millions or even billions of individual stars, each particular type of galaxy viewed, so far, has also been given a designation, or name, by which we all can tell the difference between the individual galaxies in the infinity of galaxies we view in the night sky above us. It was Edwin Hubble who first did the work with photographic plates taken during the early part of the twentieth century that allowed him to determine the nebulous objects astronomers had been viewing for years were actually vast islands of stars we call galaxies. Edwin Hubble also catalogued the galaxies he viewed into three major classes, or types, according to their physical shape.

A percentage of the galaxies you'll view during your journey to the beginning of the universe will resemble huge pinwheels and have been given the name spiral galaxies by astronomers viewing these objects. Spiral galaxies are generally composed of a bright central nucleus with older stars, with two sweeping arms of younger stars, open clusters, and diffuse nebulae unfolding in space and time. The Milky Way in which we reside is one such spiral galaxy among the multitudes of such galaxies in the universe and Sol is located about two-thirds of the way from the center of the galaxy.

Astronomers have broken down spiral galaxies into five subclasses of spiral galaxies, according to how tightly the arms of a spiral galaxy are wrapped around the nucleus of the spiral galaxy in question. Spiral galaxies with the tightest arms are Sa spiral galaxies, Sb spiral galaxies are next in order, with more loosely armed Sc, comparatively rare Sd spiral galaxies, and S0 spiral galaxies almost appearing to be a transitional form between spiral galaxies and another type of galaxy.

Barred galaxies exhibit an odd, barlike feature passing through the nucleus of the galaxy, and the spiral arms of barred galaxies start to unwind from the ends of the central bar, rather than from the nucleus of the galaxy. Barred galaxies are also classified according to the tightness of the spiral arms and have designations SBa, SBb, and SBc.

Elliptical are the most plentiful type of galaxy we have viewed during the human journey to the beginning of the universe. Elliptical galaxies actually have no hint of spiral arms and appear as huge, oval spheres with no discernible internal structure of any kind. Elliptical galaxies are classified according to how round they appear, with E0 elliptical galaxies appearing almost perfectly spherical, E4 elliptical galaxies looking like an oddly shaped football, and E7 elliptical galaxies looking flat as compared to the other classifications. Elliptical galaxies appear to be composed mostly of older stars and you'll notice they lack luminosity as you view them.

Galaxies that appear to have no distinctive shape are referred too as irregular galaxies and irregular galaxies have been viewed a lot less in the night sky than the other types. This doesn't necessarily mean irregular galaxies appear in fewer numbers in the universe, but it does mean that the percentage of the universe we have viewed from Earth appears to contain fewer irregular galaxies than the other types.

NASA photo

September is one of the year's most entertaining and awe-inspiring months to lay on your back on a dark hill and view the delights of the celestial dance in the sky above you as your ancestors once did on a nightly basis. Four of Sol's dance partners will be in the spotlight in September, 2010, taking part in a nightly dance that includes their less observable brothers and sisters, while Mercury will once again dance privately in the eastern sky each morning during September.

Mighty Jupiter will rule the night's sky in the Northern Hemisphere during September, especially after he reaches the point in his orbit opposite the sun as seen from SpaceshipEarth1, which space scientists call Jupiter's opposition. This celestial event will occur on the last day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, on this day the 24 hour period of the day will be evenly separated into night and day, and the evening temperature will still be warm enough to make star-gazing comfortable. The perfect time to set up your celestial time machine to the stars or to just lay back on the cold Earth and watch the celestial dance above you unfold before your eyes as millions of your ancestors have since mankind first perceived the possibilities the night's sky creates in the human imagination. This will be the most comfortable and best time to view Jupiter in the past 47 years and it will definitely be more comfortable viewing than during Jupiter's next opposition on October 29, 2011. During Jupiter's opposition on October 29, 2011, the weather will be a lot of colder than on September 21, 2010, and you'll have to wait another year to have a look at the largest planet in our solar system.

Mighty Jupiter will be at his brightest when he reaches opposition on September 21, 2010 and on this night the King of Sol's planets will shine brighter in the night's sky than during anytime in the past 47 years. Jupiter will also appear bigger during its September 21, 2010 opposition, subtending an angle of almost 50 ", and shining at magnitude 2.9. This means that after Venus sets at around 8 P.M., mighty Jupiter will be the brightest star like object in September's night sky.

Mighty Jupiter will travel near the border between the constellations of Aquarius and Pisces for several months on both sides of opposition. This region of space-time has few bright stars to outshine Jupiter and the contrast allows viewers to get a good look at Jupiter. The nearest 1st magnitude star, Fomalhaut (Alpha) Piscis Austrini, is over 30 degrees away and mighty Jupiter is easily observed in the night's sky at this time.

Star gazers in the mid-northern latitudes will find that due to their location mighty Jupiter only climbs halfway up the night's sky in September, 2010. This doesn't make for the best viewing during Jupiter's opposition and Jupiter's altitude will be at its greatest at local midnight time. Star gazers at latitude 40 degrees north will therefore see Jupiter at 48 degrees above the southern horizon. In the northern hemisphere of Earth, star gazers will view Jupiter 1 degree higher in the night's sky, for each degree of latitude south of 40 degrees north at which they're viewing Jupiter. In contrast, for each 1 degree north of 40 degrees north at which you observe Jupiter, you'll see Jupiter 1 degree lower in the night's sky.

Star gazers that want to view mighty Jupiter as he dances across September's night sky can so so without a pair of binoculars. Star gazers will need a pair of binoculars or telescope to see Uranus, Sol's seventh planet will lie within 2 degrees of Jupiter throughout September, and can be difficult to view Uranus at this time. Sol's eighth planet, Neptune, will be found about 30 degrees west of Jupiter and Uranus during September. Star gazers that want to view Venus and Mars should look in the evening twilight near Virgo's brightest star, Spica.

We'll begin our journey across September's night sky during the first week of Earth's ninth month, at this time Saturn will be dancing in the twilight of the low horizon of September's night sky. We'll board our time machine to the stars and planets on September 1 and start the first leg of our celestial "Journey to the Beginning of Time and Space" in human terms by traveling across space and time to Saturn. Sol's ringed planet will set an hour after the sun on this day and can be found dancing in the sky about 5 degrees above the horizon, after the sun goes down.

To locate Saturn, use Venus as your visual guide. Earth's evening star will be visible a few minutes after the sunsets. Look for Spica in the constellation Virgo, to the right of Venus. Saturn and Spica glow at the same relative magnitude, so if you take your time and can find Spica, you should be able to see Saturn in the night's sky above you. Saturn will be found 20 degrees to the right of Venus in September's night sky and at around half the distance from the horizon as Venus. Saturn will continue to be viewable from Earth, throughout the first week of September, 2010, and viewing Saturn from SpaceshipEarth1 will become increasingly difficult after this time.

On September 1, 2010, Venus will be dancing in the night's sky in line with Spica and Mars. Spica will be in the middle of this dance, and if you continue to watch this celestial dance unfold for two more nights, Spica will dance toward the center of the trio. The trio will begin to fallback from each other as September enters the second week and will form an ever-widening triangle. Venus will shine the brightest during this celestial dance across September's night sky, while Spica will outshine Mars as the trio does their nightly dance across the skies of September.

On September 10 a crescent moon will join this celestial dance. Mars will be viewable about 6 degrees above the Moon, while Venus will be to the lower left of Mars. Continue to watch this dance unfold and you'll see the Moon travel 6 degrees to the left of Venus by the time September 11, 2010 arrives. The Moon will also grow in visible size each night after September 11, 2010, until reaching full moon at 5:17 A.M. EDT on September 23.

Venus will continue to be viewable in September's night sky as she dips closer to the horizon each night during September. Venus will shine her brightest on September 23, 2110, when the evening star will shine at magnitude 4,8 and will set an hour after Sol retires for the night. Watch Venus during this time and she'll draw you into her nightly dance and fascinate you as she goes through obvious changes in visible size and phase. View Venus on September 1 and you'll see a planet with a disc 29 " across and at 41 percent illumination. By the time the dance reaches September 30, Venus has slimmed to 19 percent illumination and swelled to about 45 ", a change that can be easily discerned by patient star gazers.

Mars will appear small and dim compared to the Evening Star, the Red Planet will shine at magnitude 1.5 throughout September 2010, which is around 300 times dimmer than Venus will shine. Mar's disk also measures only 4" and very little detail will be seen by viewers looking at Mars through a telescope. Mars will become more visible late in 2011, so if you want to have the best view of Mars, you'll have to wait until this time.  

September will be a great time to view Sol's ninth planet though as Pluto will dance an elegant loop in northwestern Sagittarius, close to an 8th magnitude star that's only 2.6 degrees north-northwest of 4th magnitude Mu Sagittarii. This will make this 14th magnitude dwarf planet, which many claim isn't really a planet, easier to view due to its proximity to this relatively bright star. You'll still require an 8-inch telescope and a dark sky to be able to see Pluto in September's night sky, but the view is spectacular, and you can get a good idea of the distance involved.