What Does The Future Hold For Space Research And Exploration?

Space is the final frontier and something that both fascinates and terrifies everyone. We all know that we fear what we don’t understand, and for most people, understanding space is something that is more or less impossible. We will know the basics about the Big Bang and our own solar system and galaxy and the plethora of other galaxies around us but that is only scratching the surface of what is the most complicated subject on the planet. Space research is constantly being undertaken by different space agencies around the world and we are all eager to answer so many different questions about our existence as well as potential alien life in the universe.

Our interest in space has always been around, ever since we started to look up into the night sky and wonder what all of those magnificent sparks were. Over the last century the space race between the Russian’s and the American’s has sparked off much greater interest in what is out there are the first manned visits into space and then the moon gripped the entire world.

Yet these two steps were those that, whilst tricky, were possible simply due to the proximity of the moon to our own planet. They were astronomical leaps at the time but now we are all waiting on tenterhooks and calling for further leaps and advances into space. Our knowledge of what is around us is constantly being extended as our technological prowess grows but what many are looking for is the next big leap.

We have managed to get a craft onto the surface of Mars, but an actually visit to the planet is what we are all waiting for. The Ares program is currently being created by NASA in order to allow us to extend our reach into space but this is still going to have its serious limitations.

In order to truly extend our arm we need to be creating forms of travel that let us traverse space at incredible and unheard of speeds. We all know about science fiction films where space travel is constantly done at light speeds and many people consider this to be the next step. But is this realistic? can we really build crafts that are capable of travelling at the same speed as light through the confines of space?

Well the truth is that the law of physics simply will not allow this to occur. Whilst it is impossible to know what tech advances will come up with in the future, right now we are very much limited to exploration that can be done within very close proximity to our own planet. Therefore, whilst Mars is a realistic possibility, beyond that we may never be able to extend our reach.

Yet right now, there is no chance of going beyond what is more or less directly in front of us. And even if light speed capabilities were developed, most planets and constellations are many light years away.

What we need to hold on for is what wonders a trip to Mars will bring. But seeing as this is unlikely to occur before 2030, we will be waiting for quite some time yet!

People have been dreaming about the stars and engaging in space research for centuries now, along with animal research for learning more about the biology of creatures on this planet.

Engineering Advancements in Canada

Canadian engineers have had a long history of making astounding advancements in the field of engineering. There have been many engineering developments that have improved the quality of life of people around the world and have led to important discoveries. Listed below are just a few of the major engineering advancements in Canada.

The Electron Microscope: In April of 1938, two graduate students and their supervisor, Department Chairman, Professor E.F. Burton from the Physics Department of the University, built the first transmission magnetic electron microscope. Researchers were eventually able to see into inner space and learn important and valuable information about the universe. Research in mathematics has assisted in this as well.

The Pacemaker: At the Banting and Best Institute Laboratory in Toronto, Dr. John Hopps, an electrical engineer and National Research Council researcher, along with two physicians, Dr. William Bigelow and Dr. John Callaghan, developed the ability to cause the heart to beat, which included the ability to decrease the heart rate. They did this by applying an electrical pulse. What emerged from this remarkable development was the creation of the first pacemaker in 1950. In 1957, the first small pacemaker was implanted into a man from Sweden. The origins of this remarkable medical device came from brilliant Canadian engineers and physicians and have saved millions of lives all over the world.

FP-6000 Computer: One of the first computers that used an operating system and performed a variety of functions was developed in Canada. The FP-6000 computer was developed in 1961. When designers from Toronto’s Ferranti-Packard Company assisted with moving computers from university laboratories into office buildings, it was the FP-6000 computer that was used.

The Ballard Fuel Cell: Another remarkable Canadian engineer development, the Ballard Fuel Cell, can use different types of fuels such as gasoline, hydrogen, natural gas, and methanol. Fuel cells have enough power to run a vehicle. The only by-products from the fuel cell’s electrochemical reaction are water vapor and heat. As well, these cells run continuously as long as they have fuel.

The Canadarm: One of Canada’s most renowned engineering accomplishments, the Canadarm, is able to capture a free-flying payload in an environment where there is no gravity. The Canadarm has never failed and has been used to help build the international space station, break ice off the fuselage of the Orbiter, and assist in the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Compact Discs (CDs): Canadian engineers have made a significant contribution to the music industry. Canada makes the compact discs that are used by about 90% of all recorded North American music, video, and software.

The Alouette Satellite: In September 1962, the Canadian made Alouette Satellite was the first satellite launched into space making it the first launched satellite to be built by a country other than the USSR and the US.

Radio Broadcasting: On Christmas Eve, in 1906, Canadian, Reginald Fessenden, made an important historical achievement by making the world’s first radio broadcast using his invention called the radio telephony.

The above engineering advancements are just a few of the many Canadian accomplishments in the field of engineering. For years, engineering developments have impacted the field of science, medicine, technology, and much more. The outlook looks promising for Canadian engineers and their future engineering achievements.

The number of developments in the field of engineering Canada is truly remarkable. Many of these advancements are made possible from the analytical reasoning and mathematics research that has been done in the past.

Some Astranomical Facts

How many facts are there to be known or learned about all the objects and phenomenon in our entire universe? Just think: there are about 1 x 10 ^22 stars in the universe, that’s 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars; then there are many of those stars that have planets in orbit around them. Then consider the moons that orbit those planets and the comets and asteroids, the galaxies these stars form, the nebulae and black holes and everything else that’s out there. The amount of information and data is really quite mind-boggling. This article definitely will not contain every fact about astronomy, but they are very interesting facts nevertheless.

We will start by taking a look at a small section of astronomy: “the brightest stars seen from the Earth”. That is excepting the Sun which is roughly 250,000 times nearer than the next nearest star. In fact, it is so bright that when the sky is viewed from the Earth, it blinds out all the other stars in the sky during a phenomenon called daytime.

Remember that according to the scale for the magnitudes given, lower numbers are brighter. Our Sun would be about -26.73, while the full moon is -12.6. So, with that in mind, here are the top 5:

#5 is Vega, which means “falling eagle” in Arabic is in Lyra. It’s roughly 25 light years away and has a magnitude of 0.04.

NB: when thinking about this astronomical information, please just bear in mind that the ‘brightest from the Earth’ doesn’t mean ‘largest’ or ‘brightest’. The Sun is not the largest or brightest star in the universe or even the galaxy by any means, but it seems to be so bright to us because we are near to it compared to the other stars.

#4 Rigel Centaurus – a very bright, bluish-white supergiant star in the constellation Orion. It is a binary star, with an average apparent magnitude of 0.12. It’s scientific name is Beta Orionis. ‘Rigel Centaurus’ is Arabic for ‘the foot of the centaur’. It’s about four light years from Earth.

#3 is Arcturus. The name is Latin/Greek and means ‘guardian of the bear’. This star is roughly 37 light years away. It is in the constellation of Bootes, behind The Great Bear. It has a magnitude of 0.00

#2 Canopus. Of these top five, Canopus, the Greek name for the pilot of the vessel Argo made famous in the stories about Jason and the Argonauts, is the brightest. But it’s 313 light years from Earth, so it’s just second on this list as seen from Earth. It has a magnitude of -.62 as seen from this planet.

#1 is Sirius, which means ’scorching’ in Greek. It’s also called the ‘Dog Star’ because it is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Major, which means ‘The Big Dog’ in Latin. It is only 9 light years from Earth, which makes it the second closest of these top five. From Earth it has a magnitude of -1.44, which makes it quite easily the brightest star as seen in the night sky.

These facts don’t even scratch the surface on the subject of astronomy but it’s something to think about anyway the next time you look up into the sky at night.

Are you fascinated by Astronomy for Beginners? If you are then, please visait our website at http://astronomy.the-real-way.com

Astronomy: Wallpaper

Astronomy is the study of the cosmos. Some treat it as a serious science and others as an interesting pastime. That is why, whenever an astronomy picture of the day is offered to the public, people usually jump at the chance. There are plenty of astronomical pictures to choose from, and plenty of interesting celestial objects to keep people interested.

NASA of course is a primary source for an astronomy picture of the day. This site NASA.gov shows a new image each and every day. There’s also another section that shows video footage. This could be used to create your own image site. Saturn’s moon Enceladus was featured on November 5, 2008.

This picture was taken by a passing spacecraft. It can reproduce details the size of a bus. The ice on this moon reflects as glare, nearly 100% of all the sun light that strikes it. So you would need to wear sunglasses! This moon is so fascinating that Cassini will continue to fly by for more images later on in its mission.

NASA keeps an archive of all the astronomy photo of the day dating all the way back to June 16 of 1995. It was a ‘what if’ photo of the Earth posing as a neutron star. The photo is a computer generation. The most interesting feature is that the constellation of Orion is visible twice. Even light from behind a neutron star is visible because the dense star bends the light around it. This causes some objects to be seen twice.

September 8, 1995 was an amazing image of the central part of the Milky Way galaxy taken by NASA’s COBE satellite. This area is generally invisible because of the dust masking it. But COBE scans in infrared, so produced that fantastic image of our very symmetrical galaxy.

The astronomy picture of the day was identical on January 1st, 2000 and January 1st, 2001, the reason being because both dates shared this photo is that the majority of people considered the year 2000 as the first year of the third millennium.

However, the third millennium actually began on January 1st, 2001. NASA reasoned it was just easier to just go with the flow and do it on both dates. apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010101.html displays mankind’s view of the solar system as it progressed from mere objects circling the Earth, all the way to the ‘Big Bang’ creating the universe as we see it today.

NASA has many more days with their very own unique astronomy picture of the day. Visit their web site, NASA.gov to view them.

Astronomy: pictures of the day are fascinating to vast numbers of people. If you are interested in astronomy, visit our website at: http://astronomy.the-real-way.com

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Bushnell Deep Space 525×3″ Reflector Telescope

From the Manufacturer
Bushnell Deep Space Telescopes are a great value for both the beginner and intermediate astronomer. Fully featured for night after night of fun and excitement exploring deep into space. With all-metal optical tube assembly, high-quality glass optic objectives for crisp clear views, full-length variable height tripods, metal yoke mounting systems, all-metal accessory trays, rack and pinion focusing mechanisms and patented universal coding system, they can help (more…)