Venus: the Morning Star

            There are circumstances that I would woke up early dawn and as I looked up in the sky, I would notice this star that seems to be the brightest object up above. I could even remember asking about that brightest star to my elder ones long ago when I was still a small child, and they would answer back “it’s not a star, actually it’s Venus, a planet”. From then on whenever I see Venus in the night sky, I grew more curious about this planet. 

            According to my past lessons at school and my personal research, I have gathered these following facts about this planet.

            From the eight planets in the solar system, Venus is the second planet in distance from the Sun, but the hottest planet in the solar system, hotter than Mercury. Its hellish surface has broiling temperatures that make rocks glow red under a crushing atmosphere that shrouds the planet in thick layers of clouds. In here, the temperature at the surface ranges from -30˚C to 475˚C. Carbon dioxide helps to produce a powerful greenhouse effect and the nearness of the planet to the sun raises the temperature on the surface to more than 475˚C which is high enough to melt lead. 

            Except for the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky. It is often called the morning star when it appears in the east at sunrise and the evening star when it is in the west at sunset. When viewed through a telescope, Venus exhibits phases like the Moon. Venus’s full phase appears smaller and dimmer because it occurs when the planet is on the far side of the Sun from Earth. The phases and positions of Venus in the sky repeat every 1.6 years. The planet was named for Venus, the Roman goddess of beauty.

            Venus is nearly the same size as Earth, but takes 243 days to rotate on its axis in the opposite direction, longer than it takes to revolve around the sun. It also lacks a magnetic field and a moon. Why conditions on Venus and Earth are so different remains a major puzzle for planetary scientists. Venus circles the Sun at a distance of 108 million km (67 million mi) in a little over seven months (about 225 days). 

            It has a diameter of 7584 miles and like Uranus; it spins clockwise or retrograde unlike the spin of the rest of the planets which is counterclockwise. The temperature at the surface ranges from -30˚C to 475˚C making it the hottest planet. Carbon dioxide helps to produce a powerful greenhouse effect and the nearness of the planet to the sun raises the temperature on the surface to more than 475˚C which is high enough to melt lead.

          Swirling clouds of sulfur and sulfuric acid obscure Venus’s surface and inhibited study of the planet from Earth until technology permitted space vehicles, outfitted with probes, to visit it.

            The extreme conditions on Venus make it highly unlikely that humans will ever set foot on this planet—there are no current plans for manned exploration. If humans ever reached Venus, they would weigh about the same as on Earth but would otherwise find a totally alien world requiring heavy protection from heat and pressure. Venus may be the closest thing in the solar system to the way humans have imagined hell.

            Can you believe these?  All these information about Venus is beyond doubt incredible. I have never imagined that my favorite star, which is actually a planet, in the night sky is likely as hell because of its characteristics and attributes. 

            It is also my dream since I was small that I would travel outer space but I don’t know if this is still likely to happen. I’m not saying I’m losing hope but I’m just sticking to reality. Anyway, if circumstances allowed, and I have given a chance, I will really be delighted because there are only few who are lucky enough to witness the great, mysterious outer space.

                                                                         

            These only prove that the solar system is stunning and marvelous if you would only discover and know more about its beauty and splendid features.

            The solar system is never ordinary or predictable, is it?

Assumptions on the Starting Point of the Universe

            As I recall my childhood days, I was a child back then with a mind that was always curious with a lot of things. Like how things work, what they can do, who made them, why are they made or how do they began.  It even crossed in my mind how did everything originate. What is there to be found when there is still nothing? How did everything come as it is today? I know all of these questions will be answered if I would only know how the universe started, the very beginning of all creation.

            During my first years in high school, we had a lesson about the theories regarding the origin of the universe and I’m glad for the additional knowledge I acquired. I learned that there are many theories but none of this is scientifically proven to be the exact answer.

             The following paragraphs will reveal to you the speculations believed to be the beginning of the universe taken from my notes.

DIVINE CREATION THEORY

    Religion and mythology have for long time proposed the “Creation Theory”. Creation refers to act or acts by which the world came into existence out of nothing and the source of creation is the God who has the ultimate power. It is considered that since the earliest times almost all societies have conceived of one or more accounts of creation.

BIG BANG THEORY

            A general theory held by many astronomers that the universe may have originated about 12-15 billion years ago as the result of a violent explosion of some primordial mass;  since then the universe has been expanding and evolving; refinement of the theory states that the universe is pulsating, expanding, and contracting every 80 billion years. From all of the theories, this is the most accepted one.

BIG CRUNCH THEORY

            It is the possible finale to a contracting universe when all the galaxies smash together. Scientists believed that the universe is expanding and galaxies are moving apart. If the gravity of all cosmic material restrained the outward push enough, the expansion could stop and the universe could began to contract. These could mean either the end of the universe in a “Big Bang” in reverse, or an endless series of expansion and contracts (a pulsating universe).

INFLATIONARY THEORY

            It includes the model of events involved in the rapid expansion of the universe in its first moments of creation as depicted in the Big Bang Theory and was developed by an American physicist Alan H. Guth in the early 1980’s.

STEADY STATE THEORY

            A general theory of some astronomers that holds that the universe has no beginning or end but remains much the same throughout time; like the Big Bang theory it holds that the universe is expanding, new matter is considered to be created from energy as hydrogen, which condenses and forms new stars and galaxies to maintain the Steady State of the universe.

OSCILLATION THEORY

            It says that every 60 000 000 000 years, a Big Bang occurs. In between, the universe expands, forming stars and galaxies, and then contracts, destroying them again. Gravity would cause the expansion of the universe to slow as the energy produced by the explosion decreases, and then bring the galaxies together as the universe contracts. The Big Bang, could perhaps have been going on forever, and could continue forever.       

            It is truly amazing that one of these theories might be the right explanation of the beginning of everything. Our universe that is so vast. So big that no one could even tell you its exact size and no one could even assure you that it has limits. I am really awe-inspired to our universe that I am so attuned to the TV shows concerning the universe like The Known Universe in the National Geographic Channel, one of my favorite channels.

            Our universe is full of mysteries like its beginning, on its undiscovered parts, on its size, on its limits, or on its planets, like are there still others besides us?

            I know time will come that all of these questions will be unraveled and be revealed to humankind.

            Is it impossible? I hope not.

How the Motions of Water Influence the Earth

            Two great oceans: an ocean of air and an ocean of water bound our planet, the Earth. They are driven by the energy of the sun and the gravity of the Earth creating constant motion and their motions are interconnected to each other. Like the winds which give energy to the sea surface forming ocean currents.

            But here in my blog, I will focus only on the motions of water. The motions of water on Earth are ocean currents, waves, tides, and tsunamis. They hugely affect our planet because the Earth is comprised mainly of water. So how do these motions of water affect our planet?

OCEAN CURRENT

            The sun warms ocean layers in certain areas like at the equator creating ocean current. The warmer water expands slightly, creating a slope, and the warm water runs downhill toward the poles. The following are the effects of ocean current on our planet:

            They are a huge factor on the world’s climate. They carry heat from one location to another, altering the Earth's surface temperature patterns and modifying the air above. They also move cold water from the poles toward the tropics and vice versa affecting regional climates. They flow for great distances, and together they create the great flow of the global conveyor belt which plays a dominant part in determining the climate of many of the Earth’s regions.

            They bring warm water up the north Atlantic to northwest Europe and stop ice from forming by the shores, which would block ships from entering and exiting ports.

            They create eddies, swirling loops of water as they flow.

            They affect upwelling in many places. They are important for sailors planning routes through the ocean.

            They are important for marine life because they transport creatures around the world and affect the water temperature in ecosystems. They help move food and nutrients, making them available for photosynthesis, metabolic requirements and/or consumption.

                Knowledge of surface ocean currents is essential in reducing costs of shipping, since they reduce fuel costs.

            They are important in the study of marine debris, and vice versa.

EDDIES

WAVES

            Waves are a constant reminder of the sea’s awesome power. The wind creates the waves. Their ability to erode rock and carry material away also exhibits their power and begins to explain why they are an important component to the study of physical geography.

            Since ocean waves are one of the most powerful natural phenomena on Earth, they have a significant impact on the shape of the Earth’s coastlines.

            One of the most famous examples of ocean waves impacting the coastline is the longshore or littoral current. They exist in the surf zone and work with waves hitting the shore. As such, they receive large amounts of sand and other sediment and transport it down shore as they flow. This material is called longshore drift and is essential to the building up of many of the world’s beaches.

            The movement of sand, gravel and sediment with longshore drift is known as deposition and forms depositional coastlines. Coastal landforms caused by deposition include barrier spits, bay barriers, lagoons, tombolos and even beaches themselves. Erosion also creates many of the coastal features found today including cliffs, wave-cut platforms, sea caves and arches.

            These features make it clear that ocean waves have a tremendous impact on the shape of the Earth’s coastlines.

LONGSHORE CURRENT

TIDES

            We all know that tides are the periodic rise and fall of ocean waters including those of open sea, gulfs, and bays resulting from the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun upon the water and upon the Earth itself. Some of the effects of tides to the Earth are the following:

            The ocean waters are displaced into the other side of the planet because of the gravitational pull of either the sun or moon.

            They also allow a unique environment along shorelines.

            They circulate and replenish rich supplies of nutrients along beaches.

            Organisms living near shorelines must be adapted on both buffeting waves and frequent shifts from open air to complete submersion. Marine organisms adapt in a variety of ways.

            When the tides go out, pockets of water remain trapped in rocks, depressions in the sand and natural basins called tidal pools.

TIDAL POOL

TSUNAMI

            When I hear this word, only one thing pops out in my mind: DISASTER. Yes, tsunamis are some of the most devastating natural disasters known to man. We can not even grasp the reality of how much devastation it can generate. A tsunami is caused by a strong earthquake on the ocean bed. Next paragraphs will reveal to us the tremendous power of tsunamis.

            They affect a huge area of land, transforming the landscape.

            They throw salty seawater over the land. Too much salt is bad for living things, so if soil becomes too salty, crops cannot grow or will not grow well.

            The force of a tsunami can also ruin pipelines and factories. This lets out sewage, oil, or dangerous chemicals into the environment.

            They create deadly currents and sweep away people, causing them to drown. The costs to human life can also be devastating.

            After the waters were retreated there was the elevated risk of disease created by stagnant and contaminated water.

            (There can also be more interesting effects that deal solely with scientific curiosity. The Christmas tsunami was so powerful it actually sped up the rotation of the Earth reducing the length of its sidereal day. The earthquake that spawned it also caused the Earth to vibrate all over by as much as 1 cm.) (Universe Today)

            Now I hope you can realize how much of these motions of water influence our planet, we could see its positive features but its negative features are also great costing lives, properties and even destruction of Earth’s physical aspect itself.

            Their influence towards the Earth is really overwhelming, isn’t it?

The Earth's Water Ball and its Significance

The Hydrosphere represents one component of Earth’s system. The other components are Lithosphere, Atmosphere, and Biosphere. The term Hydrosphere in Greek means water ball and as you can see our planet viewed from the outer space is an oblate spheroid with blue appearance that’s why our planet is called “The Blue Planet”.  It consists chiefly of the oceans, but exactly it includes clouds, inland seas, lakes, rivers and underground waters.

 

If truth be told, about 71% of our planet is covered with water and almost 97% of this is found in the oceans as saltwater while the remaining 3% is freshwater in the form of ice caps, glaciers, ice bergs, and deep ground water which are not easy to acquire.  Therefore just a sheer 0.41% of all waters on Earth are readily accessible for man’s survival.

 

Below are just some of the very essential functions of water in the Hydrosphere.

•      Provides habitat for plants and animals

The hydrosphere provides home for many animals and plants to live.

 

• ·        Cells are partly composed of water

To function normally, Living organisms need water. Without water, cells would not be capable to perform their normal activities and life would not be possible. In point of fact, living organisms is made up of almost 75% water. Without water humans would die in a week.

 

•        Sources of food

Food attained from freshwater bodies could consist of crustaceans, aquatic plants and fish.

 

•         Human necessities

Humans use water in many ways. It may be for drinking, washing, cleaning, cooking, etc.

•        Chemical Uses

 Water is the universal solvent. In chemical reactions, it is used as a solvent or reactant and less commonly as a solute or catalyst.

•         Agriculture

Water taken from water bodies is an important source of irrigation, which is a key component to produce enough food. Like United States who uses 30% of freshwater for irrigation.

•       Water Industry

There are industries that uses water from bodies of water to provide drinking water and services like sewage treatment to other industries and also households.

•    Energy Source

Water could be utilized for power generation. Hydroelectric power comes from water driving a water turbine connected to a generator. Hydroelectricity is electricity obtained from hydropower. Hydroelectricity is a low-cost, non-polluting, renewable energy source.

•         Affects the Climate system

Oceans are large reservoir of chemicals that can contribute to the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere and energy absorbing 90% of the solar radiation which hits the surface. They also work with the atmosphere to redistribute the energy received from the sun such that the heat in the tropics, where a lot of energy is received from the sun, is transferred toward the poles, where heat is generally lost to space. The presence of large bodies of liquid water and the atmosphere restrict the range of temperature fluctuations on Earth. (http://www.weegy.com/home.aspx?ConversationId=A18F0269)

•        Used as heat transfer fluids

 Water and steam are used as heat transfer fluids in diverse heat exchange systems, because of its availability and high heat capacity and used as a coolant and for heating. In almost all electric power stations, water is the coolant, which vaporizes and drives steam turbines to drive generators.

Yet even though our planet’s Hydrosphere plays a big part in our survival, we repeatedly abused it and take it for granted. When will we open our eyes and start to act as responsible caretaker of our God-given resources? Water conservation and protection only come up into our minds in times of crisis and dry seasons. Some didn’t even think how long it will be there to sustain our needs.

So starting now let’s be in charge, conscientious and liable not only to our bodies of water but as well as our other God-given resources.