The Beauty of Space
Staring into the night sky, a person could easily become overwhelmed thinking about what lies beyond our solar system. Is there life in other galaxies? What really makes up the universe? Does the universe have an end? These are common questions we find ourselves asking that even the most educated astrological scientist cannot answer. Perhaps the best way of beginning to understand the expanses of space is to look at less abstract elements and focus more on occurrences with substantial scientific evidence to explain their existence. Two prime examples of more concrete spacial findings are the phenomena known as white dwarfs and supernovae. By comparing and contrasting this couple, we are setting a path towards better grasping the complex concepts that accompany cosmology (the study of the universe). All stars produce enough heat in their core to facilitate what is known as fusion. Fusion takes place when an element, such as hydrogen, melds two of its atoms together to form a new element, helium. And once all the hydrogen in the star has fused to helium, helium begins to fuse into carbon. "However, the helium in the stellar core will eventually run out as well; so in order to survive, a s
Breaking down the universe into its elements is the key to understanding. Astronomers believe that this is how the heavy elements in the Sun got there as well as those on Earth (Supernovae). So, with all this newly acquired information one may find himself asking, "What will become of our Sun?" There's no need to worry about that, however. "The oxygen and carbon elements making up the star begin to fuse uncontrollably, resulting in a thermonuclear detonation of the entire star"(The Supernova). Upon collapsing, all of that mass is formed to about the size of the earth, making white dwarfs one of the densest forms of matter. The heavier stars in the universe have no problem continuing to fuse elements until they reach iron. White dwarfs and supernovae eject this material into space and new stars will form. Iron causes a problem because it is the first element reached by a star that requires energy to fuse it together instead of giving off energy. These explosions are classified into two major categories: Type I and Type II. tar must be hot enough to fuse progressively heavier elements, as the lighter ones become exhausted one by one" (Supernovae). When mass, or debris, from a neighboring star falls onto the white dwarf it may raise the mass above the Chandrasekhar limit. In these last few minutes, the star can give off a light equal to several billion times the brightness of our Sun and radiates an immense amount of energy. The collision occurs with great force and the outer layers are repelled and sent off in an explosion. Thermal energy in the interior is carried to the surface by conduction then radiated away. Although it has no internal power source, it takes billions of years for a white dwarf to cool down.
Common topics in this essay:
Space Staring,
Type II,
II Type,
Johnson Breaking,
white dwarf,
Sun There's,
Wayne Johnson,
Earth Supernovae,
white dwarfs,
type ii,
outer layers,
dwarfs supernovae,
white dwarfs supernovae,
form white dwarf,
chandrasekhar limit,
thermal energy,
star begin,
heavier elements,
form white,
force outer layers,
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Acceptance Essays
