Stars

When you look up at the stars they sometimes seem to be within touching distance. This may be due to their familiarity and reliability of always “turning up” in the sky. According to NASA each star has at least one planet rotating around it and some of these may be able to support human life. The planets that could support human life are known as exoplanets and they must be in the “Goldilocks zone” – not too hot, not too cold, just right. 

However, there is an exoplanet called Proxima Centauri b which could sustain human life and is located near the closest star to Earth, the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri which is 4.25 light years away. This is some distance to say the least. To put this into perspective, if such a journey to Proxima Centauri b was conducted using Apollo11 technology it would take 100,000 years to get there. 

False colour image of Proxima Centauri taken from the Hubble Space Telescope 2013.
The bright lines are diffraction spikes.

These days space vehicles are faster and Nasa’s Parker Solar probe has reached speeds of 400,000 miles an hour, which is 0.67% of the speed of light, as it travelled towards orbiting the sun. Even at this speed, it would take 6,300 years to get to Proxima Centauri b, requiring a multi-generational crew.

Such a crew would have to be carefully selected and issues like pregnancy rates, fertility, prevention of inbreeding, illness, collision and accidents among others would need to be considered. An algorithm called Heritage worked out the minimum number of spaceship crew needed for such a journey would be 100 settlers or 50 breeding pairs of males and females to ensure humans made the 6,300 year journey. Once in Proxima Centauri b there is no guarantee it would be habitable for humans so there is an element of risk as there will be no return journey to Earth.

Clearly interstellar travel will require some speedier form of transport if journey times are to be drastically reduced. Fusion rocket spaceships powered by nuclear fusion reactors may reach 10% of the speed of light but would take several thousand years to reach the Proxima Centauri star.

Image of NASA’s Discovery 2 Fusion Rocket concept

Intriguingly, there is an engine called the Helical engine which was proposed by NASA scientist Dr David Burns in 2019. This engine could, in theory, travel at 98% the speed of light at which relativist time dilation would be apparent, thereby making time pass slower for those travelling compared to those not travelling, such as people on Earth.

Travelling to Proxima Centauri using the Helical engine spacecraft would take only seven months whereas for those on Earth the journey would seem to take 4.25 years. However, the Helical engine defies the laws of physics and may never be realised.

The star Proxima Centauri is better observed from Earth’s southern hemisphere. However, if we look at the Orion constellation in Earth’s northern hemisphere, we can see that the interstellar distances involved are even greater. When viewing the Orion constellation it is best to look for Orion’s Belt, the three stars that appear to be in a straight line. From Earth, these three stars seem to be close together, but they are far apart.

For example, Alnitak, on the left-hand side of Orion’s belt is 800 light years away. Alnilam, in the middle of Orion’s Belt is 1300 light years away. Mintaka, on the right-hand side of Orion’s Belt is 900 light years away. Even travelling at the speed of light it would take hundreds of years to reach these stars and it would require multi-generational space craft and space crews to reach them. The same would apply for Betelgeuse at 550 light years away and Rigel at 860 light years away.

Of further difficulty for interstellar space travel is the fact that the universe is expanding. Galaxies are moving further away from each other so that even if we could travel by the speed of light, we would never reach them because they are already too far away. The question as to what the universe is expanding into can be viewed by the analogy of baking a ball of raisin bread dough. As the dough leavens, it expands but the raisins within do not.

In essence, the raisins move further away from each other in all three dimensions. From a single raisin’s point of view, local raisins move away slowly, intermediate ones move quicker and the furthest move fastest of all. The bread mimics the fabric of space and the raisins mimic individual galaxies in an expanding universe.

However, theories as to what the universe is expanding into include that the universe is expanding into a higher dimension which cannot be seen or comprehended. The universe could also be stuck in a black hole of a bigger universe and from which it cannot escape.

Image of a map of the known universe

It has also been suggested the universe will expand until the galaxies and stars are so far apart there is only darkness left. If the universe expands too quickly it may tear itself apart. The universe may also collapse due to gravitational forces reasserting themselves.

It may be that the universe is expanding into itself. That the universe is all there ever has been, all there is and all there ever will be. In essence, the universe is all the matter, radiation, particles and all the emptiness and nothingness of space and time itself.

From this viewpoint there are no boundaries or spaces to expand into as the universe does not require them as it is expanding into itself and it will expand into itself for all eternity and infinity. So, the next time someone asks you what the universe is expanding into you can say the universe is expanding into itself. Nothing more, nothing less.

To Proxima Centauri

We are travelling, we are
on our way to a new galaxy,
a new dawn, a new day,
past conglomerations of
constellations, old stars
viewed from new perspectives
as we become interstellar
detectives, with curiosity and
resolve we will watch the
new solar systems evolve
before our eyes and record
and collect data for those who
follow us later and follow us
they will to make history and
resolve the mysteries of life
as they unfurl in the
expectations and revelations of
distant stars and different worlds.

Thanks for reading the blog and the poem. Please leave a comment as they are all appreciated.
Dermot Moroney 2024

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Space - The Final Frontier

Space is such a fascinating subject and as a generation we are so fortunate that,  unlike our forebears, we can look up at the night sky and have some idea what it is all about. Led by the efforts of the USA and Russia,  scientists have explored and investigated the very nature of the universe that was previously shrouded in suspicion and myth.

Our constellations are named after Greek and Roman gods and a whole superstitious astrology had derived, based on the position of the stars in the visible sky at the date and time of your birth. How lucky we are to have physicists like Professor Brian Cox to throw open the curtains and explain things in comprehensible language. I personally have been delighted by his books and documentaries. He has helped to dispel my childhood fears about, all that nothing that can never end: The stuff of nightmares for an intelligent child.

The Hubble telescope has brought us a new kind of art-photography, capturing our galaxy in high definition, delighting us with the limitless scope of colour and the immensity of the Pillars of the Universe, three pillars in the Eagle Nebula, formed over millions of years from the radiation and dust from around twenty or more huge stars.

Gallileo was the first human being to turn his telescope to the night sky and look at Jupiter. He observed four of Jupiter's moons and in doing so, confirmed Copernicus' revolutionary view of the solar system. Here was direct evidence of other worlds orbiting a planet, unequivocally breaking the divine symmetry of the Earth-centred cosmos for good and challenging what was for many a deeply held belief.

We continue to learn. Mariner 10, launched by NASA in 1973 flew past Mercury and managed to map 45%  of the surface with what would now be classed as low-resolution equipment. The Messenger space probe has proved far more successful, sending back spectacular images of the surface.

Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched in 1977 with the mission to visit all four of the Solar System's gas giants - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Normally the journey would have taken thirty years but at the time of launch the planets were uniquely aligned, allowing the probes to complete their grand tour in less than twelve years. Voyager 1 is still reporting back and it's batteries are expected to function until 2025 and will be the first man-made object to leave our solar system.

What a wonderful world.

Heliocentricity

I am speeding round the sun at 30kmph per sec, 

No wonder it's so hard for me to write. 

I'm lapping Mars in retrograde: 

He's slow and I don't see him every night. 

There is lots of slower traffic sitting in the outside lanes.

I see them in the darkness -

I even know their names. 

I marvel at them every time I pass, 

Travelling in celestial clockwork,

How them seem belies their mass. 

I am pillion on a planet, designed to such specifics, 

It keeps me fed and watered and in comfort for the ride, 

Tilted at the perfect pitch towards a mighty power,

That seasonally warms and then warms the other side. 

For aeons man believed the earth was central to it all. 

That theory served the purpose of religion after all. 

But when he saw Mars charge to sky 

Then loop into reverse, 

Copernicus declared us Heliocentric. 

The Pa-al frock was hoisted:

They said he was eccentric,

But science was born to lead us into light. 

And so we race around the sun, 

As other planets do. 

That's why we're here, that's why we are, 

The earth and me and you. 

Thank you for reading. Adele    

       

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The wild side - try it but come home safely.

I am listening to Lou Reed's lyrics with born again hearing.  I can honestly say that I never realised that it was all about drugs and prostitution. And they refer to black American women as 'the coloured girls.' I have to say that it all sounds really outdated now.  But back then...

Last week I went to the movies. This is Academy Award season - the Baftas having already been presented, Hollywood is bracing itself for big night.  Over the last few years, much has been said in the press about the lack of awards for black actors, film-makers and films about the lives of black people.  Strange really when there was a black President in The White House. 

The film that I went to see, 'Hidden Figures' focusses on the lives of three Afro-American women working at NASA during the early part of what we call The Space Race. The Russians made the first manned space flight, returning Yuri Gagarin to earth as a Soviet hero, much to the consternation of Kennedy's administration.  The impending struggle to get John Glenn safely up and down was a numbers game. The story of black/white segregation, the failure of the USA to acknowledge talent if the colour of someone's skin was different and the fight for equal rights by determined black, female, mathematicians began right there at NASA headquarters, Langley.

The film is incredibly moving, to women empowering and it is also true. Why it has not been nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. Perhaps only films that highlight the negative side of being black and American are Oscar worthy.  Personally I believe that a black, heroin addict mother is just the same as a white, heroin addict mother and I would rather not watch a movie about it. Seeing the positivity of those who strove to be more than previous generations had ever believed they could be, I have little sympathy with those who give up, hit the bottle, take drugs or stop fighting for their children.  Shame on them.

Anyway, back to the wild side. I like being out in the countryside, love walking up hill and down dale, but only if I have the right footwear with me.  I spent a week in Kefalonia with huge blisters after walking down a steep hill on the first night, wearing shoes that rubbed my toes. Oh the price of bad planning.  I did still manage a few long walks but with sore feet they were not as far as I would have liked to go.  Not much wildlife over there and I really enjoy a bit of bird watching, red-squirrel spotting, deer stalking etc. When we went to South Africa, I was lucky enough to see hippos, giraffe, wild dogs and a pair of young twin Cheetahs. They appeared just at the side of the road as we drove through the Pilansberg National Park.  It was wonderful to see them in their natural habitat and brought home how sad it is that we only usually see wildlife that is contained.

I am always sad to see healthy birds of prey used as pets. I know that they were used for hunting but to import a magnificent Harris Hawk to the UK as a pet is does not seem natural to me. Allowing the import of Northern European eagle owls is a complete travesty. They are very aggressive, kill our native birds and have even attacked people. When my kids were young we spent time at Muncaster Castle, where the World Owl Trust has its headquarters. Most of the owls that they house have been injured or imported and abandoned. The trust has a captive breeding programme but until recently DEFRA would not allow them to release barn owls bred in captivity into the wild.

Our poor British barn owl has been suffering the effects of warmer, wetter Summers attributed to global warming.  Barns owl evolved, surrendering their feather waterproofing in favour of silent flight. This is essential if they want to catch small voles, their main diet. Unfortunately, if a barn owl gets wet, it cannot fly and once floored they die from the cold. If the climatic predictions are correct, our beautiful 'white ghosts' will be consigned to history. Unless they adapt.  Wild creatures in cages are not my thing, unless they are there as part of a breeding programme that helps to ensure their future survival.

Growing up in the early sixties, a caged bird in the house was a normal thing and there were many budgerigar breeders.  My grandmother had a beautiful bird, he moved with us to two new homes, travelling on our laps in the front seat of the car, cage covered by a tablecloth. He was her pride and joy because he talked ...

The Ballad of Billy the Budgie

My Nan had a beautiful budgie.

An eloquent talker was he,
As blue as the sky in the Summer,
With a very accomplished vocabulary.

He called himself, ‘Best Boy in Blackpool’,
He invited us all to have tea,
He knew his address, he was nobody’s fool.
He knew all the names in our family.

For Nana had schooled him since chick-hood,
Repeating each phrase patiently,
And Billy her brightly plumed student,
Imitated her perfectly.  

One terrible day, Billy snuffed it
And fell of the perch in his cage.
Nana would take his loss badly
It’s hard to make friends at her age.

So Dad hurried off to a pet shop,

And brought home a look-a-like bird,

Its feathers were very convincing

But this one did not say a word.

Nan told him that he must return it,

This Billy Mark Two wouldn’t do
This was a female imposter,
The crest on the beak must be blue.

He bought her a bright yellow beauty,

But Nan didn’t teach him to talk
I taught him to fly to my finger,
And from one to the other he’d walk.

I made him a circus performer,
I taught him a special new trick
By sitting him on the turntable
and spinning it round very quick.

And sometimes I would find Billy

On top of our house cat’s head,
Curled up with our huge German shepherd,
Three unlikely pals in one bed.

But one day the window was open,

And my Billy boy flew away,
I searched in the garden and called him,
I looked for him every day.

Then one day,  the weather was warmer,

I sat by the village green,
There up in a tree was a bright yellow leaf:
All of the others were green.

I couldn’t believe it was Billy,

I thought he was lost in the wild,
And when he flew onto my finger,
I was the happiest child.

He’d been on a week-long adventure,

Up with the crows, in a tree,
Our feathered, intrepid explorer.
Billy the Budgie,  Mark Three.

(A completely true story) Feb 2017

 

Hope you all have a wild week.  Thanks for reading.  Adele  

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Rubbish - it really makes me angry.

I know that I am not the only person who gets angry about rubbish - well more specifically litter. I have a sticker in my car window that asks people politely to pick up their rubbish.  Please use the bins provided. Please put your picnic or takeaway trash back into the bag that you used to bring it here and take it home with you. Please do anything - except leave it  on the promenade where it will blow into the sea.

The old idea of a message in a bottle, has to be updated in the age of global communication. Plastic bottles float and billions of them are now floating around in our oceans, trapped in circulating currents, forming massive islands of discarded, non-biodegradable material, surrounded by swimming chemical silage. Marine life is dying as result: sea birds, whales and larger fish get trapped and perish or they ingest the poisons that humans discard so carelessly.

I have recently been to a Greek island, where simply because the pipework is too narrow, it is forbidden to even put paper down a toilet. I live by the seaside and every time I walk along our beautifully modernised seafront, I am sickened to see plastic bottles, carrier bags, tins and takeaway food wrappers, blowing around or bobbing in the water, waiting to be picked up by the tide and carried out to sea. Why people imagine that the sea is a suitable receptacle for their rubbish is beyond me. What do they imagine happens to it all when it leaves their sticky mitts and drifts out of sight?

NASA have been tracking floating plastic buoys equipped with satellite tracking devices for over 35 years in an attempt to identify the circulating currents in the largest oceans on our planet. The picture shows were they are. In the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, an area where the warm waters of the South Pacific meet the colder flows from the Arctic, a plastic island has expanded to such a huge mass that it has been given a name.   The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (or Pacific Trash Vortex) visible from space and soon to be visible from the West Coast of America, more specifically California.

Messages in Bottles

We are the literati:
a 'sling it' generation,
the scourge of every nation
when disposing our debris.

Out there in our oceans
are a multitude of islands
emerging from detritus
that we dump into the sea.

NASA have been tracking it
by satellite and mapping it;
charting the expansion
of this flotsam misery.

There's one in the Atlantic,
another South of India,
heading for Australia,
two others, maybe three.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch,
fed by hydro-plastic highways,
lies off the West Coast of America,
circulating happily.

Sea creatures who alight on it,
caught inside the blight of it,
wallow in the swell of silage,
leaked by industry.

Every day increasing
moving closer to the coastline,
a pelagic plastic island,
of pollutant dysentery.

Thanks for reading.  Adele


 

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