There are 2 initial discussion post and two classmates that need to be responded to. The initial post must be 250 words and the responses need to be 100 words. Please site and use all references that you may use.
Initial post question 1
( This one is a group project and there is a document that has to be completed all that has to be one is the document)
To begin this activity, read the following background material:
Life in the Universe (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Circumstellar Habitable Zones (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Galactic Habitable Zones (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Review 30.3 and 21.5
Next, download the document teamlab2 [DOCX FILE SIZE 29.8 KB] and then open the two habitable zone simulators by following these links:
CHZ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. – Circumstellar Habitable Zone simulator
GHZ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. – Galactic Habitable Zone simulator
Initial post 2
In this activity, you will use what you have learned from the assigned reading and videos to engage in a discussion with your classmates about what life would be like at the center of our galaxy.
Before participating in the discussion:
Read 25.1-25.2
View the video The heart of the Milky Way as seen by the Chandra X-ray observatory (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Video file][3 min 03 sec]
Now let’s begin the discussion:
Suppose our solar system was relocated to the central regions of our galaxy, though not at the very center, as that is where the supermassive black hole resides!
What would we see when we looked up into the sky? Explain.
How would things be different on Earth?
Would there be any implications for life on Earth? Explain.
Based on your research into these questions, would you consider the central parts of our galaxy a good place to search for other life, intelligent or otherwise?
2 Classmates to respond to
Classmate 1- Corey post
If the Earth were closer to the center of the galaxy, the night sky would look much different. Closer to the center, the density of stars starts to skyrocket. If you got close enough to the center, there wouldn’t be anywhere you could put our solar system and not have other stars within our boundaries. This would make for a much brighter and more interesting sky.
The Earth would be a lifeless planet at the center of the galaxy as it succumbed to to any number of cosmic catastrophe. Having stars so close to our solar system would be quite dangerous. Another star upsetting the delicate balance of the material spiraling around our Sun would send cascades of comets and other debris hurtling towards the inner planets from the Oort Cloud. With so many stellar neighbors, there would be a much higher chance of being close enough to a supernova for it to strip our ozone layer, exposing the surface to lethal doses of ultra violet radiation. If we were close enough to Sagittarius A, the super-massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, our solar system would be pummeled over and over by violent stellar winds and massive amounts of radiation as the black hole fed on everything that got too close. All this goes to show that the central parts of the galaxy would be a poor place to search for life, as there would not be enough time for any sort of life to develop in such a violent neighborhood.
Your response:
2nd classmate- Paul’s post
Life at the center of our galaxy or in the case a little off centered due to the black hole located right in the center would make life on Earth a lot different than when know it now. We would be closer to the center and close to the black hole that exists now.When we look up at the night sky, we would be more closely surrounded by the thousands of reddish main sequence stars and hot OB stars that have formed. Although as you move close to the black whole there is not star formation but lots of dust as well as gas. As the Earth would sit in the center region of the galaxy, we would experience a more energetic form of electromagnetic radiation.Hot white dwarfs, neutron stars and stellar black holes would contribute to a massive amount of x-ray emissions. Another factor that could be considered is the fact that the visible light in the central region is dimmer due to absorption by interstellar dust which would also affect how the sunlight reaches Earth. Life on Earth would not be able to continue on in the way it has without major adaptions. Life forms on Earth being exposed to a higher intensity of x-ray will most likely cause them to go extinct due to over exposure.
Your response: