Black holes… what the heck are they?    

What exactly is a black hole? Most people understand the gist of it namely; that it is a point in outer space that is so dense that it’s gravitational pull can even capture light [1]. However, recently I decided to delve deeper into this conundrum of the cosmos so I did some research on black holes and their formation. What I found was both fascinating and confusing so what I have decided to do is compile the information I found into a form that is both informative and easy to understand.

Formation: To begin, I will describe the conditions required in order for a stellar black hole (the most common type of black hole) to form.

1. Massive star: Firstly, in order for a black hole to form you need to have an incredibly massive star. The star required has to be at least 20 times the mass of our own sun [2] . To put this into perspective consider the fact that our sun makes of 99% of the total mass of our solar system [3]. Also, consider that the sun is 330,000 times larger than Earth and that the star required is 20 times larger than our sun, With this in mind, you can truly start to grasp the immensity of the stars in question.

2. Death of a star: Secondly, in order for a black hole to form the massive star in question has to die (like Mel Gibson’s public image). In order, for this to happen the star has to burn through all of the elements in its core in a process known as fusion. Fusion is when under immense heat and pressure two smaller elements combine and form heavier larger elements [4] . However, after billions or years of this process the heat and pressure in a star is no longer able to fuse the heavier elements. Because there is no longer a balance between the energy released by a star and it’s inward gravitational force the star starts to collapse inwards.

3. Crushing electron and neutron cores: In a smaller star, once the gravitational pressure reaches a certain point the electrons inside the stars atoms start to resist the inward pressure. This creates a balance between outward and inward pressure and this is what forms a white dwarf. However, if the stars mass is large enough the electron’s will be unable to stop the inward collapse and will be forced to combine with the atoms protons, forming neutrons. With most stars this neutron core will be dense enough to deflect the collapsing outer core and will form a supernova. However, in a truly massive star not even the neutrons can resist the collapsing outer core and will continuously fall inward’s forming a black hole.

Black hole fun facts:

• There are three main types of black holes primordial black holes (size of an atom, mass of a mountain), stellar black holes (the one formed in the death of a star), and supermassive black holes (found in the center of galaxies, mass of 10 million suns).

• Black holes are not black they are actually invisible, we only know of their existence by observing their effect on other bodies in outer space.

• Despite common belief black holes do not wander the universe consuming everything in their path. Instead, they behave like any other massive solar boy.

• Black holes are examined by using X-rays.

With this information and these fun facts you are now ready to impress your friends with you general knowledge on black holes. Make sure you tune in next week for some more fun cosmos based blogging,  

            

Waterspouts (not the garden variety)

 A picture of a Tornadic Waterspout

What do you see when you first look at this picture? to most it appears to be a tornado made of liquid water that is rising up from the ocean. This is exactly what I thought it was when I saw a video of one forming off the coast of Florida (Video). However, after doing some research I discovered that these "water tornadoes" are known as Waterspouts and are actually a diverse and complex group of whirling columns of air and mist.

 According to NOAA (National Ocean Atmospheric Administration) there are two main groups of Waterspouts: Fair weather waterspouts and Tornadic waterspouts. Fair-weather and Tornadic Waterspouts are distinguished based on their formation and and the conditions in which they are formed.

As the name implies, Fair-weather Waterspouts form in calmer weather conditions, usually along the dark flat base of a line of developing cumulus clouds. When a Fair weather waterspout is forming it starts from the water and slowly rises towards the clouds. Although they should never be underestimated Fair weather waterspouts tend to not be very dangerous and can be examined closely if approached with caution.

Fair weather Waterspout

 However, the opposite is true with Tornadic Waterspouts which tend to be very dangerous. Tornadic Waterspouts can be formed by two different processes. The first process occurs when a land tornado happens to travel over a large body of water and it starts to carry the water .The  second process occurs when there is a large storm (usually with lightning involved) over a large body of water. Unlike fair-weather Waterspouts, Tornadic Waterspouts start from the clouds and go head downwards towards the body of water. When there is chance of Tornadic Waterspouts you should not go on the water or near the shore as they can be as dangerous as a normal tornado.  
   

Tornadic Waterspout

Interestingly there is a third type of Waterspout which is extremely rare and is only found up North. This Waterspout is known as a Snowpout or ice devil and it has only been recorded six times. Interestingly four of these Snowspouts were recorded Ontario. The reason that Ice devils are so rare is because they can only form in very specific conditions. The condition's are that is has to form in extremely cold weather over a body of water still warm enough to produce fog. Because of their rarity Snowspouts are one of the most interesting yet poorly understood weather phenomena.

Despite their rarity, Waterspouts are a very interesting topic which would definitively be worth more in depth research.







Sources

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/waterspout.html
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/water-spouts
http://oceantoday.noaa.gov/waterspouts/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterspout#Snowspout

Where are all the %$#% aliens ?

Where are all the %$#% aliens ? 

Ever since early man first gazed up at the night sky thousands of years ago there has been the belief that perhaps we are not alone in this vast universe. This idea became even more hotly debated in the 19th century when using new technologies, we discovered truly how vast and full of infinite possibilities the universe is. Nowadays, because of all the planets being found that could support life and the mathematical equations that state exactly how many aliens should be out there scientists can now state with almost 100 percent certainty that we are not alone. However, this only raises another question of if they have do exist WHERE ARE ALL OF THE ALIENS?

Many renowned scientists have tried to find the answer and have come up with explanations like that the aliens are too far or they are already among us but for me these explanations were unsatisfactory so I came up with my own hypotheses.

 An artists rendition of an alien

1. We are too ugly
After reading this many of you might be feeling self-conscience but this is not directed towards you personally (despite how ugly some of you may be) I'm just saying that maybe to some aliens we are as repulsive as a cockroach is to us. I feel that this is a quite logical explanation because If we had the technology to explore the universe we probably wouldn't visit many planet's containing hideous aliens.

2. We are too stupid  
Again, don't be offended, I'm not trying to insult any of you (yes even the stupid ones) I'm just saying that maybe to advanced alien races we are as smart as an earthworm is to us. With this in mind, it makes sense that they haven't bothered to try to communicate because you wouldn't bother stopping to have a conversation with an earthworm . Another explanation is maybe aliens have tried to communicate but we were too stupid to understand that it was an attempt at communication.

3. We are too aggressive 
Out of all of my explanations I feel that this one is the most likely. If you look at the way that we are ravaging our planet through pollution and infighting it makes sense that aliens observing us would not want to attempt to communicate. So my guess is there is some sort of intergalactic council and they have decided not to communicate until we clean up our act.

Whatever the explanation for the lack of aliens may be lets just hope that if they do eventually communicate that there are no anal probes involved.