Advances in our Knowledge on Space

I’ve been thinking a lot about space lately. The anniversary of Sputnik was earlier this month and Space Week recently concluded. This made me think of a quote I had once seen. Simon Newcomb said in 1888, “We are probably nearing the limit of all we can know about astronomy.” This is patently false. We have learned more about astronomy since 1888 than we have in the entire history of humanity prior to 1888. In fact, the rate at which we are learning about space as a whole is increasing exponentially. We learn more each year than the year before. We are constantly building on previous discoveries and the technology which enables us to make these discoveries is improving as well.

Since 1900, we made many very important discoveries about space. Einstein’s special Theory of Relativity was released in 1905. The groundwork for the theory of black holes was created by Karl Schwarzschild in 1916. In 1923, Edwin Hubble showed that what many of what had previously been thought as nebulae such as the “Andromeda Nebula” were in fact distant galaxies. Pluto wasn’t discovered until 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. The Big Bang Theory originated in 1931 by Georges Lemaitre. Hans Bethe showed how stars use nuclear fusion to produce energy in 1938. Quasars were first discovered in the late 1950’s. Mariner 2 passed by Venus in 1962 and Mariner 4 went to Mars in 1965. Cosmic microwave background radiation was discovered in 1964. And we did all of this before we even landed a human on the moon!

Newcomb couldn’t have been more wrong. But rather than continuing through the past century, I would like to highlight a few of the many discoveries we have made merely in the past year. Within the past year, we have made a few key discoveries regarding possible life in the universe elsewhere than Earth.

First, there are exoplanets. Finding exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) within the habitable zone around alien stars means we have found planets that at least have the potential of supporting life. Two potentially habitable planets were found prior to 2011, but they have both been contested. Remarkably, within the last year, we have found 4 new potentially habitable. These planets are called HD 85512 b (Sep 2011), Gliese 667C c (Nov 2011), Kepler-22 b (Dec 2011), and Gliese 163 c (Sep 2012). Exoplanets are found through the “transit method” which uses a dip in the star’s light to determine if an object is passing in front of it. These observations then have to be painstakingly confirmed through more observations. Our ability to find exoplanets is heating up, and with it our knowledge of the universe.

Second, we are gaining knowledge on the possibility of past life on Mars. On Dec. 8, 2011, NASA announced that the Opportunity rover had found veins of gypsum. This was considered to be a slam dunk sign that there had been liquid water on Mars in the past. On Sept. 27, NASA’s Curiosity rover made a major discovery. Pictures of pebbles and gravel on the landscape revealed proof that liquid water had existed on Mars. The pictures revealed that in Gale Crater, fast-flowing and relatively deep water had existed on Mars and for at least thousands or millions of years. Discoveries like these spark the imagination as to what may have been. Our knowledge on space is still in its infancy, but we are learning more rapidly. And I can’t wait to see what we discover next.

Jeremy Likens is the President of the MHCC Mad Scientists Club.

Advocate Staff