Topic 7
TAKE A JOURNEY
THROUGH THE HEAVENS
| 1 Corinthians 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. | ||
| The are uncountable billions of stars in our Galaxy alone. It would take more than 3 years for light to travel from the nearest star to Earth. The foreground stars in Ursa Major that make up the Big Dipper belong to a close group from left to right, the distances are 101, {81,78}pair, 81, 81, 84, 79, 124 light years PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE |
| It would take over 100,000 years for light to arrive from the most distant galactic object. |
You can travel for 50,000 years at super light speed and still not leave our own galaxy.
| HOW FAR WOULD WE GET? Modern research has already cast serious doubts on the feasibility of human deep space missions outside of the protective shield of the Earth’s intrinsic MAGNETIC FIELD; |
| Deep Space Mission Exposures Outside the geomagnetosphere, astronauts are subject to the full galactic and solar cosmic ray environments except for what protection is afforded by the vehicle or spacesuit. The GCR are of low intensity and were not of concern in the Apollo mission which were of short duration (less than two weeks). The main concern was the possibility of a solar particle event in which acute effects may occur as was reflected in the design exposure limits in table 6 (in Reference: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/livingthings/19aug_blood.html). As future space exploration is towards Mars and there is the possibility of a lunar colony, the long term exposures to galactic cosmic rays are a critical issue (NCRP 1989). |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration press release: August 19, 2004 Have Blood, Will Travel The radiation astronauts encounter in deep space could put vital blood-making cells in jeopardy. Editor’s Note: Stem cells discussed in this story are adult stem cells, not to be confused with controversial embryonic stem cells. All adults have stem cells; they’re crucial to everyday health. NASA is working to learn how space radiation might affect the blood-making stem cells of astronauts en route to the Moon or Mars. In the time it takes you to read this sentence, more than 10 million red blood cells in your body will die. Don’t be alarmed; it’s natural, and stem cells in your bone marrow are constantly making enough new cells to replace the dying ones. But what if those blood-making cells stopped working? Without a fresh supply of red and white blood cells, you would quickly become anemic, your immune system would collapse, and without medical attention, you would die. This could be a concern for astronauts taking long trips beyond Earth orbit. It’s well known that space radiation can damage cells in astronauts’ bodies. Less well understood is the specific threat to the key blood-making cells. For more information: Click: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/livingthings/19aug_blood.html Feature Author: Patrick L. Barry, Dr. Tony Phillips Feature Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips Feature Production Credit: Science@NASA |
| NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory Mission: Radiation fields encountered in space may cause deleterious effects in humans, and these effects are of special concern for prolonged space missions beyond the protective terrestrial magnetosphere. The purpose of the NASA/DOE facility at Brookhaven National Lab is to study the genetic consequences of heavy ions in a hierarchy of biological systems. The biological models used range from a simple system in which damage is studied in isolated DNA, to complex endpoints. SEE Reference:http://server.c-ad.bnl.gov/esfd/nsrl/ |
| A flux of about 10,000 high energy cosmic ray particles pour down through a square meter every second at the ground level! At energies above 1000 GeV (or 1012 eV or 1,000,000,000,000 electron volts), the rate is only 1 particle per square meter per second. Thus, one of these will strike a person many times per day on the Earth. The HUMAN body can mend itself easily at that rate. Many researchers believe this is so at the COST of reduced LONGEVITY! (Recall: The Genesis Firmament is no longer in place!) At energies above 1016 eV (the “knee” of the cosmic ray spectrum), there are only a few particles per square meter per year, thanks to the shield of the Earth magnetic field. The highest energy particles, above 1019 eV, arrive only at a rate of about one particle per square kilometer per year. The “knee” is itself quite interesting, and is NOT well understood by modern science. |