Effects of the Full Moon

I read somewhere that there is research going on about full moon and crime rates, so I decided to do some research. From what I found out, there is no direct correlation between crime rates, or the other common beliefs about increase in dog bites or birth rates.

One idea though that was presented was that the moon does have effects on the human body. The earth is composed of almost 75% water. Because of this, the side of water that faces the moon causes the ocean to swell, creating our tides. The human body is composed of almost 80% water, so some scientists believe that this phenomena of ocean swelling and the tides causes human beings to “swell” as well. This would cause an emotional impact on individuals. “yet there are a number of researchers of human behavior who have conducted studies that revealed astonishing results for full moon nights. In these studies, events like arson, manslaughter, rash driving and kleptomania were seen to increase on full moon nights by a considerable margin” (crime rates). Maybe this is where we get the term “Lunatic”…

            This idea of the moon affecting the water in our bodies though seems far stretched. Scott Lilienfield and Hal Arkowitz from Scientific American explain that this idea is not plausible. They have come up with three reasons why this is not possible: 1) the gravitational effects of the moon are too small to have any effect on us, 2) the moons gravitational forces only affect open bodies of water, such as the ocean and 3) the gravitational affect of the moon is just as prominent during a new moon. So from these men, we can determine that these ideas of crime rates and lunatics coming out more during the full moon is all based on hopeful correlations. People are looking for ways to explain what happens here on earth.

If you are really interested in seeing more effects of the full moon, check out the top grossing werewolf movies - *courtesy of 411 mania.

1)    Wolf - $65 million

2)    Underworld: Evolution - $62 million

3)    Underworld - $51 milliom

4)    Teen Wolf - $33 milllion

5)    An American Werewolf in London - $30 million

6)    An American Werewolf in Paris - $26 million

7)    Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - $20 million

8)    Cursed - $19  million

9)    The Howling - $18 million

10)  Silver Bullet $12 million

1) Do Crime Rates Spike On Full Moon Nights?. (n.d.). Moon Eyes. Retrieved May 31, 2011, from http://www.moon-eyes.com/do-crime-rates-spike-on-full-moon-nights.html

2) 411mania.com: Music - [Movies] Top 10 Grossing Werewolf Movies of All-Time. (n.d.). 411mania.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011, from http://www.411mania.com/music/columns/95315

3) Lilienfeld, S. O., & Arkowitz, H. (2009, February 9). Lunacy and the Full Moon: Scientific American. Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American. Retrieved May 31, 2011, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=lunacy-and-the-full-moon

10 Tips for successful stargazing.

1. Find a secluded area away from heavy light pollution. (Pitkin, Colorado works great!)
2. Bring a BB gun (streetlights could prove problematic)
3. Take a nap during the day. 
4. Study up on the constellations before you go out. It feels great to know what you are looking at.
5. Have an updated constellation chart, for when you get lost. 
6. Take along someone who already knows their stuff. (Constellation charts can sometimes leave you still lost)
7. Leave the cell phones at home! You don’t want to miss out on the night skies.
8. Be Sure to dress weather appropriate. (In Pitkin this almost always means very warm layers)
9. Bring a notepad. You’re going to want to keep track of what you see.
10. The stars look even better over a cup of hot chocolate.

-Angela

Photo courtesy of Angela. Gunnison Valley Observatory. Gunnison, Colorado.

Neutron Star Collision

Maybe my love for Muse’s song “Neutron Star Collision” is to blame, but I cannot help but find myself absolutely fascinated by neutron stars. There is something just so poetic about them even in their mere definition. They are what some of the most massive and luminous stars leave behind them when they die. After living fast and dying young, a neutron star is the relatively permanent mark left on the universe by a star with an otherwise short lifespan. It’s the dark reminder of what was once so great. 

They’re incredibly mysterious. These remains were once more theory than fact, and are now detectable from earth as pulsars with the radio waves they emit. Still they are not always detectable in this way. The axis and magnetic field have to situated just right so that the radio waves are beamed toward earth. In the cases of binaries, some that are not pulsars can still be detected by their gravitational influence. 

And what if two neutron stars do collide? They could also be the key to verifying the same theory that explains black holes, weaves time into the fabric of space, and holds time travel possible. In perhaps one of the most dramatic catastrophic collisions the universe has experienced since the big bang, they could send off strong gravitational waves. These waves otherwise too weak to be detected would secure Einstein’s theory of General Relativity in unprecedented ways (Naeye). 

Regardless of the the theory that predicts their behavior, they are wonderful sparks for the imagination. A lack of knowledge of such entities or the courage to “what if” is exactly what inspires the type of beauty found in the opening chords of Muse’s song. My mind could ponder them for days.

-Angela




1) Naeye, Robert. "New Binary Neutron Star Will Test Einstein - News from Sky & Telescope." SkyandTelescope.com. 12 Dec. 2003. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/3308446.html> 

Photo Courtesy of Angela. Definition quoted from The Essential Cosmic Perspective, 4th Edition by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit, Addison-Wesley, Inc. (2010).

Are the stages of star formation in the universe synonymous with the stages of group formation in business?

As a business major, we discuss many different circumstances that we will encounter in our business career. One of those major areas is learning how to work with others in a group situation to create an outcome or a product. Thinking about it… it actually sounds pretty similar to star formation….

            The 5 stages of group formation are – Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning.

            The 5 stages of star formation are – forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning.

            Coincidence???

In business the 5 stages represent how a group achieves its product. For stars, the stages represent how they are formed. Lets compare the process…

            - forming in business means bringing people together from different areas to form the group --- forming in star formation is gravity bringing together Gas and dust together.            

            - Storming in business is the process where individuals confront others with difficulties and frustration. – storming in star formation where the core of the shrinking cloud starts to heat up (tension between people or objects).

            - Norming in business is after people have settled their conflicts and they develop a clear procedure based on mutual respect and a set of obligations towards one another. --- Norming in stars is when the star reaches the appropriate temperature, fusion starts and stops the shrinking – Proto Star. (conflicts stop, and tension stops).

            - Performing in business is where the group starts to create a product or outcome that is working and effective based on their mutual respect – performing in star formation is when a star becomes able to sustain fusion (star settles on main sequence).

Adjourning is the final stage of business – this is when the product has been completed and the group can disassemble. For stars… this is similar, except we call it a Planetary Nebula, and at the end of this, all that’s left is a carbon core or a carbon copy. 

Does the Moon Have a Purpose?

Science has taken humanity to all new limits. Ventures into space have proven that what goes up may not always come down. Man has discovered how to defy earth’s gravity with satellites and even trips to the moon. Not only can next week’s forecast be predicted, but so can the end of the sun as we know it. Science has become so expansive that we tend to forget that we owe the beginnings of such knowledge to a few ancients who simply took the time to marvel at the stars. 

Society faces a dangerous trap today–to not let any mystery occur. We are far too easily satisfied with a television set instead of the open skies. We would rather have the facts handed to us and be done. The type of puzzles that science ponders do have answers. Once they are found, the subject often becomes limited or lackluster. It is a curious thing that vast amounts of discoveries in astronomy are made by amateurs. Perhaps there is something more enriching about what remains unknown.

A person does not find purpose in discovering the exact structure of the sun or a physics equation that predicts the beginning of the universe. It is the unanswerable questions of why these things exist, of compassion and love, or of spirituality that motivate life. One does not find passion in the answers of science, but in what drove one to ask questions in the first place. Curiosity and wonder breathe life into the numbers and experimentations. Wonder provides the best fabric for the greatest scientific discoveries and the deepest pieces in philosophy and literature.

Take the moon for example, a long time friend to romantics, metaphysicians, and curious astronomers. Science today tells us that there is no dark side of the moon, that the rabbit on the moon is merely the byproduct of lava filled craters that cooled long ago, and that it is most certainly made of rocky material--not cheese. Science can accurately predict how, when, and where the next lunar eclipse will occur. It can describe the effect of the moon on our tides. It tells us how the moon behaves, not its purpose (if it even has one) or the reason for its place in our poetry. The moon may be geologically dead, but it is very much alive in our night sky. Science can not curb what drove humanity to seek these answers in the first place. They are all quite worthless if you ask me, unless you still take the time to marvel at the moon.

-Angela

Photo courtesy of http://www.bunnyrabbitonthemoon.com/

NASA: it’s on the Presidents budget, but do the costs outweigh the benefits?

In 2010, NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) received $18.7 billion dollar for the fiscal year. In recent years, NASA has received between .7% - 1% of the total federal budget. With that money, NASA is able to fund its basic goals of Aeronautics research, science, Space operation and exploration systems. But is that enough?

            Recently, Obama has decided to cut some of NASA’s funding, causing them to cancel their constellation project, and re-organize their finances to accommodate for this loss. After reviewing NASA’s financial statements though, it seems as if the government agency has been managing with flying colors with the budget it was given. For the fiscal year of 2010, NASA stated that they had 6 objectives they wanted to accomplish. Of those 6 main goals, there were 48 chances of APG (Annual Performance Goal Rating), and of those 48, 41 of them were given the green – meaning that “NASA achieved most APGs under this outcome and is on-track to achieve or exceed this outcome” (Fiscal). The other 7 outcomes were declared as failed APG’s, but “significant progress anticipates achieving it next year” or they were cancelled outcomes. (Fiscal). So what does all this mean? NASA is still a productive government agency. Its total equity (what the company owns) is around $14 million dollars. Even with the Obama budget cut, NASA was still able to accomplish its main goals for the year.

One of the ideas that Obama is starting to look at is the possibility of private enterprise. I think that Obama’s idea to promote private enterprise is a good one, but there still needs to be a portion (as small as it is already) of the budget put towards NASA. NASA has been the face of universal exploration for many years. It brought us Neil and Buzz landing on the moon, the Apollo missions and much more. Even with the current economic crisis, we cannot completely bankrupt NASA and cancel their future plans for exploration. We are not at a point yet where Private enterprise of space exploration has been fully developed. I believe that having both sections is better than just one. Through both enterprises, space exploration can be pursued to a higher degree and our understanding and knowledge of space and the universe can be enhanced.

To me, all this accounting information is important to determine if NASA is using its funds in an appropriate manner and to make sure they are a profitable business. But the real determinate of profit to me is their accomplished missions and their future plans and goals. NASA is an agency based on the idea of learning. A price or a standard can’t be put on something as valuable as learning. Sometimes there are years where learning is not as momentous, and other years there are discoveries that could change the world. In my mind, the knowledge that NASA brings to our nation and world is more valuable than we could put a price on.

- Marin

To read more about NASA’s  2010 fiscal year visit:  http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/500155main_NASA_FY_2010_PAR-11-15-10.pdf

To learn more about NASA’s current, accomplished and future explorations visit: http://www.nasa.gov/missions/future/index.html

1) Fiscal Year 2010: Accountability and Performance Report. (n.d.). NASA. Retrieved May 27, 2011, from www.nasa.gov/pdf/500155main_NASA_FY_2010_PAR-11-15-10.pdf

Death By Spaghettification

If I could choose my own untimely death, this is surely the way I would want to go. 

I do not mean death by Italian Cuisine. After a semester of eating in the Rome mensa, I am convinced that an overabundance of pasta and olive oil is actually more painful than it is lethal. I am talking about falling into a black hole. 

“Falling” may not be the most accurate description. Contrary to common misconceptions, accidently tumbling into a black hole is quite hard to do. A space ship approaching a black hole’s gravitational field is much more likely to “fall” into an orbit around it. Leaving the observable universe would have to be a much more conscious decision. But of course, after the many light years of travel it would take to reach a black hole I am certain that intense boredom would be enough reason to intentionally break this orbit and head for the event horizon—from which there is no return. 

Assuming this were an average sized black hole, I would be dead before even crossing the event horizon. Accelerating quickly, I would feel an intense force of gravity. I am not exactly a tall person, but the tidal forces would become so strong so quickly that the small distance from my head to my feet would still contain an immense difference in gravitational strength. If I had jumped feet first, they would be pulled much more strongly than my head and I would begin to be stretched out and squeezed from the sides. (Not exactly a pleasant experience, but sure to be a quick one.) As a black hole can be thought of as a “bottomless pit in spacetime,” this process could go on ad infinitum (The Essential). The massive tidal forces would stretch my body out until I became a thin noodle of atoms, leaving behind me the legacy of becoming the first human space spaghetti. 

-Angela


1) The Essential Cosmic Perspective, 4th Edition by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit, Addison-Wesley, Inc. (2010).

Photo Courtesy of Google Images and Angela's awesome photoshop skills.

My Horoscope Tells Me to Keep Buying Into This

We all know what our sign is. Even if we say or pretend that we do not care, we still know what it is.  The signs, or constellations, are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius. They can be found on the ecliptic plane on the celestial sphere. So what makes some people buy into it astrology more than others? Is it the answer that some need to live their daily lives? Or do some simply read them for amusement?

            Firstly, astrology and astronomy are not the same thing. Astronomy is a part of science that deals with space, celestial objects and the universe as a whole. Astrology is “the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies (sun, moon and planets) interpreted as having an influence on human affairs and the natural world” (Merriam).

Astrology has been around for a long time, dating back to civilizations like the ancient Greeks, Chinese, Egyptians and Mayans. Back then though, Astrology was being used as a way to predict future events and weather patterns for harvesting purposes. That seems simple enough, no harm done. Lets fast forward though to current times. I’m pretty sure Astrology is not being used to predict weather patterns anymore.... that is why we have meteorologists. The whole concept of astrology has been completely warped. Previously, it was a method used to aid the royalty in their decision making or as a way to plan harvesting to maintain life. But now, it’s a meaningless habit that many choose to engage in. Horoscopes in the daily newspaper can hardly be taken seriously. Their messages are so vague that it promotes selective thinking. Horoscope readers read their message, and apply it to the part of their life that they see fits best. It is not based on any science or true facts, its pure biast. “scientific tests of astrology have never found any evidence that its predictive methods work” (Bennett, 87).

            From a business perspective, it is just another method of making money. From those who truly believe in the power of horoscopes, they are being suckered into paying $.99-$6.99 for iphone, blackberry or android apps, $6.99 for the cosmopolitan horoscope issue or larger amounts to have their personal astrology read. There also have been many books published, with authors claiming that they can correlate your birthday to your personality, determine your future, or just interpret your whole life without ever having met you.

            I know I have just strongly denounced astrology and horoscopes, but my main message is that we need to consider how we take this vague information and apply it to our daily lives. Reading the daily horoscope in the newspaper is a harmless pastime, if you don’t take it too seriously. Those who truly believe that what one columnist writes down can determine their day, their relationships or their success in life really needs to get a reality check. Life can’t be determined by what other people say, it needs to be determined by the one who’s living it.

- Marin  

1) Bennett, J. O. (2009). The cosmic perspective (5th ed.). San Francisico, CA: Pearson Addison-Wesley.

2) Merriam-Webster's dictionary and thesaurus . (2007). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster.