Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

By Casey Rawson

A huge asteroid like the one in this image (an artistic rendering from NASA) would likely wipe out all life on Earth. But should we be worrying about this happening in 2012?

As if Mayan “doomsday prophecies,” Sun-damaging planetary alignments, and fatal alignments with the galactic center were not enough, 2012 apocalypse proponents are also stating that on December 21, 2012, Earth will be hit by a huge asteroid that will cause mass extinction and global chaos.

As with the other 2012-doomsday scenarios, the asteroid strike claim has a good deal of scientific evidence against it. Of course, asteroids have hit our planet before – scientists believe a huge one (several miles wide) was probably responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs – and it is virtually guaranteed that Earth will be hit again at some point in the future. But precisely because of that high probability, scientists around the globe are searching the skies for what they call “Near-Earth Objects” (NEOs) that may one day strike Earth.

NASA, in conjunction with several other astronomical organizations around the globe, has been cataloging NEOs since 1998. These organizations search the sky for asteroids and comets that are in Earth’s celestial neighborhood. When one is found, advanced computer programs model the object’s future path, taking into account the object’s size and speed as well as the influences of gravity from the Sun, Earth, and other planets and moons in our solar system. As the object comes closer, we can gather more information about it and further refine this model.

But why are scientists spending so much time searching for NEOs – it’s not like we could stop them from hitting Earth, right? It may sound like something out of a big-budget blockbuster, but astronomers actually do think that we would have a chance of deflecting a comet or asteroid headed for Earth – if we discovered it well enough in advance. Proposed methods for NEO deflection include solar sails, “gravity tractors,” and rockets – but NOT nuclear weapons as seen in Hollywood, which would only break the object apart and send deadly mini-asteroids our way. Russia has recently announced preliminary plans to deflect the asteroid Apophis (which technically has a chance of hitting us in 2036, albeit a very small chance).

So, could an asteroid strike the Earth on December 21, 2012? Sure – but a strike is no more likely on this particular date than on any other. Scientists in the NEO discovery program have not found any large object that is likely to even pass close to Earth on this date, or on any other in the near future. Even if they did, it is likely that we could deflect such an object before it intercepts Earth’s orbit.

To find out more about the 2012 claims, stay tuned to the MPSC blog and plan to attend our Science 360 show “The Truth Behind 2012” when it opens in early February.

Casey Rawson is the Science Content Developer for Science 360. She prefers "Deep Impact" over "Armageddon," if only for the escaping-a-tidal-wave-on-a-moped scene.

By Casey Rawson

In the heart of the Milky Way lies a supermassive black hole. This infrared image of the center of our galaxy was taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

So far in our 2012 blog series, we’ve dealt with the Mayan calendar and claims of a planetary alignment. Another claim making the rounds says that on December 21, 2012, Earth, our Sun, and the galactic center will align, and something about this alignment will cause Earth to be annihilated.

This claim is trickier than most, because it turns out that we will experience a rough alignment of these three celestial objects on 12/21/2012. But don’t start investing in survival supplies just yet: it turns out that Earth, our Sun, and the black hole at the center of our galaxy align like this twice each year – and we’re still here!

We all know that Earth orbits the Sun once each year. What you may not know is that our Sun is also orbiting the center of the Milky Way galaxy. One complete solar orbit takes about 225 million years! As these two orbits are occurring, Earth, the Sun, and the galactic center experience an approximate alignment twice each year. Even this alignment is not perfect, since the Earth and the Sun’s orbits are tilted relative to one another.

2012 doomsayers make a big deal out of the fact that this alignment is occurring on the winter solstice. But the extremely long orbital period of the Sun around the galactic center means that this alignment has occurred on the solstices for years, and will continue to for quite a few more. The bottom line? There is no scientific reason to think that the approximate alignment of Earth, our Sun, and the galactic center will be any different on 12/21/2012 than it was on 12/21/2009.

To find out more about the 2012 claims, stay tuned to the MPSC blog and plan to attend our Science 360 show “The Truth Behind 2012” when it opens in early February 2010.

Casey Rawson is the Science Content Developer for Science 360, and she wonders how a 50-pound drum of coffee would save anyone if a black hole really DID suck in the Earth.

By Casey Rawson

In a celestial tug-of-war between our Sun and the planets, there is one clear winner.

Today is the winter solstice, and those of you paying attention to pop culture might also note that today is exactly three years from December 21, 2012 – the day that Earth will end (if you believe everything you read on the internet). If you saw our first blog post on the 2012 apocalypse claims, you know that modern Mayans are scoffing at the idea that one of their ancient calendars predicts the end of the world. But that hasn’t stopped people from suggesting all kinds of end-of-the-world scenarios for 12/21/2012. One of the most popular is the planetary alignment claim – which says that the planets will align, and the resulting gravitational forces will damage our Sun.

There are two questions here: one, will the planets align on this date? And two, would an alignment damage our Sun, producing fatal effects here on Earth?

The first question is easy to answer. Since planets have such predictable orbits, we can use simple computer programs to track planetary positions for any date – past, present, or future. Try it for yourself at this site – do you see any alignment on December 21, 2012?

The answer to the 12/21/12 alignment question is a simple NO – the planets will not be aligned on that date. But if they were aligned, what would happen?

This question has a simple answer as well, and the answer is: NOTHING. Our Sun is gigantic compared to any of the solar system’s planets. In fact, the Sun makes up 99.8% of the solar system’s total mass. Gravity depends on mass, so the result of any celestial tug-of-war between the Sun and its eight planets is a foregone conclusion: the Sun is going to win, every time.

To find out more about the 2012 claims, stay tuned to the MPSC blog and plan to attend our Science 360 show “The Truth behind 2012” when it opens in early February 2010.

Casey Rawson is the Science Content Developer for Science 360, and she has no plans to start stockpiling toilet paper in preparation for December 2012.

By Casey Rawson

The ancient Mayas viewed time as cyclical, as evidenced by their round calendars. Picture from Wikimedia Commons.

If you’ve been paying attention to pop culture over the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard some rumors about 2012 – specifically, about December 21, 2012. The 2012 buzz includes everything from a giant rogue planet hitting Earth to a fatal alignment with the galactic center. MPSC will be addressing the 2012 apocalypse claims in an upcoming Science 360 program, debuting in early February 2010. Meanwhile, we’ll be blogging about the claims, so check back often for new installments.

Before going into any details about what 2012 proponents claim will happen, we should first answer the question, “Why December 21, 2012?” The answer has to do with an ancient Mayan calendar.

The ancient Mayas used at least three different calendar systems, all of which operated simultaneously. There was a 260-day calendar (most likely based on the passage of Venus through the night sky), a 365-day civil calendar, and the “long count” calendar, which was used to record historical events. It is this last calendar that is being offered as “proof” of a December 2012 apocalypse.

The long count calendar marked the passage of time through lengthy cycles which cover about 5125 years each. The Mayas set the beginning date of the current cycle as August 11, 3114 B.C. (when they believe the world was created). That puts the end of this long count cycle on December 20, 2012. So what will happen on December 21? Will there even be a December 21?

2012 apocalypse promoters would like to you believe that the answer is no. But the Mayas themselves disagree. There are references in Mayan documents to dates both before this cycle began and after this cycle ends. There are also Mayas still living today, mostly in Guatemala, and they are not preparing for an apocalypse! If anything, the end of such a long cycle of time would probably have been a cause for celebration among the ancient Mayas.

So what will happen to the Mayan long count calendar on December 21, 2012? It will simply roll over to a new cycle, just as our desk calendars have to be replaced in January of each year.

To find out more about the 2012 claims, stay tuned to the MPSC blog and plan to attend our upcoming Science 360 show “The Truth Behind 2012” when it opens in early February 2010.

Casey Rawson is the Science Content Developer for Science 360.

By Casey Rawson

Could estrogen - the female sex hormone - cause aggression and territoriality in males?

What makes a male behave like a male? Many answers may come to mind – societal expectations, culture and environment, and hormones, to name a few. Hardly anyone would guess that estrogen – the female sex hormone – plays a role in male behavior. Yet this is precisely what a team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have discovered: estrogen, rather than testosterone, plays a vital role in “masculinizing” the developing brain shortly after birth. Their research appears in the newest issue of Cell.

Shortly after birth, male gonads release a surge of testosterone into the bloodstream. The UCSF research team discovered that the male brain contains a number of neurons equipped with an enzyme called aromatase, which converts the testosterone into estrogen. Once exposed to estrogen, these neurons establish a particular circuitry that is unique to the male brain and is thought to account for stereotypically male behaviors such as aggression and territoriality.

This theory is strengthened by the fact that female mice who were exposed to estrogen shortly after birth become “tomboys,” exhibiting the same aggressiveness and territory-marking behavior as normal male mice. You might reasonably wonder, if estrogen is the female hormone, why don’t all girls end up acting like boys? It turns out that ovaries typically do not secrete any hormone this early in life, which allows the brain to establish female brain circuitry.

Brain development is an extraordinarily complex subject with many unanswered questions. If you would like to learn more about this topic, come to Morehead Planetarium and Science Center to see the Science 360 presentation “The Developing Brain.”

Casey Rawson is the Science Content Developer for Science 360.

By Casey Rawson

Two scientists think that the LHC may be doomed by time-traveling particles. Image from CERN.

In the history of science, there have been more than a few bizarre, wacky, or unintentionally hilarious theories and studies (a few recent examples: one research team found that herring communicate via underwater flatulence; French physicists explored the profound mystery of why spaghetti does not break in half; and a Spanish research team recently investigated the “ultrasonic velocity of cheddar cheese”). But few theories are as strange as that recently set forth by two theoretical physicists regarding the planned restarting of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in December. Holger Bech Nielsen and Masao Ninomiya postulate that the LHC, which scientists hope will answer some of physics’ most basic mysteries, may be doomed to disaster – by time-traveling particles produced by the LHC itself.

One of the major goals of scientists at the LHC is to find the elusive “Higgs boson” – a hypothetical particle which physicists believe may be responsible for giving all other particles mass. Nielsen and Ninomiya postulate that the Higgs boson may in fact be so abhorrent to nature that if it were created in the LHC, it would cause a ripple in time such that the collider would be rendered unusable before making the particle – sort of like a person traveling in time and killing his mother before she gives birth to him. They argue that in fact this may have already happened – twice. Last fall, the LHC had to shut down following a major mechanical malfunction that occurred just days after its first-ever run. And in 1993, production on the United States Superconducting Supercollider, which was also intended to find the Higgs, was abruptly cancelled after billions of dollars had already been spent on its development.

If this all sounds to you like something out of the Twilight Zone, you’re not alone – Nielson and Ninomiya’s research is already being criticized. Meanwhile, plans proceed for the LHC to come back online later this fall. If you’re interested in finding out more about the LHC and the research that will be done there, mark your calendars for MPSC’s next Current Science Forum, “Restarting the Big Bang Machine,” where Dr. Reyco Henning will be discussing the LHC and what its operation could mean for science. The forum will be held Thursday, November 5 at 7:00 pm.

Casey Rawson is the Science Content Developer for Science 360.

By Denise Young

There’s something for you and every member of your family at Saturday’s Family Math Game Fest.  Become a life-size game piece on a chess board.  Compete in the triMATHlon.  Construct a house of cards.  Catch a special showing of Flatland.  Investigate lasers.  Build a network.  Simulate the spread of a virus.  Find math in nature…  Doesn’t this sound like fun?

There will many, many activities that will inspire you to think about math – and the connections between math and science – in new ways.

This free event will be held from 11am-3pm.  We’ll have activities for all ages throughout the building.

A special thanks to Chris, Becca, Emily and the UNC Math Club and UNC Women in Mathematics members for supporting this event.

Please join us!

Denise

Denise Young is Morehead’s director of education and planning. She's been training for the triMATHlon for weeks - so watch out!

By Casey Rawson

Light pollution can drastically affect the number of stars visible in the night sky. Click on the picture to enlarge. Picture from http://stellarium.org.

Step outside the average suburban home at night, and you’re likely to see the fluorescent glow of streetlights, soft yellow light streaming from the windows of homes, and security floodlighting. One thing you may not be able to see is the night sky. The light sources around us at night can scatter photons upwards into our atmosphere, creating light pollution that blocks our view of the stars – particularly those stars that are smaller, farther away from Earth, or dimmer. For many urban and suburban dwellers, the only Milky Way they’ll ever see comes in a brown candy wrapper.

Astronomers try to monitor levels of light pollution, because it has serious consequences for scientists’ ability to study our universe (Earth-bound telescopes, just like our eyes, are hampered by light pollution). Astronomers can’t be everywhere in the world, though, so to effectively keep tabs on levels of light pollution around the world, they need the help of ordinary citizens.

From October 9^th through the 23^rd, you can participate in the Great World Wide Star Count along with thousands of other amateur observers around the world. The idea is simple – everyone will observe the same constellation (if you’re in the Northern hemisphere, you will observe Cygnus) and count the number of stars that are visible. Then, observers will post their results online, where they can also view the project’s results. To participate, simply visit the Star Count website and download an activity guide.

If you are interested in learning more about the relationship between light and astronomy, look for the Science 360 show “Bring the Universe to Light,” coming back on the schedule at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center later this fall.

Casey Rawson is the Science Content Developer for Science 360.

By Jeff Hill

I’ve got to admit it. I meet some pretty cool people in my job. About three years ago, we hosted Tom Marshburn as a guest speaker during the “Destination: Space” premiere weekend activities. Tom is a NASA astronaut who happens to be a North Carolinian. He’s a Statesville native and a Davidson graduate.

I remember thinking at the time what a great role model Tom is for kids. As well as being an astronaut, he’s a medical doctor and seems like an all-around nice guy. He was unfailingly gracious — even as the kids in the audience grilled him about going to the bathroom in space!

Well, yesterday on the 40th anniversary on the moon landing, Tom was living his dream and making headlines. He went space walking as part of current shuttle mission. Way to go, Tom!

Jeff Hill is Morehead's director of external relations

By Jeff Hill

We made page one of the Triangle Business Journal this week in a story about our renovation plans. I have some mixed emotions about that. On one hand, there’s the adage that there’s no such thing as bad publicity (Alex Rodriguez might beg to differ about now). On the other, I always fear jinxing plans by talking too publicly about them too early.

For those of you who are long-time followers of Morehead, you know that these plans have been years in the works.  This year, the project has made its way to the top of UNC-Chapel Hill’s capital projects priority list. I’m certainly biased, but I think it’s a great project — renovating one of the University’s iconic buildings and creating an infrastructure that supports Morehead’s role as a leader in science education in the process.

Of course, the catch is the timing. We’ve reached the top of the priority list just as the state faces the most difficult budget year in most of our lifetimes.  While the university and state government face serious budget cuts and private supporters grapple with reduced investment portfolios, there is still a lot of talk about the value of capital projects like ours as a tool for stimulating the economy.

And it’s true. This project could result in jobs today as well as support science education across the state that could result in jobs tomorrow. How does this all play out for Morehead? I don’t know, but I can tell you that we’re sensitive to the economic situation, appreciative of the support that we receive from all quarters and ready to put people to work if and when this capital project receives funding.

Jeff Hill is Morehead's director of external relations