The Beauty of Space essays

The Beauty of Space essays Staring into the night sky, a person could easily become overwhelmed thinking about what lies beyond our solar system. Is there life in other galaxies? What really makes up the universe? Does the universe have an end? These are common questions we find ourselves asking that even the most educated astrological scientist cannot answer. Perhaps the best way of beginning to understand the expanses of space is to look at less abstract elements and focus more on occurrences with substantial scientific evidence to explain their existence. Two prime examples of more concrete spacial findings are the phenomena known as white dwarfs and supernovae. By comparing and contrasting this couple, we are setting a path towards better grasping the complex concepts that accompany cosmology (the study of the universe). All stars produce enough heat in their core to facilitate what is known as fusion. Fusion takes place when an element, such as hydrogen, melds two of its atoms together to form a new element, helium. And once all the hydrogen in the star has fused to helium, helium begins to fuse into carbon. However, the helium in the stellar core will eventually run out as well; so in order to survive, a star must be hot enough to fuse progressively heavier elements, as the lighter ones become exhausted one by one (Supernovae). The heavier stars in the universe have no problem continuing to fuse elements until they reach iron. Iron causes a problem because it is the first element reached by a star that requires energy to fuse it together instead of giving off energy. As iron fusion attempts to take place it saps thermal energy from the core and therefore reduces the internal pressure. Without added pressure, the outer layers of the star begin to feel the effects of gravity and th us collapses on itself very quickly (Supernovae). What happens next depends on the mass of the star. Stars with a m ...