Abstract This paper explains that Jupiter, which has a mass of 1.900e27 kg., has more than twice the mass of all the other planets' masses combined and is over 300 times the mass of the Earth. The author points out that, when observing from Earth, Jupiter can best be seen when it is near its solar opposition, which is where Jupiter and the Earth are both aligned on the same side of the sun; Jupiter rises at Earth's sunset and sets at Earth's sunrise thereby being visible all during the night hours. The paper relates that the first space probe to Jupiter was Pioneer 10 in 1973, followed by Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and Ulysses; the spacecraft Galileo is currently orbiting, sending data for at least two more years as it continues to orbit Jupiter.
From the Paper "Jupiter has a dynamic weather system, indicated by the colorful bands at the latitudes, and the atmospheric clouds and storms. The pattern of the clouds can change within days or hours. The Great Red Spot, which is a complex storm system, moves in a counter-clockwise direction. Found throughout the clouds, with their banded appearance, are smaller storms and eddies. In the storm's center, and near the center, random motions are detected in small amounts, but motions appear to rotate in four to six days near the outer edges."
Abstract This paper examines why Earth is the only planet in our solar system capable of sustaining life and how it is the only planet that has plentiful liquid water and an atmosphere that can protect the planet from the harmful ultra-violet rays of the Sun. The paper attempts to determine what makes Earth so special by using comparative planetology to understand what makes Earth a habitat for life and what makes it so different from the other planets in our solar system.
From the Paper "If we were to look at Earth as a starting point to compare the other eight planets in our solar system, the first thing we notice from space is the magnificent blue color and swirls of clouds. This is an inviting sight and is the first hint at why life is found on our planet. Earth has many features that the other planets do not have. Earth has many features that make it unique. Earth is made of rock and metal. It is one of the four terrestrial planets and has the largest Moon in the solar system. Earth has abundant volcanic activity because of its size in comparison to the other terrestrial planets. With the abundance of water and oxygen, Earth's atmosphere stays in balance and is able to continue supporting life. The liquid oceans help to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the presence of a stratosphere helps protect the surface from the deadly ultra-violet rays of the Sun. Another unique feature of Earth is plate tectonics. Plate tectonics acts as giant conveyor belt that moves the mantle of Earth around, which constantly changes the look of our planet. Although Earth's interior needs much more exploration, scientists can tell about the composition of the deepest regions of Earth by using seismic waves following an earthquake. By reading this seismic data carefully, scientists get a better understanding of interior Earth."
Abstract This paper begins with a definition and description of the planets within our solar system and then goes on to discuss extra-solar planets and the ongoing search for them. The paper describes some of the technology and techniques employed in this search, a discovery of an extra-solar planet by scientists at the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland, and recent advances in locating extra-solar planetary objects.
From the Paper "The word planet means "wanderer" in Greek. It derives from the fact that planets within our solar system seem generally to wander eastward about the so-called ?fixed stars across the zodiac constellations (Kolb). There is no clear consensus precisely defining what constitutes a planet, as distinguished from brown dwarfs, which are the material remnants of burned out ancient stars whose masses where too small to form white dwarfs or collapse completely, forming black holes in the manner that stars much larger than ten solar masses, or ten times the mass of our sun (Hawking)."
Abstract This paper examines recent discoveries in the search for extrasolar planets. The author also discusses how this has become a viable area of research in astronomy. This study is divided into six sections. They include: definition of planets, how planets form, methods of detection, properties of extrasolar planets, and future implications of detection. The paper concludes acknowledging how extrasolar planetary research has opened up avenues of thought and possibilities that were seen as impossible just a few decades ago.
Outline:
Introduction and History
Definition of Planets and Extrasolar Planets How Extrasolar Planets Form
Methods of Detection
Properties of Extrasolar Planets Future Implications of Detection
Conclusion
From the Paper "The search for extrasolar planets has a long history. The notion that there might be other worlds existing in the heavens can be demonstrated as far back as ancient Greece. In more modern times, a Catholic monk was condemned for heresy in 1584 for suggesting that the sky was populated by countless suns and countless other Earths ("From Intuition" par. 1). The purpose of this essay is to describe and analyze the current search for extrasolar planets that has produced significant results within the last decade. What was once a fanciful possibility in astronomy has become a viable avenue of research, with new extrasolar planets being discovered every year. The remainder of this study will be divided into six sections. They include: definition of planets, how planets form, methods of detection, properties of extrasolar planets, future implications of detection, and conclusions."
Abstract This paper examines the success of the Hard Rock Cafe, and compares that to the failure of Planet Hollywood in eight key areas. It compares the background of each of these themed restaurants and examines key factors that contributed to success and failure.
From the Paper "Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood both began as themed restaurants catering to a specific niche market..."
Tags: hard rock cafe, planet hollywood, management
Abstract This paper examines three planets namely Venus, Saturn and Jupiter and provides some factual information about them and their motion relative to earth. For each planet in turn, it provides information on the history of its name, examines its atmosphere and composition, missions to the particular planet as well as providing a comparison of the chemical and physical makeup of the planets with Earth.
From the Paper "It takes Saturn 29.5 years to complete one revolution around the Sun. As it circles the Sun, the angle of the Saturn's rings relative to the Sun varies by 27.3 degrees. During this motion a very peculiar phenomenon is observed. Twice during the 29.5 years, the rings are edge-on to the Sun. Since, as seen from Saturn, the Earth appears not more then 6 degrees from the Sun, it too crosses the ring plane at around the same time. Since Saturn's rings are so thin, when they are edge-on to the Earth, they appear to disappear when viewed with a small telescope."
Abstract This paper discusses how the Earth compared to the sun, its moon, and the nine planets in its solar system is extremely unique. Not only does it have unique surface features, but its weather, atmosphere, and size is original when compared to other bodies in space. Then, through an examination of the different properties of the other celestial bodies, the paper also attempts to show how the Earth has similarities to the nine planets when describing how the planets and their atmospheres were formed.
From the Paper "The Earth is the third planet from the Sun being about 93 million miles from the Sun and in one planetary year circles the Sun 365 days of 24 hours each. Its diameter is 7,926 miles and has one moon. Earth is the densest planet in our solar system. It has an iron core, a mantle, and crust with an atmosphere made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases. The temperature of Earth ranges from -127 degrees Fahrenheit, recorded in Antarctica, to 136 degrees Fahrenheit, recorded in Africa. The surface features of Earth consist of mountains, faults, volcanoes, cliffs, oceans, rivers, and ice caps. The hydrosphere is the water on or near the Earth's surface. The Earth is unique among the planets because 70% of its surface is covered by oceans. The main difference between Earth and other planets is its ability to support life. Vegetation and organisms are prominent all over the globe. This is possible because of the climate, atmosphere, and general living conditions. "
Abstract This paper discusses the life and poetry of Jupiter Hammon, born a slave, sometime around 1720 and who was owned by the Lloyd family who lived on Long Island, New York. It examines how he learned to read and write, wrote several poems which later, after his death, were complied into books of poetry that are still in print today. It reviews some of his works and how he wrote not only about religion, but also about slavery and his feeling that all slaves should be freed from bondage. In his works, he was also the first black author to encourage other African-Americans to create their own nation and take their lives into their own hands. While at first his life seems to be a paradox, Hammon turned his life into a plea for freedom, peace and religious salvation. He died some time around 1800, and his burial place is unknown.
From the Paper "Jupiter Hammon is extremely significant to American literature and poetry because he was long considered to be the first published Black American author. Many historians gave this honor to Black poet Phillis Wheatley, who published her first book of poetry in 1773. However, Hammon's poem "'This was An Evening Thought. Salvation by Christ, with Penetential Cries: Composed by Jupiter Hammon, a Negro Belonging to Mr. Lloyd, of Queen's Village, on Long Island, the 25th of December, 1760,' was printed as a broadside in New York, evidently in 1761" (Brawley), which would date it at least 10 years before Wheatley's work. Today, while Lucy Terry, who wrote "Bar Fight" in 1746, has superceded Hammon as the first Black poet, he is still the first Black man to publish poetry in the United States."
Abstract The paper describes the background of Jupiter Hammon, an African-American slave all his life. The paper relates that his work is chiefly concerned with religious matters although he was writing during a time when most blacks in America were not Christians. The paper discusses the controversy surrounding Hammon but notes that he was nonetheless esteemed by eminent African-American figures.
From the Paper "Jupiter Hammon is famous for being the first African American poet to be published in the United States. While it was once widely believed that Phillis Wheatly was America's first African American poet, Hammon's first published work pre-dates Wheatley's by many years. His first published poem, a broadside of eighty-eight lines entitled "An Evening's Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries," appeared in the year 1760."
Abstract This paper discusses the consensus reached by the International Astronomical Union in 2006 on the official definition of a planet, and the consequent reclassification of Pluto as a "dwarf planet." The writer explains what is known about Pluto today and describes the background to the controversy and the discoveries that led to the challenging of Pluto's status as a planet. Many scientists today still believe that Pluto is in fact a planet, and support a more expansive definition of what are called planets. The paper concludes that, as our knowledge of what constitutes planets continues to expand, Pluto may once again be considered a planet.
From the Paper "The recent controversy over Pluto's status as a planet reveals the fact that quite often, what seems like a scientific certainty is still quite contentious within the scientific community, when new discoveries are made through improved technology. In 1995, discoveries of large planets around other stars, plus new objects that are neither planet nor star, and free-floating objects in space that look like planets but do not orbit stars forced astronomers to reformulate definitions of what constituted a planet (Britt 2000). Extrasolar planets may originate as brown dwarf stars, lack light, and are even in some cases as large as Jupiter, yet they orbit stars like planets (Britt 2000). In defining whether these burnt-out brown dwarfs were planets in the early 90s were planets, the issue of Pluto's planetary status again came to the forefront of scientific debate."
Tags: comet, solar system, trans-Neptunian extrasolar, Kuiper Belt, asteroid universe orbit satellite
Abstract This paper explores man's interest in the planet Mars. The paper begins by taking a historical look at observation and exploration of the planet. Next, the author describes conditions on the planet, and how they are unsuitable for life. Finally, the author concludes that Mars is a beautiful planet, and gives a description of the planet as well as including actual pictures.
Introduction
Analysis
Conclusion
From the Paper "Though there are no live forms, yet there is a meteorite present on Earth which had come down some 13,000 years ago in the Antarctic which is raising a lot of questions. This contains a magnetic compound called magnetite or Fe3O4 and that compound is found easily on earth. It is also used in many products like video and audio tapes which are regularly used in most houses. At the same time, there are only very few bacteria on earth which can produce magnetite in the crystalline form as they are able to assemble magnetite structures which are chemically pure and free from any defects. This type of magnetite crystals were found in the Allan Hills meteorite and that is a 4 billion year old rock which had come down from Mars as described earlier. The crystals of magnetite were present deep inside the rock. There is a belief in the scientists that these crystals had traveled all the way from Mars and were not produced on Earth through contamination by bacteria from the Earth after its arrival. (Life on Mars? The Allan Hills meteorite from Mars is peppered with tiny magnetic crystals that on our planet are made only by bacteria) "
Tags: space, exploration, aliens, planets, solar, system
Abstract The paper relates that, in 1930, the Lowell Observatory announced the discovery of the ninth planet, Pluto, but then, in 2006, the scientific community decided that Pluto would lose its status as a planet. The paper then explains that this decision was based on the scientific community's discovery that Pluto is more akin to the making of an asteroid than it is to a planet. The paper also looks at the opinion of people who think Pluto should still be a planet and posits that the many questions about Pluto will be answered when the New Horizons space satellite arrives at Pluto in 2015.
From the Paper "In 1930, the Lowell Observatory announced the discovery of a small planetary body beyond the planet Neptune (Gingerich, 2007, 137). It was named Pluto, following the suggestion of a young girl who thought that name was right because the first two letters incorporated the initials of the scientist for whom the Lowell Observatory was named for (Gingerich, 137). In hindsight, the rush to bestow planetary status on the tiny heavenly body was perhaps more a need for the Lowell Observatory to have a role in the discovery of something scientifically significant than in something that met the standards of scientific theory and research."
Abstract This paper focuses on the history and the discovery of the nineth planet in the Solar System, Pluto, and its lone moon, Charon. The paper discusses various theories about what originally propelled astronomers to search for this mysterious planet, known as Planet X, and how its name Pluto finally came about after its discovery.
From the Paper "John Murray, an astronomer from Open University in the U.K. proposes a theory in which two large objects may gravitationally affect the orbits of long period comets. These two objects would have to be about 32,000 AU from the Sun and extremely massive, about the size of Jupiter. John J. Matese of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette proposes a similar theory. His involves two to three Jupiter sized objects orbiting at about 2.3 trillion miles from the Sun. He says that their gravity is responsible for the deflection of roughly 25% of the known 82 Oort Cloud comets into the inner solar system. Matese says that these massive objects do not necessarily have to be planets; they may be undetected brown dwarfs ? undetected because the IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) of the 1980s was not sensitive enough to distinguish an individual brown dwarf against the galactic plane."
Abstract This paper discusses The Red Planet, Mars. The author examines the conditions, life, and gives detailed information about the planet's atmosphere and its two moons. The paper also looks at the possibility of life surviving on Mars' desert-like environment.
From the Paper "Mars, it is the fourth planet from the sun. It is closet planet to the planet that we live on. Mars is the planet with more solar exploration than any other planet in our universe. Mars is the one planet that has an atmosphere similar to ours. Mercury, Venus, and Pluto have had all of their atmospheres burned off and Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all have atmospheres that are hundreds of time more violent than the calm atmospheres of Earth and Mars. Mars is also the only planet in which we have identified that there was once water on the surface of the planet. We have discovered huge canyons that resemble the ones on Earth. This is also the reason why we believe that the Red Planet might have once had or still does have life on it."
Abstract This paper reviews the success of the "Lonely Planet" company and explores the changes or adjustments needed to ensure the future success of the company. The writer aims to assess the present business and industry situation with respect to "Lonely Planet Publications", a highly successful organization that has successfully grown and developed in a niche market. The paper offers a number of suggested options for the company and ways in which it can grow.
Contents:
Executive Summary
Introduction/Opportunity Statement
Situation Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Industry and Competition Analysis
Company Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis
Problems Identified
Alternative Options
Reasons for Rejecting Other Options
Recommended Option
References
From the Paper "A number of issues have been identified which need to be addressed in order to sustain the long-term viability of Lonely Planet as a company. The company has recently been approached by a well known large software company looking to expand its dominance in the media space. While the prospects of acquisition can sometimes be very promising, the ownership of Lonely Planet appears to prefer its independence and creative freedom and as such has, so far, been able to hold of acquisition by larger entities."
