From reading NASA’s published
article called, “NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey into Interstellar
Space” I became more knowledgeable on a topic I knew little about. Most people
know that NASA had launched the space probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 in the
late 1970s and they have been travel through our solar system for almost forty
years. The main goal of the space probes was to collect information about our
solar system that scientist and people wouldn’t be able to do on their own. The
first detected activity that the Voyager 1 had reached past the out planets was
in 2004, by measuring increased pressure of interstellar space on the
heliosphere. However, this space probe does not have a working plasma sensor,
so scientist have to measure a different, more difficult way by measuring the
spacecraft’s plasma environment in determining its location. After being
reviewed by the plasma wave science team, NASA was able to conclude that the
data measure plasma densities from interstellar space. The data that is sent
back to Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 headquarters is emitted through weak signals
that travel at the speed of light. The part of interstellar space where Voyager
1 is now located as of September 12, 2013, has energy that is still influenced
by the sun. Scientists do not know when it will reach the undisturbed part of
interstellar space where the sun’s energy has no effect. Since Voyager 2 was
only launched 16 days after its twin, it is expected to arrive at the same part
of space very soon.
All over the world our scientific
advancements have led to new discoveries and more questions that need to be
answered. As stated by NASA associate administrator for science in Washington,
John Grunsfeld, “Voyager has boldly done where no probe has gone before,
marking one of the most significant technological achievements in the annals of
the history of science, and adding a new chapter in human scientific dreams and
endeavors”. Every scientific minded human loves learning about what’s going on
in our world, our solar system, and our universe. To be able to discover and
answer some of these skeptical questions scientist have once held is amazing.
By collecting data through space probes, scientist are able to put all of that
information together and see how it can relate and effect the people living on
Earth. Space probes allow us to learn more about the energetic particles in
space and their densities, comparing that of what we have closer to Earth. If
we are able to collect and transmit data from a space probe billions of miles
away that was built in the 1970s with the same power as a refrigerators light
bulb, imagine what we would be able to accomplish with todays technology and
the innovations we have created over the past 40 years.
Overall I thought the article was
very well written and presented itself with information not only on the current
event, but with background information that is needed to understand its
importance. With the inclusion of quotes and numerical data, it made the source
very informative.
I though Briana did a very good job in summarizing the article, in two specific aspects. Generally, she re-told very well. I felt like I was listening to a story while reading Briana’s understanding of the article. She did more than just summarize, she made the reader understand, which is something that is difficult to achieve. Also, in the summary of the article, Briana explained the context of the Voyager 1 and 2. Maybe it is just me, but I did not know anything about either Voyager. I have heard the names, but I did not know when they were launched or their purposes. I became very interested in the journey of the Voyagers and I will continue to look out for when Voyager 2 meets Voyager 1. I was also very interested in Briana’s analysis of the effect this article’s topic has on the world. There is so much information we have learned from these new technologies, and it is hard to imagine how each year we are becoming more advanced.
ReplyDeleteI think Briana could first improve her commentary by rereading it. I saw a few spelling and grammatical errors which took away from my enjoyment of reading. She could have easily fixed these errors with a second reading. I also thought Briana could have improved on her third paragraph. I know she is supposed to critique the article, but I found that it was not too detailed. I would have liked to know the problems with the article, including overstating of facts. That would have been interesting to learn about.
I really liked reading this article. I was so interested in the topic. But my big ah-ha moment was realizing how much technology has evolved. It is hard to believe we started sending space ships out during the cold war and satellites out in the 1970s. I wonder how we will evolve over the new few decades.
Briana created a very well written review about the article “NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey into Interstellar Space.” The article explains the history of the Voyager spacecraft and their current states. Briana did a good job with explaining how the NASA scientists are able to tell Voyager 1’s location by the plasma densities. This piece of information seems is explained in a complicated way in the article, but Briana summarized it in simple terms. Briana also made good use of quoting article. This is an important skill for writing reviews that Briana used very well. The most important aspect that Briana did well was explaining the significance of the Voyager probes and the advances of science. It is so amazing how humans have gone so far as to send a space probe past the solar system. The importance cannot be stressed enough.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the review was very well written, it could use some improvements. Briana left out many facts, such as Voyager’s past discoveries and the information about the solar system’s bubble. Although this is not one of the main facts of the article, it is still interesting and important. Briana’s critique could also be stronger. It does not actually call anything out in the article. However, this is merely a minor hindrance. Briana is still a very good writer of reviews, despite these almost unnecessary improvements.
The article Briana reviewed is very amazing. I knew of the Voyager probes before, but I did not know that they are still active and have gone so far. Just the thought of a man made object reaching interstellar space is almost impossible to believe. Briana chose a great topic and reviewed in a way that made an interesting read.
Nicole Giangola 09/30/13
ReplyDeleteAP Biology Current Event Comment
Briana wrote a good review on “NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey into Interstellar Space”. I thought she did a great job summarizing the article and giving her opinion, especially when she explains the current conditions that the Voyager is in right now, and how the twin is expected to be there soon. This was very enjoyable for me because the spacecraft’s were not present in my mind and I did not consider the fact that they were still getting new information, since they have been there for many years. I also thought Briana did well in presenting what scientists use the information collected in the Voyagers for, what she writes about in her second paragraph. Personally this interested me because I still do not fully understand how spacecrafts traveling outer space can help us on Earth because there are extremely different conditions. A third thing I think Briana presented well was the quote she used by NASA’s associate administrator, about what the Voyager has done compared to others. I thought it was very helpful to bring a scientific voice into her summary.
Even though the review was well written, in my opinion, I think some aspects could’ve been improved. I thought the last paragraph was a little short and I wanted to know if she had a similar opinion to the article as I did. I also wish there was some summary on the history of the spacecraft and even on building them. I don’t think this was a huge part of the article, or a very important one but I thought mentioning it would’ve provided more background information for people who don’t know much about the topic, including myself.
Briana mentioned this towards the end of her summary but I thought something really interesting was what scientists could do with today’s technology. There have been so many technological advancements since the 1970s, that scientists should be able to find unimaginable things, and there will be so many unthinkable things found in the future.
I believe that Briana did an excellent job in summarizing “NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey into Interstellar Space.” From reading her summary I feel I have a good understanding the importance and significance of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. I had very little knowledge of the two satellites and definitely did not know that they were still in orbit collecting and transmitting data. I like how Briana incorporates significant quotes from the article. I could tell that the quote was not just chosen at random but really helps describe the heart of the passage. Learning about space is always a fun experience because there are so many unknowns, which is why it is called “The Last Frontier for Mankind.” A third aspect of Briana’s summary I like is the way she ended by explaining that with our new technology we will be able to accomplish and discover so much more and faster in the near future. The use of plasma will help scientist be able to locate satellites easier and quicker. One thing Briana could do to improve her article would be to proof read. While it was a good summary I was often times distracted when coming across nouns that should be plural. A quick proof read before handing in this article would have drastically improved its message. Briana’s critique of the article was very short. It is hard to truly understand how she feels about the reading and thus makes it harder to convince the reader that it hold any significance. Finally something I loved about Briana’s summary is how much I learned. Just from reading this summary of an article I was able to understand and more appreciate the significance of Voyager 1 and 2. I also learned that Voyager is father out in space than any other man-made object ever. This is big news. Especially if I am going to become Captain Kirk one day!
ReplyDeleteI read Briana’s review of a NASA article entitled, “NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey into Interstellar Space.” I thought she did a great job of summarizing the information in the article. I did not know about Voyager 1 or 2 before reading her summary, and I found it interesting that she brought up the fact that eventually they probes will reach far enough into space to be past where the energy from the sun affects them. I rarely think of outer space, and when I do, often restrict my thinking to that which is relatively nearby--Earth, Earth’s moon, the sun, and the planets in our solar system. It was interesting to consider what they might find outside of this range. She also did a great job of explaining the data transfer from the probes to the base, and how plasma waves helped indicate the probe’s location in interstellar space. Briana additionally explained that we have not gotten readings from these probes for a while, so to have any reading, let alone one indicating Voyager 1 has reached interstellar space, is a major milestone in the scientific world.
ReplyDeleteTaking into account that this is a difficult topic to understand, let alone explain, I think Briana did a great job. However, it would have been helpful to have more context and explanation about why it was important that Voyager 1 has reached interstellar space and why it is important to us, as humans, to have readings of particle densities. She also could have given more facts about each probe, but it isn’t vital to her report to have these facts.
This article taught me about the importance of space exploration and the constant expansion of our knowledge of our small universe, and Briana did a great job explaining this.