Ellie Briskin AP Bio C Even
October 30, 2015 Current Event 6
Overbye, Dennis. "Cassini Seeks Insights to Life in Plumes of Enceladus, Saturn’s Icy Moon." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/science/space/in-icy-breath-of-saturns-moon-enceladus-cassini-hunts-for-life.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront>
This article tells of Nasa’s most recent discoveries in terms of trying to detect life on other planets, for now that space has been fully geographically mapped, the era of biological mapping is just beginning. It focuses on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus, which is being studied by the Cassini spacecraft, for we are operating on the assumption that water means possibility of life. Just last Wednesday, the spacecraft “plunged through an icy spray” erupting from Enceladus to study it, for in 2005, NASA was able to detect an underground ocean kept warm and liquid beneath the surface. Although Cassini was not designed to study life, it has still been able to pick up on various molecules associated with life on the moon, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, molecular nitrogen, propane, acetylene, formaldehyde and traces of ammonia. Scientists are fairly optimistic, hoping to follow up with a return mission with a spacecraft specially designed to deal with life. The article then went on to discuss various other possible hosts of life in outer space, such as Jupiter’s moon Europa, Mars, or Saturn’s moon Titan. The article also touches on how ridiculously difficult it would be to confidently detect a single piece of life in outer space, saying that, “Finding that microbe will involve launching big, complicated chunks of hardware to various corners of the solar system, and that means work for engineers, scientists, accountants, welders, machinists, electricians, programmers and practitioners of other crafts yet to be invented.”
I was initially drawn in with this article because I find the topic of space exploration extremely intriguing. I think it is beyond impressive that we are able to study these constructs millions of miles away, and even imagine what it’s like beyond our planet. But more than that, this discovery is definitely still relevant to people today. For starters, the fact that we are just now discovering a moon which could hold life proves that no progress in any field is ever truly completed, and that development in all areas is always possible. But more than that, this is the possibility of discovering new forms of life in outer space! This is incredible, and would most definitely affect everyone on earth’s lives. It would open up an entire new enormous field of study, for we would of course need to try to communicate with them, or possibly defend against them if they are a threat, or many other things.
Overall, I was impressed by the presentation of this article. Its paragraphs flowed and were ordered in a way that made sense, making it extremely easy for me to follow along. I also felt that it was strengthened by the substantial number of expert quotes, which legitimized the arguments. I also enjoyed the fun, conversational tone that the author used; this was not only easy to understand but also kept me, the reader, captive. However, the one criticism I have of the article is that it gave an extremely large amount of information, to a point of being extraneous. The latter third of the article only discussed celestial beings outside of Enceladus. Although some find this fascinating, it really is not the focus of the article and just confuses many readers. I would suggest that the author synthesises his information better, not just condensing what he has but really sifting through what is important and what is not, while still maintaining a logical flow. But overall, I thought this article was very well put together, and maintained my interest throughout.
I feel that you did a good job explaining the article to the reader. You clearly picked out the main points in a clear and concise way. The specific details, such as the individual molecules that were found, helped to provide an understanding of the findings. You also made logical connections to future endeavors that we may undertake. Also providing other possible sources of life expands the reader's understanding of the topic. The review could have been improved if some explanation was done for the significance of each of the molecules and how they are important to life. I also wish that you went into detail about the meaning of the name of Enceladus. I was really impressed with this discovery, considering that I have never really heard much about Enceladus, and that these findings are so groundbreaking.
ReplyDeleteGreat review Ellie! You did a really good job at summarizing the article in a concise and clear way. It was easy for me to understand this major discovery the way you explained it. I also thought a strong addition in your review was the quote you wove in seamlessly. It was a well-chosen quote that really put this incredible discovery of space into perspective. Finally, another thing you did well was your connection: you made a really good point about how the possible discovery of life is very important to all people.
ReplyDeleteWhile your review was extremely strong, I did find some things that you could work on for next time. You could have included more information on Enceladus, the moon on which this discovery of certain molecules has been made. For such a big discovery, I still don’t know much about the moon where it was found. In addition, you could have talked more about Cassini, the spacecraft that was instrumental in this find. Some details about the limitations and technology of this probe would have benefitted your review immensely.
Overall, this article (and Ellie’s review) was a great read. I had no idea about this space discovery and I think it is so interesting that scientists have finally found a distinct possibility for life in outer space. This article is further proof that no field is ever complete and science is ever changing, which is an important thing to realize.
Overbye, Dennis. "Cassini Seeks Insights to Life in Plumes of Enceladus, Saturn’s Icy Moon." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
I enjoyed reading the review of the New York Times article “Cassini Seeks Insights to Life in Plumes of Enceladus, Saturn’s Icy Moon.” The research about the discovery of water on one of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, was well-written and easy to comprehend. The Cassini spacecraft is currently looking for liquid water and has detected various molecules representative of life on Earth such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, molecular nitrogen, propane, acetylene, formaldehyde and traces of ammonia. Furthermore, in 2005, NASA was able to verify an underground surface between the surface. The other planets capable of hosting life were addressed; Europa, the moon of Jupiter, Titan, the moon of Saturn and the planet Mars. The use of quotations strengthened the credibility of the writing, as the Cassini ventured through a “spray of icy water” originating from Enceladus and the possibility of sustaining life on other moons and planets.
ReplyDeleteThe tone of this review was far too conversational; the pronoun “we” and a multitude of adverbs were used, that did not add much to the review. This should be avoided when writing a scientific paper. The review addressed many topics, but did not go into depth with the important ones. For example, what were the prior discoveries and research conducted on the moon, Enceladus? In addition, the specific person used in the quotations was not cited.
The discovery of water on the moon of Saturn, Enceladus, extends to all of the new discoveries in the frontier of space. As scientists continue to biologically map outer space, the possibilities of sustaining and discovering life expands. This is truly groundbreaking research.
Overbye, Dennis. "Cassini Seeks Insights to Life in Plumes of Enceladus, Saturn’s Icy Moon." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/science/space/in-icy-breath-of-saturns-moon-enceladus-cassini-hunts-for-life.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
Hi Ellie! Your review was excellent to read! I really liked the way you organized your information and thought everything was very clear to understand. I learned about how Saturn’s moon could possibly hold water which is something I hadn’t heard before reading your article. You seemed very passionate about the article your read which made your review much more interesting and exciting. You also included what you thought the author wrote which took away from the article as a whole, about celestial beings, which I completely agree with.
ReplyDeleteYour review was great but if I made any changes I would add more information to your first paragraph and go into more detail about finding water. I would also talk more about the background of the moon, Enceladus, just so the reader has a better idea of it.
I had no idea that there was a possibility of water being found on a planet or moon of a planet that wasn't Mars. I think it’s so cool that we could possibly find water and maybe even life on a planet that’s not our own. It’s also very important due to climate change that we find other planets that possibly can hold life. Overall, your review taught me a lot about the planet and I’m much more informed about the possibility of life than I was before.
Overbye, Dennis. "Cassini Seeks Insights to Life in Plumes of Enceladus, Saturn’s Icy Moon." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.