Susie Goodell
Mr. Ippolito
AP Biology
10/20/17
Kaplan, Sarah. “Analysis | What the New Gravitational Waves Discovery Means for the Future of Astronomy.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 Oct. 2017,
Current Event 5
This week, I decided to read the article titled “What the new gravitational waves discovery means for the future of astronomy” by Sarah Kaplan of The Washington Post. This article discussed how recently, scientists observed electromagnetic lightning and gravitational gusts from a collision of two neutron stars in a distant galaxy, about 130 million light-years away. Although the merging of neutron stars has been theorized about for years, he resulting conditions of the collision, dubbed a “kilonova,” had never been seen before. Scientists used “three gravitational wave detectors, more than five dozen telescopes on every continent including Antarctica, seven space-based observatories, and, according to one estimate, 15 percent of the world’s astronomers” to capture this event. As the stars grew closer and spun around each other, gravitational waves were sprayed throughout space and eventually, during their final collision, two strong, narrow jets of electromagnetic radiation were created. There was also a “cloudburst” of energy and debris from which the radioactive glow comes. Scientists have observed the signals from the collision growing stronger as days passed and estimate that they will be seen for months, maybe even years, to come. The data gathered from the sighting provides answers to “a broad array of questions about the cosmos: What happens when neutron stars collide? How are precious elements like gold produced? Where do some bursts of high-energy gamma rays originate?” It can also provide us information about relatively, nuclear physics, and the dynamics of the cosmos.
This topic is so important to our world today because it brings us a new era of science and fields of discovery. The collision will give us clues as to the nature of dark matter, which is a force that scientists know little about except that it is involved in the accelerating expansion of the universe. Capturing this kilonova will also give us more insight into calculating the correct distance between objects as right now, scientists use “a fraught, error-prone process to measure the exact distance of very far-off objects.” In the future, we can incorporate neutron star mergers seen through gravitational waves and light into our calculations of the expansion of the universe as well as gaining better understanding of dark matter.
The article was well-written and the author seemed to have a lot of knowledge on this topic. She organized the piece very well and used language that was easy for readers to understand. The author also provided great background on scientists’ struggles now in order for us to grasp how much this event will change science. However, the author included a lot of information at some points and it overwhelms the reader. She should also add more conclusive statements about how seeing the kilonova will change science. I also wish the author described how the scientists captured this historic event and what advancements were made that allowed them to do so. However, overall, this article was well-structured and informational.
Peyton Kinon
ReplyDeleteAP Biology
Current Event Comment
10/19/17
Citation:
Kaplan, Sarah. “Analysis | What the New Gravitational Waves Discovery Means for the Future
of Astronomy.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 Oct. 2017.
Hyperlink:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/10/17/what-the-new-gravitational-waves-discovery-means-for-the-future-of-astronomy/?utm_term=.6233d15a2052
Susie’s current event is very well written. She did a very good job using the complicated language. She uses words like kilonova, gravitational waves, electromagnetic lightning, and gravitational gusts in ways which all make sense and don’t make the sentence any less coherent. Susie also raises some interesting questions that I had never thought of before. These questions include “What happens when neutron stars collide?”, “How are precious elements like gold produced?”, and “ Where do some bursts of high-energy gamma rays originate?” These questions are very interesting and pose some very important questions that could be answered by the collision of these neutron stars. Susie also explains the significance of the data. She says that the collision could add insight into the origin of dark matter and also possibly lead for a newer more accurate way to measure distances between celestial objects very far away.
Susie’s article was well written, but there are a few things which she needs to improve on. A few times throughout the current event, she talks about things but never explains them. For example, in the first paragraph, she uses words like “electromagnetic lightning” and “gravitational gusts” but she never explains what they mean. She does a similar thing later on in the paragraph. She never explains how these findings could help determine the origin of dark matter or how these findings could lead to a more accurate system of measurement, although this could just be because the article doesn’t explain this. Also, there are a few mistakes that could have been fixed through editing. For example, at one point in the current event, she puts “he” instead of “the.”
I chose this article because I am interested in astronomy and I thought it would be interesting. I learned about the importance of the discovery of gravitational waves and how they could possibly be important for science and future scientific discoveries and scientific methods. If I ever become an astronomer or study astronomy in college then this will change my understanding of space and mysterious concepts such as kilonovas and dark matter.
Timothy Cushman
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
Ap Biology - Current Events Comment
19 October 2017
Current Events #5
Kaplan, Sarah. “Analysis | What the New Gravitational Waves Discovery Means for the Future of Astronomy.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 Oct. 2017,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/10/17/what-the-new-gravitational-waves-discovery-means-for-the-future-of-astronomy/?utm_term=.6233d15a2052
Susie’s review about new gravitational wave discoveries was a very interesting. She did a great job incorporating quotes into her review. The quotes she included allowed the reader to judge the credibility of the article she was writing about. Also, the quotes she chose were helpful to the reader's understanding of the topic. A second aspect of her review that was done well was her part about how to improve the article. She gave ways to add to the article to include more information to try and not leave any questions unanswered, “I also wish the author described how the scientists captured this historic event and what advancements were made that allowed them to do so.” Susie was able to identify a problem and give a suggestion as to how to improve. Finally, she did a great job at connecting the article to society. Susie talked about how the data collected was relevant to our understand of the expansion of the universe and how the new data can be used in equations to help be more accurate. This gave a great explanation as to why the article was important to everyone. Overall, Susie’s review was well written and very interesting to read.
There were a few aspects, however, that could be improved upon. Firstly, in the review, Susie included terms, such as kilonova, which she did not define. For example, Susie stated, “[T]he resulting conditions of the collision, dubbed a “kilonova,” had never been seen before.” By not defining the terms, the reader is left wondering things about why this specific collision was called these terms. The addition of this information would give the reader a fuller understanding of the subject. A second aspect of Susie’s review that could be improved upon was the lack of actual data. It would have been beneficial to include some data about the amount of gravitational waves released as compared to some smaller more frequent collisions. The data would not only add credibility to the article she read, it would allow for a better understanding of how this was a truly rare and important event.
I chose this article because of my fascination for astronomy. I have always loved the stars and outer space and wanted to learn more about new findings in the field. I learned, in reading this review, that there are many concepts that we still, as a society, do not fully understand. We are still learning and evolving our methods all the time and with each new thing we find, more questions are raised.