October 19, 2012

Journal Entry No. 4 (ORIGINS 2B03) By Anna DAngela (0950473)

Each and every class, I am constantly amazed with how quickly the field of cosmology is progressing. As technology is becoming more advanced, scientists seem to be able to explore both further out into the universe and in more detail. In class, Dr. Parker discussed the techniques for discovering extrasolar or exoplanets. With the creation of new technology, scientists are able to discover more of these exoplanets than ever before. But, what is more remarkable is how quickly this field is changing. The techniques for discovering these planets are dramatically improving. Now with the transit method, the number of new discoveries of exoplanets will continue to rapidly increase. This week alone, scientists announced that they had discovered an exoplanet near Alpha Centauri, making it the closet exoplanet to us (Hand, 2012). This means that this course, even a few years in the future, will have dramatically different information. This is astounding to me. In many of my other courses, such as a course on the Philosophy of Western Thought, the concepts are not new. The texts are hundreds of years old and the commentary on them has not changed for a considerable number of years. With Big Questions, there is always something new, with information and facts constantly changing. I think this brings an excitement to this work because each new discovery can dramatically change the field. I wonder where the limits will be. Does a limit even exist or will science continue to progress, allowing people to discover new planets, stars and celestial bodies and learn more about our universe? It seems as though there is no end to the new knowledge that we can acquire. Resources Hand, E. (2012, October 16). The exoplanet next door: Earth-sized world discovered nearby Centauri star system. Nature, 490, pp. 323. doi:10.1038/490323a