Katlyn Rolfson

Astronomy Paper
Final Draft
Due 12/15/15

Astronomy Conversation
I had two astronomy conversations; one with my cousin, another with my husband. Both
took place at different times, and were about different things. The conversation I had with my
cousin was spontaneous. She was more interested in the moon than anything else. The
conversations with my husband were planned. He was more interested in the geological science
of Earth and other planets. I chose both of these people because they love the universe and
science just as much as I do. I was able to share the knowledge I learned in class, in the textbook,
and from related science articles, to educate both of them more about the phenomenon that is the
universe.
I had an astronomy conversation with my cousin while driving Saturday night, on
October 17th around 8pm. It was a full moon. I asked her if she has ever noticed how the same
side of the moon is always facing us. She responded, I never really paid much mind, but now
that you mention it, its true! Why is that? I proceeded to tell her about how the moon and Earth
are in synchronous rotation, or tidal locked. I explained that the moon takes exactly as much
time to rotate around its axis as it takes to orbit the Earth. Then, I told her about the different
phases of the moon, and how the sun reflects off of it depending on where it is in its orbit around
us. I informed her that a complete lunar cycle takes about 28 Earth days, then repeats all over
again. This prompted another question; If a new moon happens when its between us and the

sun, why dont we have solar eclipses every month? Good question! I declared. Its because
our earth, moon, and sun are not in a flat obit. Its tilted with respect to the sun. Take for
example, the turn signal on a car. When you are waiting for a light to turn green so you can make
a left turn, the cars in front of you usually have their turn signal on. If you watch them for long
enough, they will blink simultaneously for a few seconds, then consecutively, then opposite, and
then consecutively, and finally, simultaneously again. Obviously, each turn signal has a different
time length between blinks, but eventually, they synchronize. Her face brightened up and as she
exclaimed thats amazing! She then stated, I wonder how the moon got there. Reflecting
back on the material professor Tamara Young lectured in class (Elementary Astronomy, SLCC),
I told her that there is speculation the moon used to be part of the earth. We were struck by a
mars-sized object, causing a piece of our earth to break off and launch into space. It didnt have
enough force to escape our gravitational orbit, so it rotated around us. Since the moon has no
atmosphere, it was not immune to impact cratering. Space debris, such as meteoroids and
comets, has had its fair share in battering our moon. During this time, the earth also had time to
smooth out through volcanic activity, seismic activity, and weather, such as wind and rain. It was
during this period that the orbits became synchronous with one another.
For about 15 minutes, every Tuesday evening after class, I would have an astronomy
conversation with my husband about what I learned. He made me do this to ensure I understood
the context well enough to explain it, and because it would make writing this paper a breeze.
After reading the first few chapters in the textbook, The Essential Cosmic Perspective by Jeffrey
O. Bennett, I knew how light years worked, and the light coming from other galaxies and stars is
old, like were looking at a picture in the past. Although electricity has been around for a
hundred years, extraterrestrial beings looking in our direction may not see life on Earth. It has

not been nearly enough light years, unless they have powerful enough telescopes to see the
surface. Depending on distance, if they could see the surface of our planet, they may see
dinosaurs, rather than humans. Theres even a possibility they may only see Earth in its primitive
state, when the only life around was microbial.
After class one Tuesday, my husband and I talked about how, under perfect
circumstances, we began to exist. Earth is just the right distance away from our sun for liquid
water to exist. Our climate is just right to sustain life; not too hot, and not too cold. Its called the
Goldilocks zone. The Goldilocks zone is defined as a planet just the right distance from a
luminous, normal mass main-sequence star. Due to our perfect circumstances, we exist. Weve
also had just enough time on this planet for amino acids to develop into microbes, which
eventually developed into intelligent life. We are natures greatest accident.
Recalling a video article I had watched for a previous Science In The News, (Earth's
Cousin Find 'Whispers The Possibility That We Are Not Alone', Space.com), I told my husband
how scientists theorize there are billions of other earth-like planets, including a super Earth,
named Kepler 452b, in habitable zones around a sun-like star. Kepler 452b is especially likely to
have life. It has liquid water, and orbits a sun like ours. It is slightly larger than Earth, and 5%
further away from its sun in the Goldilocks zone. The sun is about 10% bigger in diameter than
our own. Kepler 452b is also 1.5 billion years older than our sun, which, given the amount of
time its been around compared to us, is bound to have life living on it.
Concluding these conversations, I was able to educate both my cousin and my husband
about the wonders of the universe. My cousin loved learning about the moon, and later shared
the information with her boyfriend. My husband was intrigued by the supporting evidence that

leaves no doubt for other life to exist in the universe, Both appreciated the conversations, as did
I.

Sources:
Young, Tamara. Elementary Astronomy. South City Campus, Salt Lake Community College,
City. Fall semester 2015. Lecture.
Bennett, J. O. (2009). The essential cosmic perspective. San Francisco: Addison-Wesley.

NASA. (2015, July). Earth's Cousin Find 'Whispers The Possibility That We Are Not Alone'.
Retrieved from http://www.space.com/31217-earth-s-cousin-find-whispers-the-possibility-thatwe-are-not-alone-video.html