Understanding our Place in the Universe - Part II

The Importance of Studying Earth

Image Credit: NASA/NOAA

The day is September 8, 1900. For the residents of Galveston, Texas, the weather at the start of the morning was far from unusual for a late summer day on the Gulf Coast - hot, humid, and partly cloudy. While there was chatter about a storm coming in from the east, few were particularly worried that it was anything they couldn't handle. By mid-afternoon, however, it became very apparent that this was no ordinary storm, but a category 4 hurricane striking the town directly. Winds exceeding 140 mph scattered debris across the island, and a powerful storm surge inundated the coastal community under several feet of water, destroying homes and drowning trapped residents. By the morning of September 9 when the storm had passed, an estimated 6,000 - 12,000 casualties were left behind. To this day, the 1900 Galveston Hurricane is known as the deadliest single-day disaster in the history of the United States (for comparison to a weather-related catastrophe in recent history, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 killed 1,245 - 1,836 people total).

Over the century that followed, weather forecasting has developed substantially, in large part due to data from satellites that have been put in orbit around Earth by public space programs. While the poor emergency response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 left hundreds to thousands of preventable deaths in the aftermath of the tragedy, advanced notice of the storm's trajectory allowed for mandatory evacuation warnings that undoubtedly saved many more throughout the Gulf Coast. Had the residents of New Orleans been as oblivious to the storm as those in Galveston one hundred years prior, the casualties would have likely been incomprehensible. While many Americans are openly enthusiastic about NASA's space exploration and planetary science projects, comparatively few grasp the importance of studying the one planet that offers the easiest and most cost-effective research opportunities - Earth.

As a particularly politicized field of research, Earth-focused climate science in the United States has received inconsistent funding from one federal administration to the next. In a decision that sparked notable controversy within the scientific community, the current presidential administration was especially quick to propose cutting support for critical Earth-science programs across multiple federal agencies like NASA, choosing to instead direct the agency's research focus towards space exploration:

"The Budget increases cooperation with industry through the use of public-private partnerships, focuses the Nation’s efforts on deep space exploration rather than Earth-centric research, and develops technologies that would help achieve U.S. space goals and benefit the economy."

Regardless of one's political beliefs, however, it is crucial that governments allocate sufficient funding towards monitoring the one planet we all share as inhabitants; it is inarguable that we all depend on its finite resources and its capacity to support our growing civilizations. In addition to protecting vulnerable communities from weather-related disasters like the Galveston Hurricane, understanding our climate system through satellite data is vital for commercial agriculture, fishing, aviation, oceanic shipping, and other industries. Even militaries depend on high-quality weather forecasts to develop strategies for fighting enemy forces that threaten national security.  Remote sensing data from satellites benefits other fields of Earth science research, as well, allowing for monitoring of threatening forest fires and dust storms across the globe, plankton population changes in the oceans that provide insight on the health of marine ecosystems, and even changes in the planet's crust that can help us better understand the propagation of earthquakes. It is for these reasons that funding Earth science is a prerequisite for effective planetary science - in order to understand our place in the universe, it is important to first understand our place in the universe. 

Backyard Astronomy: Navigating the Celestial Sphere

In my first post, I briefly alluded to the celestial sphere - the imaginary sphere on which the stars appear to be fixed. Just like how cartographers use latitude and longitude to define all points on Earth's surface, astronomers use coordinates of declination (DEC) and right ascension (RA) to map the night sky for observation. The priority is to have a coordinate system for stars and constellations that is universal for any geographic location at any time of year; the north star, for example (a.k.a. Polaris, which is on the handle of the Little Dipper constellation) is near the north celestial pole at a declination of approximately 90°. The celestial equator is simply a projection of Earth's equator into space, and defines 0° declination. This means that for an observer on Earth, the declination of the zenith (the point directly overhead) is equal to their latitude. Given that the equator is defined based on the planet's rotation, it is not to be confused with the ecliptic, which is the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. Recalling the previous Backyard Astronomy post, the ecliptic and the celestial equator are separated by an angle of about 23.4° due to the tilt of the planet's spin axis. Like Earth, the celestial sphere has north and south poles at DEC = ±90°.

A depiction of the basic coordinates on the celestial sphere.
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To fully understand right ascension, it is important to grasp the distinction between solar time and sidereal time. Most of us recognize the length of a solar day, which is approximately 24 hours and is defined based on the position of the Sun in the sky; one solar day is the length of time it takes the Sun to make a single revolution around the sky before returning to a given point. When mapping distant stars on the celestial sphere, however, it is important to consider the effect of Earth's orbit around the Sun. From an observer's perspective on Earth, the celestial sphere makes one revolution four minutes more quickly than the Sun. Because of this effect, one sidereal day is actually about 23 hours and 56 minutes in length. This means that it takes slightly less than 24 hours for a given constellation like the Big Dipper to circle the sky and return to its original position. As a result, the celestial sphere appears slightly shifted from one midnight to the next. This is the reason why we see different constellations in the night sky from season to season. When defining the coordinates of right ascension, astronomers use units of hours (h) instead of degrees (°), with 24h defining one 360° circle. For a given point in the sky, the right ascension shifts by approximately 1h each hour. With Earth's rotation under consideration, as well as the distinction between solar and sidereal time, the prime meridian of the celestial sphere (RA = 0h) is defined as the projection of Earth's prime meridian into space at noon during the spring equinox. For an observer at any location, the right ascension of the zenith at a given time would shift by four minutes from night to night.

An exaggerated illustration of the difference between a sidereal and solar day.
Not to scale.
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Backyard Astronomy: The Basics of Our Sun and Moon

As we go about our daily lives, it is easy to take our Sun and Moon for granted. After all, the Sun rises every morning and sets every evening, while the Moon cycles through its familiar phases each night, starting over about once per month. Although these natural rhythms are ingrained in our lives and in our biology here on Earth, many overlook the beauty in the details that can reveal so much more about our planetary framework. By looking up at the sky with curiosity from time to time, it is possible to visualize the arrangement of the Earth, Moon, and Sun throughout the daily, monthly, and yearly cycles that define our calendar system. 

Daily Cycles

The Sun's Path in the Sky

Monday, March 20 was the Vernal (Spring) Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (which means that it was the Autumnal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere). I will elaborate on what this means when I discuss annual cycles below, but for this section, what is important to emphasize is that day and night are of equal length on the equinoxes. This means that for all locations on Earth during the equinox, the Sun will rise directly east before setting directly west 12 hours later. The path that the Sun follows over the course of the day, however, differs based on latitude. In the Northern Hemisphere, its arc is tilted southward, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite is true. At the equator, the Sun passes directly overhead along a straight path, and at the poles, the Sun circles along the horizon. The angle of the Sun's arc with respect to vertical is equal to the latitude of the observer. 

Depiction of the Sun's path across the sky during equinox from the Northern Hemisphere (Blue), the equator (Red), and the Southern Hemisphere (Green).

During the summer and winter months in each hemisphere, the length of the day varies as its path shifts. I will discuss this further when we get to annual cycles.

Challenge: Determine your latitude by measuring the angle at which the Sun peaks in the sky. Is your measurement accurate? Why or why not?

The Moon Looks Flipped in Opposite Hemispheres

Although the Moon's orbit is inclined with respect to the Earth's equator, the same principle applies. Because the angle of its path is flipped across the equator, observers from one hemisphere will notice that it appears upside down in the other.

Monthly Cycles

Arrangement of the Sun, Earth and Moon during each of the lunar phases.
In this diagram, the Moon orbits and the Earth spins in the counterclockwise direction.
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Lunar Phases

The lunar phases have a cycle that lasts approximately 29.5 days, or one month, and relates to the Moon's position with respect to the Earth and Sun:

• When the Moon is between the Earth and Sun, its phase is referred to as a "new moon." During this phase, the Moon is near the Sun in the sky, and is not visible at night. 
• During the waxing crescent phase, the Moon is further from the Sun, and is visible as a slender crescent during the few hours after sundown before setting, itself. 
• At first quarter, the Moon is half illuminated and is visible until it sets at midnight.
• During the waxing gibbous phase, most of the Moon is now visible before it sets during the early morning hours before dawn.
• The full moon rises near sundown and sets near sunrise.
• During the waning gibbous phase, the Moon rises between sundown and midnight, and sets between sunrise and noon.
• At last quarter, the Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon.
• The waning crescent phase is only visible in the hours before sunrise.

Why Don't We See Eclipses Every Month?

If the Moon were to orbit Earth along the same plane as the planet around the Sun, each new moon would coincide with a solar eclipse, and each full moon would obscured during a lunar eclipse. Those who keep up with these events know that this is not the case. The fact that eclipses are substantially less frequent is due to the fact that the Moon's orbit is inclined with respect to the planet's orbit.

Earth's axial tilt and the Moon's inclination. Sizes/distances not to scale.
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Annual Cycles

Axial Tilt and Seasons

In addition to the Moon's orbit, Earth's spin axis is tilted by 23.4°, thereby creating seasonal cycles as the planet orbits the Sun. At the June solstice, the North Pole is angled toward the Sun in permanent daylight, whereas the South Pole is angled away from the Sun in darkness. The reverse is true during the December solstice. The Arctic and Antarctic circles (which are located at 90° - 23.4° = 66.6°N/S) represent the minimum latitudes that experience permanent day or night at solstice. On the summer solstice, the Sun peaks directly overhead at the zenith along the Tropic of Cancer (23.4°N) or the Tropic of Capricorn (23.4°S), where the rays of sunlight are directed perpendicularly to the ground at noon. The shift in climate that defines our seasons are a result of longer days during the summer months, and longer nights during the winter. Between the two solstices are the equinoxes, when day and night are both 12 hours long at all latitudes (except the poles, where the Sun follows the horizon).

Depiction of Earth at solstice and at equinox.
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The Sun's Path in the Sky

As the length of the day changes with the seasons, so does the Sun's path in the sky. While the angle of the arc remains constant for a given latitude, the plane that the Sun traces shifts northward or southward over the course of the year, thereby increasing or decreasing the hours of daylight. Additionally, the Sun will peak higher in the sky during the summer months, allowing its rays to reach the planet's surface with greater intensity. Likewise, the Sun will be lower in the sky over the winter, heating the surface less intensely and over the course of fewer hours.

At the Tropic of Cancer, the Sun peaks at the zenith at noon on the summer solstice.
The blue arc represents the Sun's path on the summer solstice.
The dark blue arc represents the Sun's path on either equinox.
The black arc represents the Sun's path on the winter solstice.

What is a Planet?

Why the Debate Over Pluto isn't Over

Portrait of Pluto captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.
Image Credit: NASA/New Horizons
(Click to Expand)

I named this blog 'Earth is a Planet' because I believe it is important to maintain perspective about our place in the universe. As I discussed in my previous post, Earth is not the world, located at the center of the universe, but one of many worlds around one of many billions of stars within one of many billions of galaxies. In the vastness of space, the view that our human experience applies to the cosmos at large is simply misguided. It is for this reason that we as Earthlings must look to other planets for knowledge as opposed to vice versa. But what exactly is a planet? While the question may seem simple at face value, the definition of a planet is historically fuzzy and has evolved with our understanding of our Solar System and with our discovery of worlds around other stars. Perhaps the most widely known debate over this very topic in modern times relates to the classification of Pluto after the International Astronomical Union (IAU) updated the scientific community's formal definition of a planet back in 2006. The major consequence of the IAU's resolution, which disappointed much of the public, was the reclassification of Pluto from 'planet' to 'dwarf planet.'  We will return to the present definition of a planet later in this post, but it is important that we first discuss the historical context.

The word planet is derived from the ancient Greek word for 'wanderer,' and originally referred to the five 'stars' that appeared to meander across the night sky, separately from the others. These planets were eventually named Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (Uranus and Neptune, being further away, are not visible with the naked eye and were not discovered until 1781 and 1846, respectively). At this point in history, the Earth was assumed to define the center of the universe, and early astrologers included the Sun and Moon among the original set of planets (Fun fact: the days of the week are named after the seven original planets). Eventually, Copernicus' findings revealed that the Earth (along with Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) was a planet that orbited the Sun, and that the Moon orbited Earth. Ultimately, this heliocentric model of a Solar System (named after our Sun, a.k.a. Sol) replaced the original geocentric perspective, and a planet was redefined as anything orbiting the Sun.

Geocentric arrangement of the seven classical planets. Sizes not to scale. Obviously.
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By the time Pluto was discovered in 1930, our model for the Solar System incorporated the Sun and nine planets. Pluto maintained planetary status until it was later reclassified as a 'dwarf planet' by the IAU in 2006. To this day, many within the wider public remain disappointed and confused by the 'death' of our ninth planet.  To fully understand the decision, it is helpful to discuss another former planet with a similar history between Mars and Jupiter. Discovered in 1801, Ceres was labeled as a planet for half a century. Within the following ten years, three similar (former) planets were discovered within the same neighborhood of the Solar System - Pallas in 1802, Juno in 1804, and Vesta in 1807. As the region between Mars and Jupiter continued to fill with newly discovered objects, it became increasingly apparent that labeling them all planets would be unwise given how similar they all were to each other. By the mid-1800s, Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta were reclassified as asteroids within the asteroid belt, and their fifteen minutes of fame in the classroom were over.

Simplified representation of the Solar System from 1930-2006. Not to scale.
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By the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st, Pluto's status as a planet grew fragile with the observation of a number of similar icy objects past the orbit of Neptune. Nevertheless, Pluto remained the largest of these Trans-Neptunian Objects; until another, similarly-sized world could be found in its neighborhood, there was no reason to reclassify it. With the discovery of Eris in 2005, planetary astronomers were having Ceres flashbacks that could no longer be ignored, and a convention was arranged to clarify the definition of a planet. Under the 2006 resolution, a planet is defined as a celestial body that is:

1. in orbit around the Sun,¹
2. massive enough to be spherical (as opposed to a shape more like that of a lumpy potato, like most asteroids), and
3. gravitationally dominant within its orbit, such that it has cleared the neighborhood.

Pluto, Eris, and Ceres, having not met the third criterion, were thus classified as dwarf planets.² Similarly to the gradual discovery of the asteroid belt, the observation of additional icy objects within the same region of our Solar System led to the recognition that Pluto was one of many objects within the Kuiper Belt.

Simplified representation of the Solar System after 2006. Not to scale.
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Setting aside the classification intricacies, however, it is clear that the definition of a planet is far from fixed, and it will likely have to be refined with future discoveries in our own Solar System and beyond. The rapidly growing catalog of extrasolar planets around other stars (a.k.a. exoplanets) has made it even more difficult to classify the diversity of observed worlds. Planetary systems are far more complex than anyone could have predicted even just a century ago, and there are not always distinct categories that individual objects can be sorted into. Perhaps there will be a day when a formal definition for the term 'planet' becomes cumbersome and unnecessary. Regardless of how Pluto is ultimately classified, New Horizons has shown us that it is a pretty awesome world in our Solar System that is just as worthy of admiration and exploration as any of the eight major planets.

Fun Links:
- Scale model of the Solar System
- All about the seven new planets discovered around TRAPPIST-1

¹ Does not apply to extrasolar planets

² Pallas, Juno, and Vesta are not dwarf planets because they do not meet the second criterion. Satellites like our Moon are not considered dwarf planets.

Understanding our Place in the Universe - Part I

Introduction: Making Sense of the Night Sky

Image Credit: Nathaniel J. Baskin, earthisaplanet.blogspot.com

Since the dawn of humanity, our species has gazed up at the night sky with a sense of wonder, eager to ponder the mysteries of the heavens above. It is only natural for us on Earth to yearn for a sense of connection with the ethereal, and for millennia, our most inquisitive minds have attempted to understand our place in the universe. In the tens of thousands of years that make up human history, however, it was not until the past few centuries that we fully grasped our present understanding that Earth is not the center, but one of many planets within the cosmos. Modern astronomy challenges our sense of significance to the core, and ultimately it is up to us to find meaning within the vast emptiness that surrounds us. As we look up at essentially the same sky tonight that our earliest ancestors saw in the past, it is important to remember that our modern understanding would not exist without the discoveries of curious minds throughout human history.

Under reasonable viewing conditions, even the most prehistoric observer who knew nothing of modern astronomy (who we shall refer to as Fred) would have been able to identify several prominent celestial features. The first would be thousands of twinkling points of light in all directions, some brighter than others, and some with a faint red or blue tinge. Fred would have also noticed a bright white orb that traversed the sky almost every night. He observed that the orb's shape varied predictably, from a sliver of a crescent to a full circle and back within a cycle of approximately 27 (Correction: 29.5) days. Occasionally, Fred may have spotted this orb in the early morning or evening hours when it was still light out. The final feature that our early human could easily identify was a faintly glowing band of patchy light stretching across the sky from end to end. These features would ultimately be referred to as the stars, the Moon, and the Milky Way, and are some of the defining characteristics of the night sky.

The more advanced human who had settled into an agricultural community (let's name her Mary) would have eventually noticed that all stars appeared to be fixed in position on a rotating celestial sphere. Mary identified constellations of stars that formed recognizable patterns, and observed that over the course of the evening, the sphere appeared to rotate around her. She also noticed that from day to day, the position of stars on the sphere appeared to be slightly shifted with respect to each previous evening. More peculiarly, this created a cycle that matched that of the seasons - at the beginning of each winter, the same constellations were visible at more or less the same location at the start of the evening. Additionally, the moon appeared to travel around the celestial sphere in a cycle related to its phases, roughly 12 times per seasonal cycle. This definitely came in handy for our early farmers, since the location of the constellations relative to the Moon and Sun could indicate when a new season was coming.

As the agricultural communities of Mary's time developed into larger, more permanent civilizations, their inhabitants identified five 'stars' that seemed to wander across the celestial sphere separately from the rest. Their motion was perplexing to early observers, with some even appearing to periodically switch directions. As a result of their peculiar paths, these 'wandering stars' became associated with the gods, and their positions were assumed to be tied to earthly events and to offer predictive power. Eventually, they would be referred to as the classic planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. For a long time, the Sun and Moon were also treated as planets, and the universe was viewed from a geocentric perspective, with the Earth at the center. It was not until the time of Copernicus when a heliocentric theory was proposed to better account for observations of the night sky. Under this new model, the Earth rotated about its axis once per day, the Moon orbited the Earth once per month,  and the Earth orbited the Sun as a planet once per year.

From our perspective at Earth's surface, it is not inherently obvious that we are standing on a planet like the ones we see in the sky, or that our planet is spherical like the rest. When Copernicus first introduced the heliocentric model of the Solar system, much of society had initially rejected the idea rather fervently because it conflicted with a deeply held sense of grand human importance. Individuals like Galileo Galilei who challenged the geocentric dogma faced substantial backlash before society ultimately accepted the new information. Nevertheless, our species' inherent curiosity has ultimately allowed us to develop a more accurate understanding of our place in the universe from observing the night sky and making sense of the stars and planets. In order to maintain perspective, it is imperative to continue looking up with curiosity lest we wish to sever our connection with the cosmos and retreat into isolation.