Contact Essay -- essays research papers

b) Why are astronomers apply radio telescopes looking for far stars instead of a telescope?      First of all, what is a radio telescope? The prototypic non-visual spectral region that was purposed extensively for astronomical observations was the radio frequency band. Telescopes observing at these wavelengths are commonly called radio telescopes. Radio telescopes may be made much larger than optical/infrared telescopes because the wavelengths of radio waves are much longer than wavelengths of optical light. A rule of thumb is that the reflecting surface must(prenominal) not have irregularities larger than about 1/5 the wavelength of light that is being focused. By that criterion a radio telescope is several atomic number 6 thousand multiplication easier to figure than an optical telescope of the same sizeIn the movie "Contact," astronomer Ellie Arro federal agency, played by actress Jodie Foster, searches for signs of extraterrestrial life using mas sive, Earth-bound radio telescopes. Much of Contacts scientific intrigue, based on Carl Sagans 1985 bestseller, unfolds at two National Science Foundation-supported radio astronomy facilities where real-life astronomical mysteries continue to be probed. Scientists use the government-supported telescopes to detect radio waves not from distant civilizations but from planets, stars, galaxies and other objects in space. Radio observations extend astronomers reach into space and succession, letting them "see" through throttle valve and dust in space to detect celestial objects whose visible light cannot be seen from Earth. In "Contact," Foster hears the first guttural, throbbing message transmitted by other-worldly life using the worlds most powerful radio telescope, the Very Large Array in Socorro, New Mexico, a collection of 27 antennas spread in a three-armed configuration across the desert. NSFs National Radio Astronomy Observatory runs the great dishes, which Fost er manipulates in the film from her laptop computer desire a high-tech, movable Stonehenge, in reality. Electronically linked to simulate a single radio telescope up to 20 miles in diameter, the antennas can be bunched together or moved apart along railroad tracks into different configurations. About 700 astronomers visit the VLA each year to observe the universe. In "Contact," Foster gets her scientific start at another NSF-supported facility, the... ... fastest moving man made objects in the process. If those same probes were to be launched to the stars, however, they would take thousands of years to reach them The distances to the stars are huge So huge, in fact, that the light from the nearest star to the Sun, a triple star system known as Alpha, Beta and Proxima Centauri, takes over four and a quarter years to get here. Since, according to special relativity, nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light, it would seem that travel times with even t he most advanced starships are going to be extremely long indeed.     There are also highly exotic ideas, which lie on the tantalizing fringes of modern theoretical physics. If the universe is a multidimensional place with human beings only able to perceive three dimensions, perhaps a way can be found to shortcut through the higher dimensions. These so-called wormholes are currently having their mathematics calculated by the theorists but if they can be use for travel then perhaps the entire universe will become accessible to us. Traveling to different planets may take no more time than traveling to different countries does now