SciX Issue 3

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Earth, birthplace of the human race VOLUME I ISSUE NO. 3

GO, ARCHIPELAGO!

Until now and for over millions of years ago, lands were being geographically shaped and broken into different land forms.

Some connect to and some separate from each other. The word archipelago refers to these formations of islands that may have been formed through volcanic activity or erosion of large masses. Archipelagos are spread into two forms: from the Greek words arkhi which means chief and pelagos which means sea. And the most popular example of this is our country, Philippines..

The creation of Earth’s islands is still something geologists continue to study.

Nonetheless, the Philippines is considered as an archipelago because it describes as a group of island at sea or a sea with many scattered islands.

Originally, the Aegean Sea, an elongated body of water that contains a large number of scattered islands, is where this term has been coined.

The Philippine islands, through geologic time, have formed, moved, submerged and reappeared. Palawan today, for instance, is not in its original location. These processes that are measured through time help us unSciX • 2

derstand the geographical features of the islands that make up the archipelago, the existence and uniqueness of plants or flora, and animals or fauna, in particular areas and their similarities with nearby countries. Forces from within the earth and energy from the sun bring about continuing changes on the surface of the earth.

By looking at the landmasses of the earth, we will be able to understand how the Philippine archipelago was formed. In 1912, Alfred Lothar Wegener proposed the past existence of a supercontinent called Pangaea or Pangea.

This supercontinent was found when Wegener noticed the close correlation of the coastline shapes of eastern South America and Western African. He proposed that at one time, these two continents had once been joined together. Moreover, extending his ideas to other parts of the world and using various kinds of geological evidence, he proposed that Pangea had split apart

into a northern half called “Laurasia” and a southern part called “Gondwanaland”, and in between is the Tethys Sea. This was slowly split apart into smaller continental plates that moved away or toward each other over time until they reached their present-day positions.

As they moved, new oceanic crust was formed as the separation between the continents became wider.

This slow drifting of the continents has been occurring over the 250 million years. The theory of the plate tectonics was formulated in the 1960s because of the observance of the modification and refinement of the continental drift. And as time passes, though it is painstakingly slow, the lands of the earth will continue to move and create a new face to Earth’s lands.

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moon faces

NEW MOON

NEW MOON

WAXING CRESCENT

WANING CRESCENT

FULL MOON

FIRST QUARTER

WAXING GIBBOUS

LAST QUARTER

WANING GIBBOUS

Do you ever wonder every time you look at the starry night sky, how could the bright white moon look so different from what it’s like before? Yes, the moon has faces and looks, though it is not like yours, it undergoes changes as it revolves around the Earth and it’s called, Moon Phases.

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The moon revolves around the Earth in an elliptical orbit and appears different at various times of the month. These phases of the moon are affected by the Earth, Sun, and itself. When the point of the moon’s orbit is closes to Earth, it is known as perigee and it is about

350,000 km away. And when the moon is its farthest from our planet, it’s about 406,000 km and is called the apogee.

The full moon appears when the sun does not shadow the moon. The moon can be half and can be crescent in shape. The waxing crescent comes after the new moon.

While the First Quarter, Waxing gibbous, Full Moon, Waning gibbous, Last Quarter and Waning Crescent constantly follow. Take note, though, that we cannot see the New Moon because the sun is shining on the other side of the moon, the side we can’t see from Earth.

MOON SHADOWS Once the moon is directly between the earth and the sun, there shall be a total lunar eclipse. This is made by the inner shadow called umbra. Those on Earth who are situated in the penumbra, or the outer shadow, will experience partial solar eclipse. And unlike the umbra portion which experiences total darkness, the penumbra will only witness an obscured portion of the sun.

A lunar eclipse, on the other hand, occurs when the Earth’s shadow covers the moon. A total lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes the umbra completely. When it moves directly to the center, it is covered for about two hours. But if the moon does not pass to the center, the eclipse may last for a very short time, especially if the moon travels through the edge of the umbra.

SUPERMOON If Eclipses describe the darkness of the night sky, a supermoon refers to the full moon or new moon that is at its closes to Earth. The word supermoon was coined by Richard Nolle in a horoscope magazine in 1979. During a supermoon, the Earth, moon and Sun are all in line. This phenomenon is called perigee moon or perigee syzygy. Here, the moon appears huge because of an optical illusion; it is close to the horizon. The biggest supermoon in 20 years was seen on March 19, 2012, according to NASA. The next time you look at the moon, you’ll know what phase it’s on. By then, you can already say, “Hey, that’s a familiar face!”

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UPS & DOWNS AN ASTRONAUTIC POINT OF VIEW Ever wondered what it’s like to be an astronaut?

“Out of the Earth, into the sky, way beyond the clouds and close to the stars of everlasting night…” This is pretty much the gist being blasted into space. However, if you get to sight the pointof-view of spaceman Charles J. Camarda you’ll realize that it’s not merely a joyride to the heavens!

Charlie joined NASA Langley’s own astronauts in 1974. He earned his degree in aerospace engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

He was once a research scientist in the Thermal Structures Branch and was

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responsible for presenting his study of a heat pipe-cooled leading edge for the space shuttle. He left Langley in 1994 to begin his training as an astronaut at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

His first shuttle mission was in 2003 after the Columbia accident. STS114 was named “Return to Flight” mission, where Discovery docked with the International Space Station and the crew tested and evaluated new procedures for flight safety and inspection and repair techniques. This was a 5.8 million mile journey which took two weeks

to finish, and according Camarda, he did not plan on looking back.

Camarda shared that he chose to become an astronaut for several reasons: it was his childhood dream, he wanted to understand the operational implications of real space hardware design, and believe it or not, even those he was afraid of heights and claustrophobic, he wanted to be a role model to his daughter to teach her the importance of following her dreams and to make her face her fears head on and not be afraid to take chances.

“I applied to be an as-

tronaut when the first call for mission specialists was advertised in 1978. I reapplied 18 years later and was selected in 1996, Astronaut Class 16.”

He said in many interviews that being an astronaut is not all glory, games, fun and adventure.

“When you’re elected to be sent out to space, you get to tour the country and visit all the NASA sites and get to bond with your mates and future team. You are in the limelight and are treated like royalty for a brief period of team—and then reality kicks in, you start training.

Training, training, training: survival (water, land, winter, you name it), shuttle systems, space station systems, Russian segment systems, expedition, rendezvous and docking, extra-vehicular activity, etc.)“ He further explained that you are made an astronaut because you must undergo a process that does not need any degree, but a process that

must turn you into a person who aims for perfection because being out in space, every gesture could turn into horror.

Moreover, he also shared how gruesome being an astronaut can be sometimes. He gave his most unforgettable memory, losing seven of his friends, -three of whom, were his classmates- during their ride in the Space Shuttle Columbia.

However, Camarda also stated the positive factors that come with being an astronaut: you meet amazing astronauts from different parts of the world, that will help join you in accomplishing your mission and in bringing glory home.

Camarda also gave an advice to children who dream of becoming astronauts: “Follow your dreams and choose a career that you have a passion for, and hopefully it will align with a need the Astronaut Office is looking to fill at that point in time. Your passion will ensure you will devote the

hard work necessary to rise to the top of your field. It will also ensure that you will always be happy and never “work” a day in your life, even if you do not have the opportunity to fly in space. Keep in mind, however, that the advent of true “commercial” spaceflight may afford you many more opportunities to fly in space than what we have today!

Camarda concluded that being an astronaut is a rewarding life. He was given freedom and an experience of a lifetime. He met amazing people and discovered so many things about the universe.

Charlie is truly an inspiring personality that shows how fulfilling life can be once you learn how to balance your choices. So for astronaut-lovers out there, if you want to continue your quest toward the outsides of Earth, you should first learn about how it’s bumpy with its ups and downs.

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LIFE OF A star may be referred to as one of the synonyms of celebrities. Nonetheless, this big personality may have been parallelized to a star because he or she is someone whom people look up to. Aside from referring to popular human beings, a star is an object that has been on earth since the start of time. And it is most famous because of how this idea built the minds of children and changed the perspectives of researchers as they pondered upon it.

THE SUN: Despite its brightness and great size, is considered as a small star. These stars will undergo a relatively peaceful and beautiful death that sees them pass through a planetary nebula—a ring-shaped nebula that is formed by the shell of gas around a very old star—that will now turn them into a white dwarf-a small very dense star that is typically the size of a planet.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NASA

AVERAGE STAR

RED GIANT

STELLAR NEBULA

MASSIVE STAR

FORMATION: Basically, stars are formed in clouds of nebulae or clouds of and dust. The nuclear reactions at the center or the core of stars provide enough energy to make them shine brightly for years.

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RED SUPERGIANT

LIFETIME: A star’s size may help calculate how long it will live. Very large stars burn their fuel faster than smaller stars and may last a hundred thousand years. Smaller stars, however, will last several billion years because they burn their fuel much slower.

A STAR STAR FUEL: Hydrogen is one of the materials that help power up a star. It helps energize the nuclear reactions within stars. If stars run out of this, they will now enter the final phases of their lifetime.

TRANSFORMATIONS: Over time, some stars will expand, cool and change color or even become red giants. These transformations again depend of the mass of the star.

WHITE DWARF

PLANETARY NEBULA

SUPERNOVA NEUTRON STAR

BLACK HOLE

SUPERNOVAS, BLACK HOLES AND OTHER STARRY EXPLOSIVES: The massive stars in the other hand, die in the most gruesome and catastrophic way. They will experience a most energetic and violent end. Their enormous explosion, called a supernova, is capable of scattering the cosmos. And the leftover of this is a rapidly spinning neutron stars or if the explosions get worse, it may even form a black hole.

Small or big, stars truly affect the universe whenever they cease to exist. But just remember their age are not similar with those of humans’ who can only last for a hundred years. Stars’ age are more than a thousand centuries. This lifetime may be even enough for you to ponder and watch your favorite star for years!

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PROJECT STAR SQUAD From countries, continents, leaders to food, bands and TV networks, pretty much everything is grouped into place primarily to create general ideas and meanings. Moreover, Earthly things are not the only one who are stereotyped or organized. The stars above are also grouped, and their squad or club is scientifically named, Constellations.

Firstly, constellation names are made up by ancient, imaginary things made by poets, philosophers and astronomers! However, it is primarily named this way because it will help us watchers of which star is which.

On dark nights, you may see about 1000 to 1500 stars!

Trying to find out whatever star we’re looking for is complicated that’s why they are named for mnemonic purposes or memory aids. For example, you witness three bright stars in a row during a winter evening, you may now get the idea that that is the Orion constellation!

Moreover, because of this aid you may now find the Betelgeuse in Orion’s left and Rigel is his foot. Thus, you will also recognize that Orion’s Hunting Dogs are nearby and also find the two bright constellations: Canis Minor and Canis Major.

CANNIS MINOR

CANNIS MAJOR

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Now, where did constellations come from?

Well, it is said that these came from farmers in order for them to calculate the seasons which did not have much differences.

Since different constellations are visible at different times of the year, these are used to tell what month it is. For example, Scorpius is only visible in the northern hemisphere’s evening sky in the summer. Some

historians also suspect that many of the myths associated with the constellations were invented to help the farmers remember them.

When they saw certain constellations, they would know it was time to begin the planting or the reaping.

This inclination and dependence on the sky became strong parts of various cultures. This may be because of their curiosity toward the containments

that the sky forms. These inspired them to create stories and even superstitious beliefs. Like this picture created in 1835 which depicts the constellation of Orion in color. In this picture, he is holding a lion’s head instead of his traditional bow or shield. He has this eagerness in his eyes as he stalks Taurus, the Bull.

Behind him is his faithful dog, Canis Major chasing the Hare, Lepus.

As millennials, we may look back and realize that constellations have changed in our time. In our modern age, a lot of constellations have been redefined so now every star in the sky is in exactly one constellation. In 1929, IAU or the International Astronomical Union adopted official constellation boundaries that define the existence of today’s 88 official constellations.

ORION

THE HUNTER

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WATER ITS VECTOR, EUTROPHICATION, AND OTHER POLLUTANTS

Aside from the sun, the soil and the air which give humans the resources to live; water, which occupies most of the Earth’s surface, is vital in promoting growth and rehydration to organisms and plants. There is still no man-made creation that can help humans to continue living without this. So, when Earth does not or cannot contain these waters anymore, you and I’d be long goners.

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Any physical, biological or chemical change in water quality that makes it unfit for its desired purpose, can be considered water pollution. The amount of oxygen in water is a good indicator of water quality because it determines if water can support life forms. For

instance, water with an oxygen content of about 6 parts per million (ppm) can support more aquatic life than that with an oxygen content below 2 ppm.

There are various ways to monitor water quality, one is through the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), a test of the amount of dis-

solved oxygen consumed by water microorganism for five days. Another method is measured by Dissolved Oxygen Content (DOC), where the dissolved oxygen in warm or cold water is measured to know the true quality of the water.

VECTORS There are water pollutants that are alive and mobile, and it can affect a lot of people that become close to it. These dangerous organisms are called Vectors. They may cause typhoid fever, hepatitis, Malaria, and polio.

Vectors come in great

numbers to areas that do not regulate proper sanitation.

Thus, these pathogens enter waterways; contaminating and causing illnesses to its users. One of the bacteria, which is the Coliform, is an example of a microbe that may come in water. This contaminates and cause Di-

arrhea and upset stomachs.

An example of this was the report of the tourists of Boracay having taken Coliform-contaminated water.

It was said that this came from the garbage condition and the influx of tourists crowding of tourists along the beach.

EUTROPHICATION There are also waters that may be dangerous because of too much nutrients in it. Eutrophication may may occur in freshwaters and in some marine ecosystems. The influx or enlargement of nature, once mixed with high temperature due to sunlight, leads to the growth and blooming of Algae. Dinoflagillates are algal blooms that may result to red tides that kill fishes. They also produce toxic substances that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning or (PSP) in humans.

Their growths are caused by the increase of phosphorous and nitrogen that may come from farmland fertilizers and laundry detergents.

Also, these algae soon perish due to crowding and overpopulation that reduce the affected water with its oxygen. As a result, decomposers increase in number because of the Algae that they eat.

And as decomposers do their work, oxygen also decreases, leading to the death of the lake.

ORGANIC AND INORGANIC CHEMICALS Once the weather affects rocks, the release of small amounts of toxic inorganic materials is stimulated. Hu-

man activities aggravate the transfer of these toxic materials through mining, processing and improper waste disposal of harmful substances. Heavy metals, which are ranked as the most harmful substances, may also be accumulated in food chains.

Thus, the human foods may be contaminated. This process is called biological magnification. Even in small amounts, chemicals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and nickel are fatal once put in the human body.

In the 1950s a famous case of mercury poisoning struck Japan and caused birth defects among children whose mothers, during their pregnancy, took seafood which was contaminated with Mercury. Because of this pollution, crippled and deformed children were born and confined in Kumimoto hospital. This was called Minamata disease.

Organic Chemicals in the other hand, are synthetic and natural chemicals that are used to manufacture pesticides, plastics, drugs and domestic materials. Many of these chemicals are highly toxic and exposure to these substances, even in small amounts, may cause birth defects, cancer and other disorders.

These materials enter the aquatic ecosystem through the improper disposal of industrial household wastes and the runoffs of pesticides from farmlands.

ADVOCACY AND OTHER ESSENTIALS The basic thing that we humans need to remember is the fact that everything here on Earth is limited and may cease to exist once we do not discipline ourselves to become passionate to our surroundings.

Instead of being uncaring toward the Earth’s welfare, we should be like those who aim to become one in nature, so that it will be well-balanced with our stay in. One of the advocates featured in “Exploring Life through Science”, is Harvey from Tuguegarao. He was in sixth grade during the time he was highlighted in the book. He’s a volunteer as a tour guide of Callao Caves during weekends and vacation. He underwent training and educates tourists on the dos and don’ts inside the caves to ensure that the tourists will not negatively impact on the cave. He also teaches them how to use their cameras to get the best shots of the caves.•

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10 facts you probably didn’t know about Earth At one point or another, you might’ve heard that only a few centuries ago, people thought that the Earth was flat. People believed that if you sailed too far out, you would reach the literal edge of the world and fall off.

Well, that was quite misleading as we all know the Earth to be spherical since the time of ancient Greece. The ear-

liest known evidence for the concept of a spherical Earth can be traced back to Greek philosophers during the 6th century B.C. A few centuries later, no educated person thought the world was anything but round. This idea slowly spread and gradually became accepted as fact all across the globe. While some cultures still held on to

While people may not have believed the Earth to be flat as much as we thought, for the longest time, we definitely believed ourselves to be the center of the universe. It’s called the geocentric model and it actually makes a lot of sense. From our actual point of view down here on the surface, it actually looks like the Earth is the only planet not named after a Greek or Roman god or goddess. The name comes from old Germanic words such as ertha and ert. And while its name

the flat-earth-idea for quite a while, by the time of the Middle Ages, the Earth was most definitely a globe. Medieval books and illustrations repeatedly make the point that the earth is round and not flat. The confusion actually comes from historians looking back and misinterpreting certain events and literature.

Sun, Moon, visible planets, and stars orbit around a stationary Earth. It wasn’t until the late 16th century that the Geocentric model was gradually superseded by the heliocentric model where the Sun is the center and the earth is simply one planet among many orbiting around it.

is different in every language, what they all have in common is that almost every name derived from a word that means soil or ground.

For example, here in the Phil-

We all know that one day here on Earth is 24 hours long and the reason we have days in the first place is because the earth is rotating on its own axis while orbiting the sun. But if we do the calculations, we find that for the Earth to

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AS TOLD BY LEEMINO (YOUTUBE.COM/TOP10MEMES)

ippines, the planet’s name is Daigdig, which was coined from “Dig” which means the literally dig the ground, and that people are standing in this firm ground (Tindig).

make one full revolution, it only takes 23:56:04. This is called a sidereal day and is actually not the way we calculate one full day here on Earth. This is because, the unit of time known as day also has to account for the orbit around our sun.

And just like a day isn’t really 24 hours long, a year isn’t really 365 days long. The reason for this is not the same, however. We count the days based on the rotation of the Earth, while the year is based on the orbital period around the Sun. And this is the

problem. The day/night cycle has nothing to do with the yearly cycle. Yet a year is determined by the day/night cycle. This results in one year being 365.2425 days long. This is where leap years come into play. Every fourth year, we squeeze in extra

Liquid water is a crucial part for all life here on Earth. Yet the origin of our planet’s water remains unclear. More specifically, why do Earth have so much more liquid water compared to almost every other body in the While life may or may not be so abundant in the universe, the Earth is truly teeming with it. It is everywhere and seems to some-

Most of us know that Mt. Everest is the tallest point on the planet. Well, no. It isn’t actually. It’s only the highest mountain by elevation above sea level. The tallest point on Earth as in

solar system. I say almost every other body because one of Jupiter’s moons called Europa, may contain more than twice as much liquid water found here on Earth, even though it’s smaller than our moon.

how survive everything. Top of mount Everest? No problem. Bottom of the ocean?

Of course. At the edge of the atmosphere? Sure. Life finds

Have you tried visiting Earth–Texas? The only city on Earth named Earth. Well at least, in English. It has a population of around 1000 and was originally called Fairlawn.

a way. It truly does. In an equally mind-blowing scenario, for every grain of sand on Earth, there are roughly 10,000 stars in the universe.

However, they soon learned of another city by that name so the townspeople sent in suggestions for a new one, thus, Earth became the first Earth on Earth.

either the greatest distance from the center or the least distance to space is Mt. Chimborazo. This is because the Earth is not really a perfect sphere but something called a spheroid. This basi-

The Earth has been the home to every living thing in the universe that we know of.

But why is that? If the universe has existed for so many billions of years, why is space so seemingly empty? Well, a possible answer or perhaps a clue to that question is the Earth itself. Because Earth is extremely complicated.

It’s creation and what lead led to our existence is nothing short of an accident. Or rather a very long list of accidents. It all started roughly 4.54 billion years ago when our solar system was nothing but a gigantic cloud of dust and particles known as a solar nebula. Due to gravity, things eventually started spinning and the sun began to take form in the center while planets and smaller bodies formed around it.

day at the end of February because the Earth’s spin and the Earth’s orbit around the sun ever so slightly overlap. Without leap years, our calendars would get confused and summer would eventually winter and vice versa.

cally means that the Earth is a bit thicker along the equator compared to the poles.

And as Mt. Chimborazo is very close to the equator, it just barely beats Mt. Everest.

Out of sheer luck, the Earth formed at just the right distance so it would not be too hot or too cold for us humans to exist many eons later. We are in the so-called habitable or Goldilocks zone. We were also fortunate enough to have a brother like Jupiter to catch many nasty comets that could potentially hit the Earth and annihilate us, much like what happened to the dinosaurs. We still don’t know how life began on this planet but it’s quite evident that a lot is required for it to begin. You can’t just have an Earth -like planet and expect that to be enough. Of course, this is all assuming that an Earth-like is required for life to exist.

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About We only have one Earth yet the human mind is full of stagnation and complacency. It lacks curiosity, adventure, and exploration. This last issue of SciX advocates for the constant expansion of the human knowledge. Like the movement of the tectonic plates, although slow, is nonetheless moving. The existence of our universe would be for nothing if the human mind does not wage war with the infinite possibilities that lies within the Earth and Space.

SciX is a science journal dedicated to freshmen high school students. It is the brainchild of 19-yearold John Cyril Yee, a senior Journalism student of Bicol University College of Arts and Letters. He is the creator of almost everything visible and invisible within the premises of this journal.