Mandy Frantti Teacher, Munising Public Schools NASA Astrophysics Educator Ambassador 810 W. M28, Munising, MI 49862 (906) 387-2103 Ext. 240 mpfrantti@hotmail.com

• Will observe gamma-ray bursts to study black holes, fundamental forces of nature, extreme environments in the Universe and more • Search for signs of “new” laws of physics and what composes Dark Matter

Fermi MissionFermi Mission (formerly GLAST)

is the sum total of the energy of all the particles within the substance

is a measure of the average energyof each particle in the substance

Which hasmore heat?

Which has a highertemperature?

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Thermometer Activity:

Room Temperatureand

Heat Transfer.

What is “cold”?

“In the year 1800, Sir William Herschel discovered the existence of infrared by performing an experiment very similar to the one we show here.

Herschel passed sunlight through a prism and measured temperatures in each color…

“He noticed that the temperature increased from the blue to the red part of the spectrum. Then he placed a thermometer just past the red part of the spectrum in a region where there was no visible light and found that the temperature there was even higher.

“Herschel realized that there must be another type of light which we cannot see in this region. This light is now called infrared.”

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Melting Ice Cube Activity:.

Heat vs. Temperatureand

Energy Transfer

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The Interstellar Medium

• The ISM is composed of extremely low density dust and gas.

• The air we breathe is 30 quintillion (19 zeros) times more dense than the ISM.

• Space is huge so the matter adds up!

The Interstellar Medium

• extremely high temperature gases and dust

• extremely small amount of heat due to low density

• your hand would not get burned if you held it out in the extreme temperatures of space

(Remember the 400° oven!)

The Local Bubble.

• the gas is about 1 million degrees Kelvin (1.8 million °F)

• almost 200 times as hot as the surface of the Sun

• much less dense than the space surrounding the “bubble”

• your unprotected hand would freeze because there’s so little heat

The Interstellar Medium• Dust is made of tiny, irregularly shaped

particles of silicates, carbon, iron and more

• Size of particles matches that of the wavelength of visible light

• Some light blocked by “thick” dust/gas

• Some extinction by thin dust/gas clouds

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The Interstellar Medium• Blue light absorbed and scattered the best• Most light reaching us through clouds will be

reddish• We can see that here on earth… (Here’s an

activity you can use sometime with your students. You’ll need an overhead projector, beaker, and whole milk.)

Why is the sky blue and the sunset red?

• The bluish color of the water is a result of scattering

• The reddish light coming through to the screen experiences reddening

and extinction

The Interstellar Medium

• The light from nearby stars can reflect off dust/gas clouds and reflect and scatter blue light

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Trifid Nebula

• Ultraviolet light from hot, young stars will ionize hydrogen gas

• When electrons recombine with hydrogen, red light is emitted

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The Interstellar Medium

• Hydrogen gas can form cool clouds

• Emit radio radiation

• Can collapse and form new stars

The Interstellar Medium Gets Its Heat

• Stars blow winds of gas/dust

• Supernovae

How does the ISM cool and form stars?

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Temperature of Stars: Our Sun.

Core: 27 000 000°F

Radiation Zone: 7 000 000°F

Photosphere (surface): 10 000°F

Corona: 2 - 5 million °F

Temperature of Stars

• color indicates the temperature

• plotted using an HR-diagram

• materials found in your packet

And what about

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What is a black hole?

• the final stage in the life cycle of a huge star, which forms when the dying star collapses

• the matter is compressed so much that gravity is too strong for anything to escape

We are able to observe:

• the black hole’s gravitational effect on other objects

• the X-rays being emitted by the stuff being pulled in

Image of a black hole taken in X-rays instead of visible light

“An evaporating radiation does appear, coming from the black hole… this radiation exhibits a typical black body spectrum. The heavier the black hole is, the lower its temperature.” -R. Wald

e.g. black hole of 6 solar masses: 10-8 K

Temperature of Black Holes

Black hole with mass of our Sun extremely cold:

1 ten-millionth of a degree above absolute zero

Matter surrounding black hole extremely hot:

hundreds of millions of degrees

The radiation from this hot, in-falling material is what high-energy astronomers study.

Temperature of Black Holes

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National Science Education Standards

Science as Inquiry

Physical Science -Structure of atoms -Structure and properties of matter -Motions and forces -Conservation of energy -Interactions of energy and matter

Earth and Space Science -Origin and evolution of the Earth system -Origin and evolution of the Universe

NCTM Math Standards

Number & OperationsGeometryMeasurementProblem SolvingCommunicationConnections