An astronomer without a telescope?

Can you find a planet or star without using a telescope? The answer surprisingly, is yes. Many astronomers do not use a telescope but use a computer. Amateur astronomer, William Bianco, searches for new stars and planets on his computer. Bianco is a political science professor at Indiana University. He isn't the only scientist that uses the computer, but other professional astronomers also prefer the computer over the telescope. Scientists choose the internet than the telescope because they often fight for telescope usage at major research observatories. Also, the information on the internet is up to date and you are able to access more data to help research. One of the first softwares that was used for astronomy was the SETI. The software sorted through information that measures tiny gravitational movements in a star's motions in search of planets that orbit stars other than our sun. Virtual astronomy didn't become popular until the late 1990's.

In my opinion, I would say that professional and amateur astronomers help each other to study the outer space. Researchers post their data and discoveries online and this allows others to use the information to continue their research.

This can relate to science and life because astronomers reasearch the outer space so others can understand it better and they also search for life on other planets.

This article can be found at cnn.com. http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/01/15/virtual.astronomy.ap/index.html

How did he die?

A 22 foot long whale shark mysteriously died last Thursday at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia. On Friday, scientists were trying to conclude how the whale shark died. Ralph, the whale shark, was 22 feet long and weighed between 1700 to 2500 pounds. The staff at the aquarium noticed Ralph had stopped swimming and sank to the bottom of his tank. Now, they knew that something was wrong. Ralph died later that evening on Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 9:30 P.M. The aquarium workers still don't know the cause of the death. In November 2006, Ralph had a physical exam that showed he had an unusual swimming behavior and his appetite was on and off.

I hypothesize that Ralph died from a type of cancer or illness because the physical exam stated that he had unusual swimming behavior and his appetite was on and off. If you were sick, you may not feel like doing normal everyday activities. For example, if you had an illness it could keep you from walking. That may be why Ralph had stopped swimming.

This article can relate to science and life because it is about nature and how animals can die from unknown causes, just like humans. For instance, you could be healthy and have a heart attack the next day. The heart attack could have suddenly occured and killed you.

I found this article at cnn.com. Here is the link to the article http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/01/11/aquarium.death/index.html