Milky+Way+-+AM

Getting Started

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Rubric: [[file:Space Exploration Adventure Rubric.doc]], [[file:Space Exploration Adventure Rubric.pdf]]

 * Written Information **: As you enter text, the area will expand. Make sure to check the required details of the assignment and review the rubric (see document links) to self-assess your work. Your paragraphs will be in block format, enter one return between paragraphs. The tab key, indent feature will not appear when typing directly into the wiki page.

Visuals Make sure to include the location of your image; add a caption with this information Milky Way ||  ||   || [|http://ic.galegroup.com] ||  ||   ||
 * http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/KidsInfoBits
 * [[image:ngc1232_sm.jpg caption="http://www.google.com/imgres?q=milky+way+galaxy&hl=en&safe=active&sa=X&biw=1597&bih=1107&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=Q2M9-qaUBU3cQM:&imgrefurl=http://www.windows2universe.org/the_universe/Milkyway.html&docid=LNjtCMTNlcSR2M&imgurl=http://www.windows2universe.org/the_universe/images/ngc1232_sm.jpg&w=300&h=290&ei=JnNjT8_fBqjd0QHW6qmvCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=793&vpy=134&dur=418&hovh=208&hovw=215&tx=118&ty=101&sig=106597942103145483077&page=1&tbnh=115&tbnw=122&start=0&ndsp=47&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0"]] ||  ||   ||
 * [[image:http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER1/00017961-T3 caption="thumbnail"]]Milky Way
 * [[image:http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER1/00017961-T3 caption="thumbnail"]]Milky Way

**Works Cited** **Sources** : Include the source information for all of the magazine articles, reference sources (encyclopedias) and web site pages that were used to complete your project. The source information for encyclopedias may be found at the end or beginning of each entry in iCONN. When using periodicals, the publication information will be at the beginning or end of the article. This needs to be formatted for MLA standards. If it is not labeled 'Source Citation' it can be formatted appropriately by using EasyBib.com. You should use EasyBib for the web sites. The final Works Cited should be listed in alphabetical order by the first word of the source citation. "Milky Way." //Kids InfoBits Presents: Astronomy//. Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Kids InfoBits. Detroit: Gale, 2012. "The Milky Way." //WMAP's Universe//. NASA, 28 June 2010. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. . Vergano, Dan. "Galaxy Bracketed by Big Bubbles." //USA Today// 10 Nov. 2010: 05A. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
 * Sample:**


 * Your Source List:**

"Milky Way." //Astronomy & Space: From the Big Bang to the Big Crunch//. Gale, 2010. //Gale Science In Context//. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. Document URL http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/scic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=SCIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CCV2640050101&mode=view&userGroupName=s0002&jsid=1eef938fb6088324342091715f9d6c1d "Milky Way." //Kids InfoBits Presents: Astronomy//. Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Kids InfoBits. Detroit: Gale, 2012. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/KidsInfoBits

http://casswww.ucsd.edu/archive/public/tutorial/MW.html http://www.astrodigital.org/astronomy/milkywaygalaxy.html

**Topic: Research Focus**
 * What is your topic?**
 * State the focus of your research:**

**Notes** ==== Include notes, statistics and facts that you will use to write your final paper. You may want to label sections of your notes to help you be more organized as you write. As you take notes from a source, you should list the source citation in the Works Cited section above. ====

From first citation The Milky Way is a barred-spiral-shaped galaxy, meaning it is shaped like a pinwheel with a bar-shaped structure at its center that consists of stars. Its barred-spiral shape was theorized in the 1980s, with the shape confirmed in 2005 from observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope, operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The galaxy has a group of objects at the center (mostly older stars and maybe a black hole), surrounded by a halo (a band of star clusters) and an invisible cloud of dark matter, with four arms spiraling out. From third citation


 * __The Halo__**
 * The Halo consists of the oldest stars known, including about 146 [|Globular Clusters], believed to have been formed during the early formation of the Galaxy with ages of 10-15 billion years from their H-R Diagrams. The halo is also filled with a very diffuse, hot, highly-ionized gas. The very hot gas in the halo produces a [|gamma-ray halo].**
 * Neither the full extent nor the mass of the halo is well known. Investigations of the gaseous halos of other spiral galaxies show that the gas in the halo extends much further than previously thought, out to hundreds of thousands of light years. Studies of the rotation of the Milky Way show that the halo dominates the mass of the galaxy, but the material is not visible, now called [|dark matter.]**
 * __The Disk__**
 * The disk of the Galaxy is a flattened, rotating system which contains the Sun and other intermediate-to-young stars. The sun sits about 2/3 of the way from the center to the edge of the disk (about 25,000l.y. by the most modern estimates). The sun revolves around the center of the galaxy about once every 250 million years. The disk also the galaxy about contains atomic (HI) and molecular (H2) gas and dust.**

From fourth citation

The Age of the Milky Way Galaxy
With estimates of the age of the universe centered around 14 or so billion years old, estimates for the age of the Milky Way galaxy range from 800 million to 13.5 billion years old.

The Mass of the Milky Way Galaxy
One method that astronomers have used to calculate the mass of the Milky Way galaxy is to use Kepler's 3rd law that relates orbit radius and period with central mass. We figure out the radius of our orbit relative to the center of the galaxy and the period (the time it takes to complete one complete orbit). Plugging those numbers into Kepler's 3rd law we can estimate the mass inside our orbit. Doing the math we come up with a number that is just shy of 100 billion solar masses, with one solar mass being equal to the mass of our Sun. Overall mass estimates of the Milky Way are on the order of 750 billion to 1 trillion solar masses.

The Number of Stars in the Milky Way Galaxy
If we assume that the average star has a mass equal to the Sun's, we can use the number we arrived at for the galaxy's mass to come up with an estimate for the number of stars. Given that our calculation in the previous paragraph yielded a mass of 100 billion solar masses, we could guess that there are approximately 100 billion stars in the galaxy. Of course somewhere between 2.5 and 3 million of the solar masses are locked up in a super massive black hole named Sagitarius A that's at the center of the galaxy. Other more thorough estimates yield numbers of stars that range up to a high of 400 billion.

From second citation The Milky Way also has asteroids and huge clouds of dust and gas. Arms swirl out from the center. The Milky Way Galaxy, or a large cluster of stars, dust, and gas. The center of the Milky Way bulges up. Most of the oldest stars are in the center. There are giant red stars and huge clouds of gases. Stars are also much closer together in the center. So the Milky Way looks much brighter there. Four main arms... At least two smaller arms, or spurs. The younger stars are in the arms. Outside the arms is a ring of gas and stars. The gas inside the arms is thinner than that outside the arms. Our solar system is in the Orion Spur. The stars, our solar system, and other objects revolve around the center of the Milky Way, which is called Sagittarius A. Scientists think Sagittarius A is a large black hole.