Astronomy Page
I have been interested in astronomy, astrophysics and celestial mechanics for many years. As a trained electronics engineer I guess it is not too much of a surprise that I would be interested in big science of this kind. My main failing has been that my mathematics is not up to scratch, I feel that I am somewhat mathematically dyslexic. I tend to understand the concepts quite well but I cannot cope at all adequately with complex mathematical formulae. That is a big disappointment to me. In 1978 I embarked on a post graduate astrophysics course at Hatfield Polytechnic (as it was then called); I struggled hopelessly with the more mathematical parts of the course and, in the end I had to give it up as a hopeless case. I count this as the first major failure of my life, at least that was down to me rather than others; it may seem a relatively minor episode to many but I have high standards of achievement, I am someone that does not cope well with failure. (My second major failure did not finally mature until January 2010, more of that elsewhere).
So, I have become an 'armchair' astronomer and an observer of astrophysical theory from afar, so to speak. I have a great deal of interest but am unable to participate. Oh, well, it's probably a good thing to recognise your own limitations. I try to keep up with the latest theories and developments but a great deal of it now goes over my head as I just am not sufficiently up to speed with the maths and the theory.
One of my interests is Europa, the sixth moon of the planet Jupiter (by distance) and fourth largest. Europa is, at just over 3,100 kilometres (1,900 mi) in diameter, slightly smaller than Earth's Moon and is the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System. It is primarily made of silicate rock and likely has an iron core. It has a tenuous atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Its surface is composed of ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System. This surface is striated by cracks and streaks, while craters are relatively infrequent. A water ocean apparently exists beneath it, which could conceivably serve as an abode for extraterrestrial life. This hypothesis proposes that heat energy from tidal flexing causes the ocean to remain liquid, and drives geological activity. Although only fly-by missions have visited the moon, the intriguing characteristics of Europa have led to several ambitious exploration proposals. The Galileo mission provided the bulk of current data on Europa. A new mission to Jupiter's icy moons, the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) is proposed for a launch in 2020. Conjecture on extraterrestrial life has ensured a high profile for the moon and has led to steady lobbying for future missions.
To be continued .......
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