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Astronomy/Radiation
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Question
3 If Earth were completely blanketed with clouds and we couldn't see the sky, could we learn about the realm beyond the clouds? What forms of radiation might be received?
Hello again Dyonna,
If the earth was perpetually covered with the clouds you see on any overcast day when no shadows are being cast, portions of the electromagnetic spectrum would be blocked. Our first disadvantage would be that the lack of visual data from the sky for the range of vision of the human eye. For example, the sun and the moon might still be visible occasionally thought the clouds, but the planets and stars and deep space objects would not have any visible wavelengths reaching the surface. We would still have fair to excellent views of our universe in other wavelengths. Ultraviolet light, microwaves and radio waves would be less affected, sometimes not at all. So we wouldn't be totally blind. We could still form a good picture of what our universe looks like beyond the clouds.
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Answers by Expert:
Jesse Martinez
Expertise
General and specific questions about the solar system and stellar and galactic astronomy, are what I can easily answer off the top of my head. For example, what is the largest planet in the solar system? How far away is the moon? Have there been any confirmed planets in orbit around stars other than the sun? How many stars are there? The tougher ones like explaining the big bang theory and black holes I will leave to the PhD’s. Even though I could muster an answer, I would have to research it more than I would like. I would also like to answer questions that involve Astronomy with other sciences, chemistry, biology, physics, geology and mathematics as long as they are not PhD level.
Experience
I have been into astronomy since I was 8 years old. I have kept detailed journals of my observations through small telescopes. Over the years I have participated in amateur observation projects for organizations like ALPO. My personal research has involved "discovering" the moons of Jupiter with a 4½-inch Newtonian reflector without any outside information like charts and tables. In a summer long project, I determined the existence of and plotted the orbits of the four major moons of Jupiter. From these observations, my data on orbital elements was surprisingly accurate (orbital radius and orbital period).
Education/Credentials
80 hours of college credits while studying physics and geophysics. Completed correspondence photography course while in high school. Took two semesters of electronics training at a community college. Studied computers and graduated from a technical school at the turn of the millennium, gaining A+ and Microsoft Certified Professional credentials.
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