Melaka Planetarium Adventure Science Centre

Be Our Fan at Facebook

2012-12-09T17:14:00.001+08:00

Join us at Facebook and get updated with all our programs & events..

Click on the link below to be our fan now..

MelakaPlanetariumASC

ASTROBIOLOGY: An Introduction

2012-12-08T13:34:00.001+08:00

How much do we know about life on Earth?

As we have yet to uncover how life began in the first place… Many say all life forms on earth a work of the Supreme Being.

Some great minds suggest that organic molecules may have been created elsewhere in the universe and were brought to planet Earth by meteors.

Contrary to that, several other researchers when simulated the impact of meteorites in the primeval ocean, argued that the organic molecules could have been synthesized from the inorganic molecules already present on the planet when the meteorites crashed into the ocean.

Subsequent to understanding the existence of the universe, we are now struggling to elucidate how long it took the first generation of stars to seed our universe with the heavy elements we see on earth today.

But we do know that life is a process, driven by chemical reactions or metabolism. And that “life-as-we-know-it” needs:

Liquid water (water needs warmth, hence heat is necessary)
Organic molecules (Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Phosphorus …)
Energy source – sunlight provide heat and source of light
Suitable environment – blanketed from the harmful cosmic rays

From there we will know when exactly in the history of the Universe was there a sufficient supply of profound elements to allow the formation of pre-biotic molecules that might have combined, and formed life.

Today, science is trying to explain whether life, be it similar to our own or not, exist elsewhere in our solar system.

Do the other planets have conditions that would support life and if yes, what conditions favor the formation such life forms?

But really, could life exist in an environment that limits access to the basic requirements ‘life-as-we-know-it' needs, for example in terrestrial bodies other than Earth?

Why science is convinced that ‘life’ could exist on the other places in the solar system which has extreme conditions?

This is because Earth, during its infant years, was once a wasteland with extreme conditions. Our Earth has since journeyed through stages until the planet became a home to a myriad of life forms. However, though rare, traces of the early earth condition still exist in many places.

And it was a heaven to organisms that had evolved to live in environments WE consider extreme.

Welcome to the fascinating world of Astrobiology.

By: Gomathy Ramasamy

Source: NASA

Come and Experience

2012-11-26T16:24:00.000+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: It's Happening Now

2012-11-08T14:54:00.001+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Berita Harian Adverts 1-Nov-2012

2012-11-02T13:54:00.001+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Berita Harian Adverts 1-Nov-2012

2012-11-02T13:53:00.001+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 Highlights :: Science Talks Session - Final and Updated

2012-10-31T23:38:00.000+08:00

Final and updated schedule for the Science Talks by the NASA professionals..

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Berita Harian Adverts 31-Oct-2012

2012-10-31T19:19:00.001+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 Highlights :: Science Talk

2012-10-31T02:27:00.001+08:00

Please keep updated for the new tentative in our blog & facebook fan page..

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Berita Harian Adverts 30-Oct-2012

2012-10-30T15:02:00.000+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Berita Harian Adverts 29-Oct-2012

2012-10-29T13:37:00.000+08:00

Did You Know :: EXOPLANET - House of Horrors

2012-10-26T20:46:00.000+08:00

Astronomers may be closer than ever to discovering a planet that’s habitable like our own, but along the way they’ve discovered some very scary exoplanets – places where conditions are far too harsh for life as we know it to exist.
We’ve rounded up some of the most frightening, deadly exoplanets, places that make even the scariest haunted house on Earth pale in comparison.

Radiation Bath, Anyone?

The exoplanets PSR B1257+12 b, c and d were among the first discovered, and also happen to be three of the weirdest. The entire system is a graveyard, remnants of what used to be a normal, functional solar system before the star blew apart in a giant explosion known as a supernova.

The massive shockwave from the supernova stripped away any atmosphere or living creatures that might have once lived on these planets, leaving behind ghostly, rocky shells, dead planets orbiting the corpse of an extinct star.

Except that PSR B1257+12 isn’t all dead - the remaining core from the old star has become a zombie star called a pulsar. Literally spinning in its grave, PSR B1257+12 makes a full rotation every 6.22 milliseconds and emits an intense beam of radiation that can be detected from Earth. The star’s unfortunate planets are thus bathed in deadly radiation on a regular basis, making sure that this system remains a cosmic no-man’s land.

A Mighty Wind

The sound of howling wind is a must for any Earth-based haunted house, but weather conditions on HD 189733 b make it a very dangerous place to go trick-or-treating.

At first glance, HD 189733 b looks like the typical “hot Jupiter” – a huge gas planet perched dangerously close to a burning-hot star, with daytime temperatures around a balmy 1,770 degrees Fahrenheit. HD 189733 b is “tidally locked” in its orbit, meaning that the same side of the planet always faces its star.

But when scientists measured the planet’s nighttime temperature, they were shocked to find that it was only 500 degrees cooler. How does the back side of the planet stay so warm?

The answer is wind: insanely fast, dangerous wind that whisks heat from day-side to night-side at a speed of 4,500 mph, nearly six times the speed of sound. In fact, astronomers estimate that wind speeds might top out at 22,000 mph, conditions that make hurricanes on Earth look like a breezy day at the beach.

Needless to say, kite-flying on HD 189733 b is not recommended – unless you’re flying one from the cockpit of a fighter jet.

Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble

The planet HD 209458 b has a few things in common with Earth: water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, key ingredients for life on our planet. Don’t be fooled, though, because this planet is a roiling cauldron of almost unimaginable heat.

Even the hottest summer days on Earth don’t get as dangerous as the conditions on HD 209458 b, a planet that orbits so close to its host star that its atmosphere is literally boiling off, ripped away from the planet as it whips around on its breakneck 3.5-day orbit. The gas that escapes from HD 209458 b forms a tail about 124,000 miles (200,000 km) long.

Scientists have found many planets like HD 209458 b – huge gas giants that orbit hazardously close to their stars and have hellishly hot, poisonous atmospheres. Sometimes, planets like these can be in danger of being swallowed whole by their host stars, as may be the case for the doomed world WASP-18b.

As far as planets go, WASP-18b is on death’s doorstep. There’s a good chance that it will be torn apart completely within the next million years, when it finally spirals too close to its star. Scientists will know within 10 years whether or not WASP-18b is on a funeral march towards its untimely demise.

All Alone and Very, Very Cold

While most of the exoplanets found so far are hellishly hot, OGLE-2005-BLG-390L b has the distinction of being the coldest exoplanet yet discovered.

The planet takes about 10 Earth years to orbit its tiny dwarf star, and it’s a chilly trip; the average temperature on OGLE-2005-BLG-390L b is 50 Kelvin, or minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit. A good costume for trick-or-treating on this frigid planet would be a toasty self-heating spacesuit, an oxygen supply, ice skates and plenty of hot cocoa.

Of course, don’t expect to find many houses with candy here, because despite the fact that it’s just a few times bigger than Earth, OGLE-2005-BLG-390L b is an uninhabitable ice ball stuck in a perpetual winter freeze. Even the coldest Halloween night in Antarctica is a balmy paradise compared to this frosty world.

Written By Joshua Rodriguez/PlanetQuest

Melaka Space Fair 2012 Highlights :: World Oceans

2012-10-26T18:01:00.001+08:00

Come and learn more about the oceans around us. All this and more at Melaka Space Fair 2012 this 5th - 11th November 2012.

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Berita Harian Adverts 25-Oct-2012

2012-10-25T10:55:00.001+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 Highlights :: Are You a Planet Hunter ?!

2012-10-25T03:38:00.001+08:00

Would you like to discover new planets on your own? Then you probably should not miss our planethunters session this coming Melaka Space Fair 2012. Learn along with Gabriel Alvarado of the SETI Institute on how to look out for new terrestrial objects. PlanetHunters session schedule will be up soon. Keep yourselves updated.

All at Melaka Space Fair 2012, 05th -11th November 2012.

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Talk Sessions Schedule

2012-10-25T03:07:00.000+08:00

Interested to attend the talk ??. Call us and book your sessions..

Melaka Planetarium Adventure Science Centre
Tel : 06 232 2424 | Fax : 06 232 0408

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Berita Harian Adverts 24-Oct-2012

2012-10-25T00:12:00.000+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Berita Harian Adverts - 24-Oct-2012

2012-10-24T23:45:00.001+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Promo Banner

2012-10-24T23:35:00.001+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Career in Science

2012-10-19T00:11:00.003+08:00

So you wanna be a scientist..engineer..educator..or researcher? Confused, but want to be working in the science, technology, engineering or math field? Then don't miss Jaya Bajpayee's talk on "Career in Science"

Melaka Space Fair 2012.

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Rocket Activity for Kids - It’s Fun !

2012-10-19T00:08:00.000+08:00

Juniors will have ample of activity at the Melaka Space Fair 2012 – look out for the rocket activity and get early exposure to space flight science the fun way!

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Promo Montage

2012-10-18T19:30:00.000+08:00

Melaka Space Fair 2012 Updates :: Earth-Like Planets ?

2012-10-18T10:44:00.001+08:00

Join Gabriel and the NASA team in “KEPLER & THE HUNT FOR EXOPLANETS” in the science talk session. Discover along with him, dozens of Earth-size planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have such planets.

Discover this exciting new find at The Melaka Space Fair 2012.

Melaka Space Fair 2012 :: Get to Know About The SETI Institute with Gabriel

2012-10-17T10:48:00.000+08:00

Discover the emerging new field of astrobiology featuring 'life-in-the-extreme' environment and explore the zoo-niverse with SETI Institute.

Gabriel Alvarado-Marín

Gabriel Alvarado-Marín is a member of the NASA Kepler Mission Education and Public Outreach team. He's a web designer and illustrator who has been at the SETI Institute since 2010, developing scientific and educational web content. His contributions include various astronomy illustrations, the creation of a website that introduces astronomy to pre-teens, and the current development of a SETI-themed game for the iPad. He was a speaker at the 2012 SETIcon II on the subject of science and games. Gabriel has a BFA in animation from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Melaka Space Fair 2012 Highlights :: Could Life Exist in an Environment That Would Kill Us ?!.

2012-10-14T18:29:00.000+08:00

Could organisms evolve to live in environment we consider extreme? Although living conditions in the parts of our solar system prove to be environment to extreme for our survival, why are we still convinced that life form could exist in conditions that would kill most life forms?

Studies of life in the extreme environment on earth have led us to finding microbes that are actually extreme environment tolerant. What are they, how and where do they thrive?

Find out about some of such environment found here on our own planet which shares almost similar features as that of a planet’s, for example Mars at the Life in the Extreme exhibition at the Melaka Space Fair 2012.