My Science School

There are many professionals in the field of science who risk their lives for a living. Let's look at a few such professions today

Many seemingly enviable science jobs are fraught with danger. Members of the bomb disposal squad do heroic service by defusing bombs during terrorist attacks. They are well-trained professionals who have expertise in the field, but if they make a slight mistake, the consequences would be disastrous! Interestingly, bomb disposal or mine clearance experts in the British army are known as 'Felix because they are like cats with nine lives!

Scientists researching for vaccines against deadly diseases such as Ebola, Marburg or Anthrax willingly put their lives in great danger. Russian scientist Antonina Presnyakova, working on the Ebola vaccine, died after accidentally sticking herself with a needle laced with the virus.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as many as over 1,000 doctors died in the line of duty in India alone.

In troubled waters

The job of a diver is indeed extraordinary. Deep sea divers face the possibility of fatal injuries when they are under water, because pressure is very high at depths below 90 metres. They also face the risk of drowning if they run out of oxygen supply before making it back to the water surface.

Diver Rob Robbins dives into the frozen depths of the Antarctic for a living! He assists scientists doing underwater research in the Antarctic. Typically, the scientists have to dive under a 4-6 metres thick ice sheet to study the underwater world. Over the years, Rob and his colleagues have rescued at least a dozen scientists. But there have been casualties too. Although Rob acknowledges that losing sight of the ice hole-the exit point can be terrifying, he enjoys his job thoroughly. He loves the stark contrast: above the ice there is nothing alive, only ice. But when you drop through the hole you are treated to a vibrant, colourful world of sea creatures like a deep red starfish or a soft pink coral.

Playing with fire

For a volcanologist, watching an erupting volcano is an exhilarating experience that far outweighs the risks. Many have had a close brush with death while studying volcanoes. Sonia Calvari can never forget September 13, 1989, when she narrowly escaped death in the volcanic eruptions on Mount Etna in Italy.

But French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Kraft were not so lucky. They died along with 41 others when a fast-moving, massive flow of extremely hot gas and rock erupted from the volcano on Mount Unzen in Japan. Katia and Maurice were often the first to arrive at an active volcano for filming and documenting it.

Diving inside n-reactors

American Charlie Vallance's job involves diving inside nuclear reactors! Nuclear reactors need huge amounts of water in suppression pools to keep the reactor core from melting and also as an emergency coolant. Vallance dives into these massive tanks made of carbon steel to inspect and maintain them. Although water provides a very effective shield against radiation, divers have to take extra precautions while diving into water contaminated with radioactive substances.

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Hundreds of new UFO reports, but...there is still no evidence of aliens. The Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, has set up a new office to track reports of UFO sightings and collect data.

What are UFOs?

A new Pentagon office set up to track reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOS) has received "several hundreds" of new reports. What are UFOS? Over the centuries, people have reported seeing strange airborne objects or unusual optical phenomena in the sky. These are called UFOS. Over the years, the belief that UFOs are the spaceships of aliens from other planets has gained ground - though without any concrete evidence. Are there possibilities of extraterrestrial life? Shouldn't the sightings be tracked systematically? Well, that's why the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) was formed.

2. What is AARO?

The AARO was set up in July 2022 to track unidentified objects in the sky, underwater and in space. It was established following more than a year of attention on unidentified flying objects that military pilots have observed.

It focusses on unexplained activity around military installations, restricted airspace and "other areas of interest" and is aimed at helping identify possible threats to the safety of U.S. military operations and to national security.

3. Scientific approach

Sean Kirkpatrick, director, AARO, did not rule out the possibility of extraterrestrial life and said he was taking a scientific approach to the research. Since the launch of the AARO, there have been several hundred new reports.

"We are structuring our analysis to be very thorough and rigorous. We will go through it all. And as a physicist, I have to adhere to the scientific method."

4. No alien life

The U.S. military officially calls the 144 sightings observed between 2004 and 2021 as "unidentified aerial phenomena."

But they have seen nothing that indicates alien life. "I have not seen anything that would suggest that there has been an alien visitation, an alien crash or anything like that," said Ronald Moultrie, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.

5. Quick facts

The Air Force conducted an investigation into UFO activity called 'Project Blue Book’. It ended in 1969 with a list of 12,618 sightings, 701 of which involved objects that officially remained "unidentified."

In 1994, it concluded that the 1947 famous "Roswell incident" in New Mexico, was not an UFO but a crashed balloon, the military's long-standing explanation.

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During Earth's journey around the Sun, there are times when its orbit crosses the orbit of a comet. It is when the planet moves through the comet debris trail that we witness meteor showers. The showers are named after the star or constellation which is close to where the meteors appear to radiate in the sky.

All of us may have seen streaks of light zip through the sky. We call them shooting stars and we also wish upon them. Well, what are these shooting stars? What are these streams of light?

Consider the objects in space. These are lumps of rock or objects in space with sizes ranging from grains to small asteroids. A small piece of a comet or asteroid is called a meteoroid.

Meteoroid

These meteoroids can be considered as space rocks. They orbit the sun and when they enter Earth's atmosphere at a high speed, they burn because of frictional heating, causing the light. These rays of light are referred to as meteors.

When many meteors appear at once, we call it a meteor shower. During a meteor shower, a number of meteors can be seen radiating or originating from a point in the night sky.

But where do these meteoroids come from? How does Earth come across these? During Earth's journey around the Sun, there are times when its orbit crosses the orbit of a comet. It is when the planet moves through the comet debris trail that we witness meteor showers.

The meteor showers are named after the star or constellation which is close to where the meteors appear to radiate in the sky.

The Perseids meteor shower is the most famous meteor shower and they peak around August 12 every year.

Other notable meteor showers include the Leonids, Aquarids and Orionids and Taurids.

Now what happens when meteoroid survives the journey through the Earth's atmosphere and hits the ground? In that case, it becomes a meteorite.

Did you know that more than 50,000 meteorites have been found on Earth?

Picture Credit : Google