Travel to a black hole

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• Travel to a black hole

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Having the space experience would you go?

• Imagine . . .
• you are offered a free trip on one of the new
  Virgin Galactic spaceplanes to the Space Station
  
• Would you go?
• What would you see?

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• Earthrise . . . One of the first views of planet
  Earth taken from the vantage point of space
• Apollo 8 24 December 1968

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Read the article travel to a black hole
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What exactly is a black hole?
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3 types of black holes

• Stellar 3 to 10 times the
  mass of our Sun
• Supermassive millions or billions of times the
  mass of our Sun
• Intermediate 100 to 1000 times the mass of
  our Sun

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MILKY WAY MONSTER

• Most astronomers agree that there may be a
  supermassive black hole at the centre of the
  Milky Way galaxy

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Activity 1 A Short Story

• Write a short story about the first journey to a
  black hole.
• Plan it first.
• Include a mixture of scientifically accurate
  information as well as pure fiction but make
  sure YOU know which is which! (let your
  imagination go!)
• At the end, make a list of the things in your
  story that were not scientifically accurate with
  the knowledge scientists have today. Say which of
  these things do you think scientists will find
  answers to in the future and which do you think
  are pure fiction and impossible to accomplish.

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Activity 2 Whats it like living in space?

• Choose ONE possible effect of living in space and
  prepare to give a 5-10 minute talk about it. (can
  use ppt / poster presentation / etc)

• space motion sickness
• fluid shift - fluid shifts from the lower to
  upper body giving a puffy feeling especially in
  the face and hands
• cardiovascular de-conditioning
• decrease in red blood cell mass
• mineral losses and bone loss in the lower
  extremities
• temporary loss of sense of balance
• a significant increase in the urinary excretion
  of calcium
• significant nitrogen and phosphorus loss,
  presumably associated with muscle tissue loss
  (atrophy)
• muscle loss - especially in the legs

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Activity 3 A Space Travel Brochure

• Design a space tourism brochure, offering
  information on

• How you will travel.
• Departure and return dates.
• What your accommodation, living conditions and
  meals will be like.
• What you should pack to wear.
• Sightseeing describe at least 5 sights in
  detail.
• Health warning what are the possible health
  risks?
• Cost.
• The brochure should be attractively presented
  (show off all your computer skills!), including
  photos and accurate information.

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Plenary

• How realistic is travel to space for everyday
  people? Why/Why not?
• What is needs to be considered for staying in
  space for any length of time?
• How realistic is travel to a black hole?
  Why/Why not?
• What would make travel to black holes possible
  or is such a trip impossible? Why?