The Amazing Milky Way in the Universe

by:

Ni Luh Gede Dian Pondika Cahyaningsih

The spectacular universe forming process can be explained by a theory called Big Bang Theory. The Theory of Big Bang shows us that the space was begun by a big explosion which happened ten billion years ago. Then, after the explosion, the cosmos went through into super fast inflation, expanding from the size of an atom into combinations of atoms which seems like grapefruit. After that, a rapidly cooling cosmos allowed the quarks to clump into protons and neutrons. But because of those materials were still too hot to form into atom, charged electrons and protons prevented light from shining. After few times, the electrons combined with protons and neutrons to form atoms, mostly hydrogen and helium. At this moment, light could finally shine. Next, gravity made some coalescence of hydrogen and helium gases to form the giant clouds that would become galaxies. Meanwhile, smaller clumps of gas collapsed to form the first stars. In short, the theory of Big Bang is broadly accepted theory which describes the origin and evolution of our universe.   

The Milky Way is one of the wide galaxies in the universe. It has a center and also has groups of stars forming a shape which is like disk. The center of this galaxy is located at 30,000 light years from our star, the Sun. A light second is about 300,000 kilometers, it means that the distance between the center of Milky Way galaxy and the Sun is about 280 x 10¹⁹ kilometers. Meanwhile, our Earth is located 1.5 million kilometers from the Sun. it means that if we want to go to the center of Milky Way galaxy, we need to fly with a super speedy rocket which has minimum speed 7 x 10¹⁷ kilometers per hour. And it will take a long time to reach it, more than ten years to fly in the space. So, you can imagine how far the center of the galaxy from the Earth is.

Furthermore, the Milky Way galaxy consists of more than 100 billion stars which can be classified into seven spectrum classes. The classes are O, B, A, F, G, K, and M.  The first spectrum class is O, the class of stars which has the highest temperature. The temperature is more than 30,000 Kelvin. The stars in this spectrum class have blue color. Lacerta is a kind of stars which is classed into O spectrum class. Second is the B spectrum class which has lower temperature, between 11,000 until 29,999 Kelvin. Generally, the color of stars in B spectrum class is blue. Rigel and Spica are stars in spectrum class B. Next spectrum class is A spectrum class which has blue color and the temperature is between 7,500 until 10,999 Kelvin. The brightest star in the universe, Sirius, is categorized into the A spectrum class. The F spectrum class has temperature between 6000 until 7,499 Kelvin. The color of this spectrum class is whitish blue. Canopus and Proycon are the kinds of stars in this spectrum class. The fifth spectrum class which has temperature from 5,000 until 5,999 Kelvin is called G spectrum class. The Sun and Capella, stars with whitish yellow color, are classed in G spectrum class. Another spectrum class which has color ranging from orange to bright red is K spectrum class. The stars’ temperature in this class is from 3,500 until 4,999 Kelvin. The examples of stars in this spectrum class are Arcturus and Aldebaran.  And the last spectrum class of star which has the lowest temperature is M spectrum class. The temperature is between 2,500 until 2,999 Kelvin and the color of the stars in this spectrum class are red. Betelgeues and Antares are stars in M spectrum class. Those all are kinds of stars spectrum classes and their own characteristics in Milky Way galaxy.   

Beside that, the Milky Way galaxy is completed by other space terms, such as solar systems, planets, satellites, comets, and asteroids. There are billion of solar systems in this galaxy. There are also many planets in the galaxy. The planets are actually the part of a solar system. Our solar system consists of a star named the Sun –as the center of the solar system –and ten planets. The ten planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and newest planet named Sedna. Those planets surround the Sun in their elliptical orbit. Moreover, there are billion of satellites in the galaxy. The satellites surround the planets. For example, the Earth is surrounded by Moon as its satellite besides other satellites made by human. The Jupiter planet has the biggest amount of satellites. It is surrounded by 39 satellites, and the big four of the satellites are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Beside the solar systems, planets, and satellites, there are also asteroids in this galaxy. The asteroids are space things smaller than planets. The nearest asteroids that have been found by the astronomers are the “asteroid belt” located between the two planets, Mars and Jupiter. There are about more than 2 thousands of asteroids. Some famous asteroids are Troya, Icarus, and Ceres. Beside that, there are also some comets in this galaxy. The very famous comet is comet Halley which usually passes the Earth every 76 years. The whole space terms are the member of space found in the Milky Way galaxy.       

Some scientists predict that the universe includes Milky Way galaxy will become wider and wider, until it will become disappear in the future. It has relation with the theory of Big Bang. In 1929, an astronomer from America named Edwin Hubble said that our galaxy is expanding in continuously period. He observed that the expansion of the galaxies in the universe has constant velocity about 5% until 10% per 1 billion years. The galaxy and others things in this universe will be expanded slowly and when the velocity almost becomes zero, the universe will be cooler than before. Subsequently, the universe includes the galaxies will contract and maybe will explode again seems like what had happened ten billion years ago. But, you do not need to be afraid right now, because it will happen billion years later. So, if the explosion happens in the future, there will be no Milky Way again, and the universe will start new compositions.  

let's wai in Thailand

Thailand is a country with a long and rich history. Thailand is also one of those countries which have many traditions which modern times fortunately have not affected. Thai’s culture is especially well known for its uniqueness. It is well worth noting that Thai culture has traditionally been handed down from one generation to the next. One aspect of Thai’s unique culture is its way in greeting the people. Thai called their greeting: wai, pronounced like the word ‘why’ (www.wikipedia.com). In this paper, the writer will explain about the wai. It includes what is wai exactly, who the wai presented to, and how to do the wai correctly. It is important for us, especially for people who want to visit Thailand, to know about the culture and habit in that place to avoid something bad that maybe happen if we do not understand the culture there. 

Wai is greeting in Thailand which can be done by press the palms together and raise your fingertips towards your chin, nose, or eyebrow level and say “Sawasdee” (http://www.virtualtourist.com/favicon.ico). It is done to express respect, to get apologize, and also to express grateful. For Thais, it is very important to do the wai correctly. Because if we do it in a wrong way, it will be a comical thing and be a problem for foreign people who do not know how to do it correctly.

Generally, there are four levels of Wai that have to be noticed for everyone. They are the lowest level of Wai, the normal level of Wai, the next level of Wai and the last is the highest level of Wai (www.associatedcontent.com).

The first level is the lowest level of Wai. It is a kind of Wai which be presented to people who have the lower status than yourself. For example, if you are a seller, and there is a shopkeeper who greets you with Wai, you just reply it by using the lower level of Wai. The position of the tips of the fingers reaches to just below the chin. This first Wai level is also presented to the people whose social standing you are not sure yet. For example, if you meet someone at the first time, and you do not sure about him/her, you can practice this kind of Wai.  

The 1st level of Wai

Next is the normal level of Wai. It is presented to someone who is in your age or for someone who has same social status as yours. For example, if you are a teacher and you meet a student’s parent, it will be polite to greet the parent with this normal level of Wai in Thailand. This level of Wai is also delivered to someone you respect e.g. mother, father, teacher, etc. In this Wai, the fingertips touch the tip of the nose. Women then either bend their heads or bend their knees in a slight curtsey. Meanwhile, men just bend their heads in a bow.

The 2nd level of Wai

Furthermore, there is next level of Wai which is given to people of a higher social status, or who are older. It is usually done by the children who greet and respect to their teacher in a special occasion called the Wai Kruu. In this Wai, the tips of the fingertips touch the area between the eyebrows. Men bow and women curtsey at the same time. 

The 3rd level of Wai

The last, the final level of Wai is the one reserved for monks and the king. Thais always do this kind of Wai in the temple which is presented to the monks. Besides, it is presented to the government or the king in this country. This Wai is also done if someone needs apologize from others. In this level, the fingertips touch the hairline and the nose touches the base of the thumb. Men bow and women curtsey but, in this curtsey, one foot is stepped backwards so the curtsey can be lower. 

Another thing that has to be noticed is that you should never do Wai for the children first. If the children do the Wai to you, just reply it by big smile. You also should not do Wai by flapping your elbows like what the chicken do. Your elbows should be tucked into your body (www.expats-moving-and-relocation-guide.com).

That is all about the greeting in Thailand. People in Thailand always do the wai in their social life. It indicates the strong culture which is kept by the younger generation. The visitors of Thailand must respect this greeting tradition. By reading this paper, the reader will know how to practice wai. So, hopefully those kinds of etiquette to do Wai in Thailand will throw light on you when you visit Thailand.