NASA Discovers Westerhout 40

Written by: Olivia Giralt

Recently, NASA used the Spitzer Space Telescope to locate a nebula that serves as a nursery for hundreds of newborn stars. The nebula is named Westerhout 40 (W40) and is nicknamed "space butterfly" by NASA. The nebula is referred to as a butterfly due to its "wings", or bubbles of interstellar gas blown from massive and hot stars.

According to NASA, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are molecules consisting of hydrogen and carbon, become excited by interstellar radiation. This allows the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to emit light at approximately 8 microns, which provides the nebula with its red color.  

Westerhout 40 Source: NASA

Westerhout 40 also demonstrates the eradication of the clouds that form stars. Material is forced into dense clumps by gravity within clouds of dust and gas. Due to the density, the stars are able to form at their cores. When stars explode, their materials are emitted into space to combine with winds and radiation produced from massive stars within the clouds. This process distributes the dust and gas, which fractures the dense clumps, eventually preventing or slowing the formation of new stars.

Westerhout 40 is located at about 1400 light-years from the Orion nebula and the Sun. The Orion nebula and Westerhout 40 are two of the closest regions to earth that form stars. In fact, in the two regions, stars with masses 10 times the size of the sun have been observed.

The Spitzer Space Telescope has been utilized to identify another cluster of stars referred to as Serpens South. At some point in the future, stars embedded within the cloud of Serpens South will break loose and assemble bubbles similar to Westerhout 40. The Serpens South is believed to be younger than a few million years old.

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Sparta Russian Students Triumph At Russian Olympiada

Written by: Marguerite Bysshe 

On Monday, Mar. 25, Russian students grades 9-12 traveled to Drew University to compete in the International Russian Olympiada contest. The competition consists of a memorized text and poem, multiple memorized speeches about Russian civilization and culture, as well as an improvised personal topic. Each commission is judged by Russian teachers as well as college students fluent in Russian and is graded out of 100 points each. Each student’s scores are combined to determine their final score and their medal or honorable mention.

The contest was attended by high schools across the state, with Russian levels ranging from II-V. The students from Sparta prepared weeks before in and out of class and constantly reviewed throughout March. The day of the competition, an overwhelming sense of anxiety hung in the air and the bus ride down to Drew flew by as everyone crammed some last minute review.

Although the atmosphere was intense, every student did a great job. Once everyone started to enter the testing room and float from commission to commission, speaking in Russian became more comfortable. Most students went in with low expectations and came out feeling relieved and proud of themselves for the level they were able to speak at. Overall, the contest was a fun and unique experience.

Sparta students from all grades did exceptionally well, receiving all gold and silver medals. Sparta did so well, in fact, 12th grader Kasey Senatore managed to earn the highest grade out of all the competitors from all levels. This means she will have the opportunity to move on to the next level and represent the USA in Moscow. When asked about how she prepared, Senatore replied, “I started refreshing myself on the old topics first, taking a day to make sure I had them memorized before I moved onto the new civilization and literature topics...Then I broke up the readings sentence by sentence, taking breaks to refresh between studying, which made the longer texts much easier to handle.” Senatore also mentioned that knowing her learning style helped her learn the material quickly, a tip that could help anyone looking to compete in the Olympiada in coming years.

"It was also great to have a bit of experience on a college campus,” Senatore reflects. Sitting in one of the International buildings all day, college kids were constantly filtering in and out making the environment feel from a high school classroom.

Overall, this experience was beneficial to everyone who participated. The contest itself was challenging but also rewarding and a great way to improve Russian skills overall.

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Sparta Music Program Visits Orlando

Written by: Sarah Riley 

From Mar. 14 to Mar. 17, Sparta High School’s band, orchestra, and marching band students had an incredible opportunity to travel down to Orlando, Florida for a 4-day fun-filled trip. The students came out with memorable experiences to keep with them forever-- a mix of roller coasters and musical performances, and memorable experiences to keep with them. Their trip started with an early morning flight to Orlando followed by a stop at Universal Studios. The rest of the trip consisted of three days at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios, concluding with a flight back to the North.                 

  

“It was an experience I will never forget. I learned so much in the little time we had. It was so much fun!” says orchestra student Emma Muth. The experience allowed the students to really see what it would be like to be a professional musician working. In the workshop, Disney allowed the students to see the working life of live performers and experience what it would be like to be in the studio recording music for every beloved Disney movie.

Not only was the learning experience an amazing opportunity, but spending a few days in the warmth away from the cold in New Jersey was a welcome change for the Spartans. Band and Marching Band member, Jessica Steel, very much enjoyed the trip: “I thought it was a lot of fun to hang out with my friends in a really cool place, and I got to march in the parade which was really awesome.”

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