Friday, September 28, 2012
Weekly Observation Post 4
This week was bad Sunday through Wednesday for me. However, Thursday night and Friday morning were great. Sunday through Monday was way too cloudy for me to see anything. On Thursday night I saw Orion's Belt, which I had never seen before. I really like to see new things in the sky that I would never have been able to identify before without taking this Astronomy class. Friday morning I also saw Orion's Belt and I could also see some random stars that I could not identify. Overall it was a good week for me because I got to see Orion's Belt, which I had never seen before. I never would have been able to tell it was Orion's Belt without taking this class.
APOD 1.5 NGC 2736 The Pencil Nebula
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120924.html
The "Pencil Nebula" is a large shockwave that is traveling at oustanding speeds. It is traveling at around 500,000 Km per hour. I can see why it is called the Pencil Nebula, due do it being a long thin line with smaller red ones that are being emitted from behind. It may seem strange, but it kind of reminds me of a beta fish. This nebula is 5 light years long and 800 light years away, making it close compared to other nebulas. It has been identified as a remnant of the Vela Supernova. When the supernova occured, the shockwaves were moving at millions of miles per hour, but has since slowed down to 500,000 Km per hour. In my opinion. it's one of the most interesting looking nebulas around.
The "Pencil Nebula" is a large shockwave that is traveling at oustanding speeds. It is traveling at around 500,000 Km per hour. I can see why it is called the Pencil Nebula, due do it being a long thin line with smaller red ones that are being emitted from behind. It may seem strange, but it kind of reminds me of a beta fish. This nebula is 5 light years long and 800 light years away, making it close compared to other nebulas. It has been identified as a remnant of the Vela Supernova. When the supernova occured, the shockwaves were moving at millions of miles per hour, but has since slowed down to 500,000 Km per hour. In my opinion. it's one of the most interesting looking nebulas around.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
John Flamsteed Sources
Gillispie, Charles Coulston. Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Detroit: Scribner, 2008. Print.
Frommert, Hartmut. "John Flamsteed." John Flamsteed. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://messier.seds.org/xtra/Bios/flamsteed.html>.
School of Mathematics and Statistics University of St. Andrews. "John Flamsteed." Flamsteed Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Flamsteed.html>.
Britannica. "John Flamsteed (British Astronomer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/209448/John-Flamsteed>.
Frommert, Hartmut. "John Flamsteed." John Flamsteed. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://messier.seds.org/xtra/Bios/flamsteed.html>.
School of Mathematics and Statistics University of St. Andrews. "John Flamsteed." Flamsteed Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Flamsteed.html>.
Britannica. "John Flamsteed (British Astronomer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/209448/John-Flamsteed>.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Weekly Observation Post 3
This week was not an eventful one for me. Sadly, most of the days of the week were overcast and I couldn't see anything. The clouds were too dense, which severly obstructed my vision. Stars were also barely visible during the night. I did catch a glimpse at the moon, which was a Waxing Crescent. I also was very disapointed as I wanted to see Mars, however, I forgot to look for it. This week was not the best one for observations.
APOD 1.4 September Aurora
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120921.html
The green and red aurora depicted in this image will become more common because of the equinox seasons bringing more geomagnetic storms. No one is really sure why the equinox seasons increase the amount of geomagnetic storms, but what we do know is that the more geomagnetic storms that Earth suffers, then the more auroras will be visible. In this picture it happens to be an image of the Northern Lights, along with a tree directly in the middle. The lights are actually extremely high in the sky, around 100 kilometers. A few major stars are also visible in the picture, such as Polaris, Shedar, Kochab, and Altair.
The green and red aurora depicted in this image will become more common because of the equinox seasons bringing more geomagnetic storms. No one is really sure why the equinox seasons increase the amount of geomagnetic storms, but what we do know is that the more geomagnetic storms that Earth suffers, then the more auroras will be visible. In this picture it happens to be an image of the Northern Lights, along with a tree directly in the middle. The lights are actually extremely high in the sky, around 100 kilometers. A few major stars are also visible in the picture, such as Polaris, Shedar, Kochab, and Altair.
Friday, September 14, 2012
APOD 1.3 M7 Open Star Cluster in Scorpius
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120912.html
In this image of the M7 open star cluster, you can see many stars, but mostly dominated by blue ones, in the tail of Scorpius. The M7 star cluster contains around 100 stars and there are about 30 or so very visible ones. It is apparent that this large open star cluster has been known since the year of 130 AD, which was first noted by Ptolemy. A few dark clouds are also visible in the image along with millions upon millions of other stars far out past the constellation of Scorpius. This open star cluster is 25 light years across, which is massive, and is around 100 light years away. Being that this star cluster is 200 million years old, it may be possible that one of the stars in this cluster could have died, and we wouldn't even know for another 100 years because it is so far away that the light takes so long to reach us.
In this image of the M7 open star cluster, you can see many stars, but mostly dominated by blue ones, in the tail of Scorpius. The M7 star cluster contains around 100 stars and there are about 30 or so very visible ones. It is apparent that this large open star cluster has been known since the year of 130 AD, which was first noted by Ptolemy. A few dark clouds are also visible in the image along with millions upon millions of other stars far out past the constellation of Scorpius. This open star cluster is 25 light years across, which is massive, and is around 100 light years away. Being that this star cluster is 200 million years old, it may be possible that one of the stars in this cluster could have died, and we wouldn't even know for another 100 years because it is so far away that the light takes so long to reach us.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Weekly Observation Post 2
Today, September 12th, the planet Venus was very visible in the early morning sky and was extremely close to the moon throughout most of the day. During the early morning when it was still dark outside, it was clearly visible and could be almost instantly recognized. However, throughout the day when the moon changed location in the sky and it getting brighter outside, it was a little more difficult to spot-yet still possible. Venus was extremely bright and was fun to observe. I could also see Juipter, which was very high up in the sky- almsot directly above me, much higher than Venus.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Weekly Observation Post 1
During this week, I observed the moon a few times. One of the times I looked at it at was about 6:50 in the morning and it looked exceptionally large. It was, of course, a full moon and was extremely bright. The sight of the large moon struck awe into me and I can't wait until the next time I get to see one. Also, on August 31st, there was what is referred to as a "Blue Moon". A Blue Moon is when a full moon appears twice in one month. Luckily enough for me, I got to see it. It was not blue, but it was certainly just as fascinating as any other full moon. I look forward to seeing future full moons and perhaps even more Blue Moons.
APOD 1.2 M45: The Pleiades Star Cluster
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120903.html
I chose an image of the M45: The Pleiades Star Cluster. It is one of the closest and most open star clusters that we know of. It has around 3000 stars and is an astonishing 400 light years away. The picture strikes interest into me because of the few very notably bright stars, which are known as the "Seven Sisters". Apparently, some "light brown dwarfs" (a small star with not enough mass to shine by nuclear fission) have been found within Pleiades. This start cluster is a combination between large and smaller stars making it very diverse and interesting to me.
I chose an image of the M45: The Pleiades Star Cluster. It is one of the closest and most open star clusters that we know of. It has around 3000 stars and is an astonishing 400 light years away. The picture strikes interest into me because of the few very notably bright stars, which are known as the "Seven Sisters". Apparently, some "light brown dwarfs" (a small star with not enough mass to shine by nuclear fission) have been found within Pleiades. This start cluster is a combination between large and smaller stars making it very diverse and interesting to me.
Monday, September 3, 2012
APOD 1.1 Colorful Clouds Near Rho Ophiuchi
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120828.html
The "Colorful Clouds Near Rho Ophiuchi" truly intrigued me. After studying the picture for a few minutes, it looks as though there are millions upon millions of other stars that are visible in the background behind the cosmic clouds. The fact that there are that many stars is really mind boggling. Not only did the gargantuan amount of stars interest me, but the vibrant colors of the image are fascinating. I believe that the place where one could find the most vast spectrum of colors in the universe would be in space, rather than somewhere in nature on Earth. Stars and galaxies and cosmic clouds all contain thousands of different colors that make them beautiful. Not only are minute stars visible in this image, but there are around thirty or so other stars that are more visible than others. Some of them are even different colors. This image really sparked my interest purely because of the colors and the massive amount of stars visible.
The "Colorful Clouds Near Rho Ophiuchi" truly intrigued me. After studying the picture for a few minutes, it looks as though there are millions upon millions of other stars that are visible in the background behind the cosmic clouds. The fact that there are that many stars is really mind boggling. Not only did the gargantuan amount of stars interest me, but the vibrant colors of the image are fascinating. I believe that the place where one could find the most vast spectrum of colors in the universe would be in space, rather than somewhere in nature on Earth. Stars and galaxies and cosmic clouds all contain thousands of different colors that make them beautiful. Not only are minute stars visible in this image, but there are around thirty or so other stars that are more visible than others. Some of them are even different colors. This image really sparked my interest purely because of the colors and the massive amount of stars visible.
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