Weekly Observation Post 11+12

I'm going to combine week 11 and week 12 together since there was no school last Friday. Last week I honestly didn't observe much because it was Thanksgiving Break and I was spending time with my family, but I did manage to get out side for a total of about 20 minutes last week. I looked at the stars and didn't see anything recognizable except for Casseopia. I could tell it was Casseopia because of the "Worm Asterism". That comes in great use. This week I got to see Jupiter right near the moon. It was really cool. I took one of my sisters outside to show her and I told her it was Jupiter, but she didn't believe me. I know it was though. I think that's the third time I've seen Jupiter and the other times I saw it were in Summer so it was cool to see it in the fall.

APOD 2.5 A Halo Around the Moon

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121120.html

This picture kind of has a familiar meaning to me. I see this happen every now and then with the sun. I've never seen this happen with the moon, but it is just as interesting. This apparently happens from when there are very thin clouds in the sky. There are little, tiny ice crystals in the clouds that bounce light all around and make the halo shape. Now the next time that I see one with my family, whether it is with the sun or the moon, I will be able to tell them why it looks like that.

 

Good Constellation Quizzes/Practice Websites

3 Good websites
http://www.uni.edu/morgans/ajjar/Constellations/quiz/index.html
http://www.factmonster.com/quizzes/constellation/1.html
http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/science/stars_and_constellations/quiz816.html

Weekly Observation Post 10

During the extent of this week I didn't pay much attention to the stars. Instead I payed more attention to the moon. Last night (Thursday), I saw how the moon was just a sliver in the sky. It is now entering its waxing phase so it will soon grow larger. I should probably take advantage of the time now when it is small to look at the stars while I still can. I'm going to try to attend the star gaze at PV on Sunday, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to.

APOD 2.4 Solar Eclipse Over Queensland

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121115.html

On November 13th there was an amazing Solar Eclipse. Although most of the eclipse took place over the Southern part of the Pacific Ocean, some of it hit just the Northern tip of Australia in Queensland. In the picture shown of that very Solar Eclipse, you can see around the edges solar flares from the sun. It was a nearly full Solar Eclipse. Each one of the flares that you can see are bigger than most planets. It makes me really wish that I could have seen it and it makes me want to see the Solar Eclipse that will be in Kentucky even more.

Weekly Observation Post 9

Due to the clocks being turned back one hour, I now have to observe the cosmos one hour earlier. Throughout the week, I observed how the moon was very close to Jupiter. Now that I have seen Jupiter, I can add that to the list of planets I have seen. Now that it is transitioning into fall, more of the fall constellations will be visible. I ook forward to trying to spot those. Besides that, this week wasn't very eventful and I didn't really look at any of the summer constellations.

APOD 2.3 Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tail

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121108.html

This image, from the Hubble Legacy Archive, details an image of galaxy "Arp 188". Arp 188 is also known as the Tadpole. I can clearly see why it is known as the tadpole being that there is a long jet of gas being emitted from one side of the galaxy which gives it a 'tadpolesque' look. This galaxy is 420 million light years away from the the constellation Draco, which is actually pretty close despite the 'astronomical' numbers. The tail alone is 280 thousand light years long. The tadpole galaxy is filled with beautiful blue stars in the head and some in the tail. However, it is estimated that the tail of the galaxy will eventually split from the head and become a small satellite that will always hover near the head.

Weekly Observation Post 8

This week was a really good one. As always, I view Orion's Belt get higher and higher in the sky every day. I also believe I saw the Little Dipper. I couldn't quite identify it but it looked jsut like the handle and a little bit of the scooping part. There was some light pollution so that is to blame I assume. I also observed the full moon, which was really cool and very bright. Also, Friday, I think I saw Jupiter near the moon. I heard that it was supposed to look like a very faint star that was closest to the moon. I did see a very faint star that was pretty close to the moon, so I assume that was Jupiter. If it was, Jupiter would be the second planet I have ever seen besides Venus.

APOD 2.2 The Red Spider Planetary Nebula

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121029.html

This picture shows the Red Spider Planetary Nebula. I can clearly see why it is the "Red Spider" Nebula. It is very red in hue and has a couple of longer strands coming off the sides which resemble spider legs. This nebula was formed when a normal star shot out its gases and became a white dwarf star. This nebula holds one of the hottest white dwarf stars that we know of. The cosmic winds inside have been estimated to be moving at around 1,000 kilometers per second. That's a truly oustanding speed. This nebula is closest to the constellation of Saggitarius the Archer. The distance of this nebula is unkown, but it is estimated to be around 4,000 light years away.