Zooniverse Post 5

This is my last Zooniverse Post, as I've completed 10 hours of work now. I'll admit it wasn't the most fun of work, but it was a good learning experience. I did have fun identifying galaxies and stars.

Weekly Observation Post 30

This week was very good for observations. I saw a lot of constellations and could see the moon nightly. Not one day had a cloudy night, which was very nice for me because the last few weeks sometimes more than half of the say have been rendered useless due to cloud cover. Although this is probably my last Observation Post, I can assure you that I will continue to look into the skies and wonder what I'm looking at. I will teach my kids what I have learned and hopefully they will teach it to their kids. I saw a ton of spring constellations this week and I can't wait to see the Summer constellation when they start to roll around.

APOD 4.8 The Waterfall and The World at Night

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130517.html
This is a truly beautiful picture. This picture has so much going on in it. It shows the waterfall Godafoss (The God's Waterfall) with the Milky Way in the background with a green aurora over head. You can see M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, in the background which adds to the overall beauty of the image. I hope some day I will be able to see something like this in person.

Riccardo Giacconi Biography

Riccardo Giacconi was born in Genoa, Italy on October 6^th of 1931. Even though he was born in Genoa, he spent most of his days living in Milano until 1956. His mother, Elsa, taught high school math and physics. She also helped to write geometry textbooks which were used all across Italy. Riccardo’s father, Antonio, owned a small business and was anti-fascist. When Riccardo was only eight years old, his parents were legally separated.

Riccardo lived during the WWII era and when Milano was bombed in 1942, he was sent to go live with his aunts in Cremona, Italy. After WWII was over, he moved back to Milano and lived there until 1956. After returning from the sheltering of his aunts, he received a doctorate in physics. Most of his thesis works were about nuclear reactors. It was suggested to him that he should move to the United States to further his schooling in physics. He moved to the U.S in 1956 and had lived there ever since. He gained passage to the U.S via a scholarship. Riccardo worked and studied in Indiana with a man named R.W. Thompson. He eventually left working with Thompson, as it was leading nowhere, and Riccardo was adopted by MIT. He began to get into the study of cosmic ray research. This is what he really wanted to learn more about and explore. This was right around the time he married the girl he has known since he was only sixteen years old. Her name was Mirella. After he married Mirlella, he became enrolled in AS&E and did research there from 1959 to 1962- which is what he considers the most productive years of his life. He helped to estimate payloads of satellites and rockets. He also helped advance the field of X-Ray astronomy.

After he became involved in the field of X-Ray astronomy, he helped in the building of the Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope was a huge success and was, and still is, one of the best- if not the best, space telescope to date. After the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope, he began to settle down and not do as much research and studying. In 1991, tragedy struck, as his son died in an automobile accident. Riccardo Giacconi is still alive today and won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002. He will be considered one of the best and most well known astronomers of all time.

Riccardo Giacconi Sources

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2002/giacconi-autobio.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/884345/Riccardo-Giacconi

http://chandra.harvard.edu/chronicle/0402/nobel/

Zooniverse Post 4

Now I'll admit when we had time to work on the Zooniverse stuff in class, I wasn't working on it. I was researching various animals instead, but I made up for it at home over the course of the week. I identified a TON of galaxies and about 20 stars. This Zooniverse stuff actually slightly interests me and I have fun doing it sometimes.

Weekly Observation Post 29

This week was good for my observations. I saw many constellations and was able to see the moon clearly. I can't wait to see the full moon tonight. Not a single cloud was visible for me so this week was a real good one for  me.

APOD 4.7 A Supercell Thunderstorm Cloud Over Montana

http://www.star.ucl.ac.uk/~apod/apod/ap130505.html

This astounding picture depicts a very massive storm in Montana, USA. The kind of thundercloud that is shown in the picture is known as a "Super Cell". I can see why, as it all looks confined to a small cell and looks rather ferocious on the inside. These storms can cause massive damage and even start tornadoes. I think it would be really cool to be able to see one in person, no matter how dangerous it could be.

Zooniverse Post 3

I can say with the utmost certainty that I like identifying galaxies and stars is a whole lot more fun that it is with the Moon's surface. I am glad that I changed my topic because I am having so much more fun with it. And to be honest, I actually did it in my spare time once rather than doing it for homework. Just seeing all the galagtic formations interesets me and I can only hope that the next one I see is a cool one.

Weekly Observation Post 28

This week was actually pretty lousy for viewing the stars. It was raining heavily in my area and I couldn't see anything except for on Monday. All I could see Monday was the moon and a few miscelanious constellations. However, I do believe that I saw Hydra, a constellation that I have never seen before. I guess it was better than seeing nothing.

APOD 4.6 Milky Way and Stone Tree

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130429.html

This picture is one of the coolest I have ever seen. The picture shows a large portion of the Milky Way Galaxy that can be seen from Earth. I had no idea that it was so visible and as colurful as it is. The "Stone Tree" to the left makes the picture seem all the more interesting to me. What also surprises me is how big the milky way is. It takes up a vast portion of the sky. Unfortunatley, I have never been anywhere dark enough for far away enoug fr

Zooniverse Post 2

I have decided to change my topic from identifying craters and canyons on the moon to observing and classifying nebulas and galaxys. It is a whole lot more fun than sitting and looking at the moon's surface. I wanted to change my topic because looking at the moon was getting quite repetetive. I have seen a few really cool looking galaxys along with a few stars. I hope to see some more cool stuff in the future.

Weekly Observation Post 27

This was an okay week for observing the cosmos. It was a little bit cloudy on all the days of the week, but there was still a deal of objects that I could see. For example, the full moon was clearly visible on Thursday night along with a few constellations such as Ursa Major and Leo. There was nothing really special to see, so I hope that something extra special happens next week that I can see.

APOD 4.5 The Horsehead Nebula in Infrared from Hubble

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130422.html
This is an image from the Hubble Space Telescope of the Horsehead Nebula. It was taken in the infrared wavelength and looks absolutley amazing. It does actually look like a horse's head and at the bottom, for me at least, there appears to be a hand shaped cloud reaching out and trying to grasp the viewer. This picture was taken in honor of Hubble's 23rd Anniversary. This nebula is just over 1,500 light years away and is cataloged as "Barnard 33".

Zooniverse Post 1

Just a few days ago I started to catalog craters on the moon's surface. It's very boring unfortunatley, but I don't want to do any of the other topics to chose from. I can classify the craters in a few different ways and also identify some trenches or small canyons on the moon as well. I hope to see something on the moon that is really big. Unfortunatley I haven't seen anything like this yet. Just small craters and small canyons. I'm hoping eventually to see a large crater or rift.

Weekly Observation Post 26

This week was decent for observing. It was very cloudy by my house on Wednesday and Thursday so I couldn't see much on those days. However, on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I was able to see the sky pretty good. I looked at the moon and also looked at a few constellations. Unfortunatley, it was nothing that I haven't seen before so it wasn't THAT exciting, but better than nothing I suppose :)

APOD 4.4 Sun With Solar Flare

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130413.html

This image shows our sun in UV light expelling energy. It's the largets solar flare seen yet in 2013 and it is enormous compared to the size of Earth. This particular solar flare was taken on April 11th. The colors of the sun are absolutley stunning and it looks even more beautiful than it does in visible light.

Weekly Observation Post 25

This week was decent for looking at the stars. I was able to see the moon on every night except for Thursday because it was extremely cloudy. Thursday was the only day I wasn't able to see anything. On the other days of the week I was able to view multiple constellations such as Orion, and what I believe was Leo. I think I saw Regulus. Regulus is a bright star, but the faintest of them all. I'm pretty sure it was Regulus that I saw, though.

APOD 4.3 Yuri's Planet

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130412.html

This is an amazing image of Earth at night from the ISS. You can see all the lights on and are able to tell what parts of Earth are most inhabited. This portion of Earth is the right side of the U.S, so the Atlantic Coast. New York and Long Island are clearly visible in this picture. If you move left from there, you are able to see Baltimore, Phildelphia, and Washington D.C. This image is really fascinating and the lights almost look like veins connecting the Earth.

Weekly Observation Post 24

This week was not good at all for observing. It was EXTREMELY cloudy at my house due to rain and bad weather. I was only able to observe the moon this week. However, on Sunday I was able to see a few stars, but none of them I could identify due to there being sporatic cloud coverage.

APOD 4.2 IC 4592: The Blue Horsehead Reflection Nebula

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130402.html

This image shows the Horse Head nebule located in the constellation of Orion. I've looked at this nebula before, but it was different colors and looked slightly different. In the picture I saw before, the "head" looked more like the skelleton of a horse. With this one, however, the head looks more like an actual horse's head and not so much as the skelleton of a horse. This entire nebula is made from dust, which is extremely reflective and this is why we can see it.

Weekly Observation Post 23

This week was good for observing. I was able to see the moon, which was giant on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday it appeared to have a yelowish-orangish hue to it. However, on Thursday it reverted back to being pure white. It was a great spectacle. I was also able to see a few constellations such as Orion and Cepheus. I look forward to more observations in the future. I also wish I could go to the astronomy night observation, but on weekdays and Saturdays I work from 5-9 p.m and can't make it.

APOD 4.1 A Horizon Rainbow in Paris

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130327.html
This is an absolutley beautiful picture that was taken in Paris that has a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower along with a rainbow horizon. This rainbow is formed from when the sun's rays hit rain. So where you're seeing the rainbow, it's actually raining. Rainbows like this only occur for a few minutes, so it's extremely lcky to get a picture like this.

Weekly Observation Post 22

This week was really good for observing the cosmos. Last Saturday, I was visiting UF for a campus tour, I had to leav early in the morning so it was dark outside. On the way there, I noted many constellations. The constellations I saw were Cepheus, Andromeda, Pegasus, Orion and Scorpius. I haven't seen some of those in a while so I was happy that I got to see them on the way there. The rest of the week was unfortunatley cloudy, so no other observations could be made.

Weekly Observation Post 21

This week wasn't very good for observations. It was incredibly cloudy where I lived so I wasn't able to see anything else besides the moon and a few miscellaneous stars that I couldn't identify. There is really nothing to report this week, so I can only hope that next week will be better.

APOD 3.8 Thor's Helmet

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130307.html

This is a picture of the famous cosmic cloud "Thor's Helmet". I can see why it is called such, as it does look like a helmet with some kind of wings on the side that poke out of the top. This cloud is an outstanding 30 light years across. It was formed from the massive winds of the star in this nebula's core. The star is thought to be in a pre-super nova stage. This nebula is 15,000 light years away from Canis Major. This nebula is a bluish-green because of the mass presence of oxygen.

Henry Draper Biography

Gasparoni 1

Antonio Gasparoni

Mr. Percival

Astronomy Honors

5 March, 2013

Henry Draper Biography

            Henry Draper, born in March 7, 1837 in Prince Edward County, was an American doctor and a novice astronomer. He is most well known for his groundbreaking work in astrophotography. Henry Draper’s father, John Williams Draper, was a well known doctor, chemist, botanist, and professor at New York University. In 1867, John Draper married Anna Mary Palmer, who was a well known and rather wealthy socialite.

            What got Henry interested in astronomy was when he took a stellar spectrum photo in 1872. This was one of the first of its kinds and was the beginning of an awesome new study of astronomy. Henry Draper was also the first person ever to photograph the Orion Nebula, one of the most well known nebulas today, on September 30, 1880. Also, in 1874, he directed a crew of astronomers who took a photograph of the Transit of Venus. In 1880, he also took a picture of Jupiter’s spectrum. Nearly all of his observations and photos were taken at his favorite observatory in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Throughout his career, Draper received numerous awards for his pioneering work and observations. One of such awards was a medal for directing the observations of the Transit of Venus.

            Unfortunately, on November 20, 1882, Henry Draper died due to Double Pleurisy. Double Pleurisy is when a membrane around your lungs becomes inflamed and badly damages your lungs. After his death, his wife announced a new award that could be given to astronomers called the “Henry Draper Medal” if you showed outstanding efforts in astrophysics. A telescope was created to create the Henry Draper Catalog of stellar spectrums. Henry Draper was invaluable in the pioneering of astrophotography and is one of the most well-known astronomers of all time.

Henry Draper Sources

Gibson, Steven J. "DRAPER, HENRY." Henry Draper Biography. University of Calgary, 2001. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.

 

Soylent. "Henry Draper." Nndb.com. Soylent Communications, 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.

 

Weekly Observation Post 20

This week was a good one for observing. I saw many constelaltions. Such constellations I saw were Orion, Gemini (I'm pretty sure that's what I saw), Casseopia, and I could clearly see Rigel and Betelgeuse. I also looked at the moon since it was so big on Wedensday night. I hope that next week will be as good as this past week has been.

APOD 3.7 Colors of Mercury

This picture is shown in the Visible Light spectrum. It shows the true colors of Mercury. I had no idea that Mercury was actually so colorful. I always pictured it as plain orange with no other colors. Come to find out it has blue, white, grey, orange and many others. The large crater in the top right is known as the "Caloris Basin". It is massive and was caused by a collision from either a metiorite or comet.

Nebula Research: Cat's Eye and Boomerang Nebula

Cat's Eye Nebula located in the constellation of Draco.

The Cat's Eye Nebula is one of the most intricate nebulas that we know of. It has many overlapping layers that can be seen easily in the picture above that is in black and white. In that picture you can see the spiraling effect on the dust and gas. The star in the very middle of it is also very visible. The orange and black picture was not taken in visible light (to be honest I don't know what it was taken in), but it shows what the nebula looks like without any interference from background light or objects.

The Boomerang Nebula located in the constellation of Centaurus.

There are not as many pictures for the Boomerang Nebula, but it is still interesting none the less. The third picture gives you a better understanding of what it looks like. The last picture that is shown above gives you a look at the nebula from a distance instead of up close.

Weekly Observation Post 19

This week was not very good for observing the cosmos- again. For most of the nights of the week, except Tuesday, the sky above my house was primarily covered in clouds which is greatly dissapointing. All I really got to see was the moon and a few stars along with the constellation of Orion. But I guess seeing just those is better than seeing nothing. Hopefully next week will prove more fruitful.

APOD 3.6 A Beautiful Boomerang Nebula

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071228.html
Yet another older picture on the APOD website, but one I still like. This is a picture of the Boomerang Nebula, which is now my new favorite nebula over the Rosette Nebula. This is a beautiful, almost symetrical nebula that is also the coldest place known to man. It is just over 1 degree Kelvin above Absolute Zero. This nebula was created by the winds of a aging star that blo at over 600,000 Km per hour. Because of this rapid expansion, the center is incredibly cold. This image was taken by Hubble in 2007 with polarized filters. This constellation spans about one light year across and is 5,000 light years away in the constellation of Centaurus.

Formation of a Star Pictures

http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/star_life/starlife_proto.html
This website shows a picture of a Protostar from the Eagle Nebula. Protostars are incredibly unstable and do not always form into stars.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Sirius_A_and_B_Hubble_photo.jpg/220px-Sirius_A_and_B_Hubble_photo.jpg
This is a picture of a non main-sequence star known as a White Dwarf. We know it's a non main-sequence star because White Dwarfs are not counted as a main-sequence star along with other things like Red Giants and Brown Dwarfs.

http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00108/Images/sun-soho011905-1919z2.jpg
This is a picture of our Sun, which is a main-sequence star.

http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci102/text/molecularcollapse.htm
A cloud fragment is when interstellar clouds break up and can possibly form a star. This is a website that shows the procces step by step of how a star can form from a Cloud Fragment. This site details 15 different steps that a Nebula must go through to form a Cloud Frgament, Protostar, and a star.

http://www.tomaszrutstudio.com/nebula.html
This website shows a picture of an Interstellar Cloud. An Interstellar Cloud is a large formation of gas and dust. (Please note that the grammar and syntax of this website makes no sense at all... "Cocoon nebulacommand the hubble space telescope tonight, in astronomy to cats." is such an example of said terrible spelling/grammar/syntax). http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_405.html
This is a picture from the NASA website that details the Boomerang Nebula, my now new favorite nebula. Nebulas are interstellar clouds so it will have the same information as the last website. I'm just including it becase the Boomerang Nebula looks cool and to give some more credible information about Interstellar Clouds. An interesting fact about the Boomerang Nebula is that it's the coldest place in the universe found yet at one degree Kelvin above Absolute Zero, this equates to -460F.

Weekly Observation Post 18

This week wasn't that good for any kind of observations. I did get to see Jupiter high overhead and I also saw the moon each night. Besides that the only other thing I saw were clouds. Once the coldfront came in, it got real bad. I hope that next week will have better days for observing.

APOD 3.5 The Rosette Nebula

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120214.html
This is actually a 2012 picture but I has to use it anyway. Since we just learned about the constellation of Monoceros in class, I wanted to use a picture of this nebula. I have seen this nebula before when I was doing my Hubble project and this nebula caught my eye. It's definitley the most beautiful nebula I have ever seen and if I had to pick a favorite, this is it.
This nebula is 5,000 light years away and is shaped by the energy of young stars. These stars are only a few million years old which is very young for a star. It is 50 light years across and can be seen with a small telescope. If I ever am to get a telescope for myself, I will surely try to see this nebula.

Weekly Observation Post 17

This week was good for observing the stars, besides Thursday night. I was able to view the ISS just a little before 7 PM on Wednesday, which I was really looking forward to. I almost could not see it due to some trees, but it was still visible. I was going to look for it again on Thursday and show my sisters but it was very cloudy and we weren't able to see it which was very disappointing. I'm going to try to get them to look for it another time, though.

APOD 3.4 LL Ori and the Orion Nebula

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130203.html

This is a picture of some stellar gas from LL Ori interacting with the gases in the Orion Nebula. The winds in this nebula are even more powerful than the winds that our own sun puts out. The is a clear wave traveling though this nebula, and is traveling at supersonic speeds. This whole nebula just looks magical and is one of the most esthetically appealing nebulas I've ever seen.

Moon Atlas

Moon Atlas

Weekly Observation Post 16

This week's observations were good. Over the weekend I viewed the moon which when I viewed early enough looked slightly orangish or redish. As it got higher in the sky, the moon returned to its normal white color. I eventually learned from class this was due to it first rising. I could see Orion and Orion's Belt, as I do every week, and I believe I also so Casseiopia. This was a decent star gazing week and I wish I could go to the observation night on Saturday but I just can't due to my schedule for the day. Maybe next time.

APOD 3.3 In The Center of The Trifid Nebula

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130128.html

This picture shows the incredibly complex and brightly colored Trifid Nebula. The various clouds of colorful gas are in close proximity with the constellation Sagittarius. There are three promininces in this nebula which intersect at the middle, thus giving the nebula it's name. This nebula is also known as M20 and is only estimated to be about 300,000 years old- which compared to the length of time since the origin of the universe, is quite short. This beautiful nebula is 9,000 light years away and is 10 light years across. This is one of the most fascinating nebulas I have ever seen.

Weekly Observation Post 15

This week was a decent week for observing. I didn't really have observing on my mind during Monday and Tuesday. However, I observed Orion, as always, and the moon on Wednesday and Thursday. I could also see what I believe is Jupiter. I look forward to seeing the moon on Saturday. I image the whole event looking quite miraculous.

APOD 3.2 The Cygnus Wall of Star Formation

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130122.html

This picture shows a large cloud of gas in the constellation of Cygnus. It is known as the "Cygnus Wall". It's actually just a massive amount of hot gas. It is part of what is known as the "North American Nebula". I don't really know why it is called that- to me it doesn't look like North America at all. But none the less, this is an amazing spectacle.

Weekly Observation Post 14

Early in this week I was watching Orion and how it's getting higher in the sky as we go through the year. It's my favorite constellation to look at because to be honest, it's the easiest to find. Now that we are entering the time of winter constellations, I look forward to viewing those along with some of the fall constellations if any are visible. It would also be cool if I could attend a star gaze. I've really wanted to all year but whenever there is one, I can't make it to it because I have other things to do at that time.

APOD 3.1 Cas A: Optical and X-ray

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130117.html\

 This image shows the remnants of a super nova, Cassiopeia A, or just Cas A. This super nova remnant is 11,000 light years away and is ever expanding in size. Right now, it's about 15 light years across and will continue to grow. The light from this super nova first reached Earth 330 years ago.This picture was taken with the NuSTAR X-ray telescope, which I have never heard of before. Because this was taken in the X-ray wavelength, these are not the super nova's true colors, but it still impressive looking none the less. The little hint of blue in the middle top of the explosion accents the super nova and gives is a little bit of uniqueness.

Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre Biography

Gasparoni 1

Antonio Gasparoni

Mr. Percival

Astronomy

3 January, 2013

Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre

            Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre is a truly amazing astronomer from the 1700’s. He was a French astronomer who was born on September 19^th, 1749 in Amiens, France. He eventually died on August 19^th, 1822. One of the most notable things that he did in his astronomical career was plot the location of Uranus. In 1788, Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre received an observatory that was built especially for him. While he was using the observatory, he documented countless information on various planets and the sun. He eventually published his work into a few books, of which were called “Tables du Soleil, de Jupiter, de Saturne, d’Uranus et des satellites de Jupiter”. The titles of the books mean “The Tables of the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter’s Satellites. Throughout the years of 1792-1799, he successfully measured the arc of the meridian that stretched from Dunkirk, which is in northern France, all the way to Barcelona. Delambre, after his extensive research into the planets and the sun, eventually became a college professor of astronomy.

            During the last remaining years of Delambre’s life, he devoted his days to researching the history of science. His research eventually led to his publication of yet another book entitled, “Histoire de l'astronomie ancienne”, which was only the first book in the two volume series. “Histoire de l'astronomie ancienne” was published in 1817 and the second book titled “Histoire de l'astronomie modern” which was published in 1819. These two books contained the history of the sciences according to Delambre, of which some were incredibly biased and prejudiced. A vast majority of the two books actually consist of various calculations that Delambre had made throughout his career in observation astronomy. Unfortunately in Paris, France of 1822, Jean

Gasparoni 2

Baptiste Joseph Delambre died due to unknown consequences. Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre will be forever known as one of the world’s most well-known astronomers and as the man who originally plotted the location of Uranus.

Gasparoni 3

Works Cited

"Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre." Delambre Biography. School of Mathematics and Statistics University of St. Andrews, Scotland, Apr. 2003. Web. 03 Dec. 2012

"Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre." Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre. Soylent Communications, 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012.

"Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre (French Astronomer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012.

APOD 2.8 The Dark Tower In Scorpius

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130106.html

This picture shows a large, dark figure in the constellation of Scorpius. This evil looking figure is nearly 40 light years long and is known as a cometary globule. Certain parts of this figure are shaped by the constant bombardment of UV rays against it. To me, this was really interesting because I did not know that UV rays could actually shape something. The majority of this gas cloud is made from Hydrogen; we can tell because of its reddish color. The bright, blue orbs inside of the picture are the stars that can be found in Scorpius.