Observation 12-21-10 Part 2

12-21-10
2:43 AM

This morning was the Lunar Eclipse. I went and stood in my drive way and looked up. The moon was just about overhead around 85 degrees or so. The moon was orange almost red toward one side, but still very white on the other. I think that this is because Earth's shadow hadn't covered the entire surface of the moon. It was really cool and I had never seen anything like it before. The sky was so clear that you could easily see thousands of stars, plus there was barely any light pollution.

Observation 12-20-10 Part 1

12-21-10
10:00 PM

I recieved a telescope for Christmas and wanted to try it out. It is a Meade Newtonian Telescope. I decided to use the 10mm eyepiece and look up at the moon. The mon was in the full phase, so all the craters and gorges were clearly visible. The moon was really bright so it wa hard to look at for a long time, ecspecially becuase of the telescope. The moon was about 50 degrees high and in the Northeast. It was a clear night and I was in my drive way.

Observation 12-11-10

12-11-10
9:30 PM

I was walking the dog with my dad and looked up. I saw the moon, which is in the waxing crescent phase. It was about 30 degrees up in the southwest. Jupiter was really bright and was slightly towards the south about 12 degrees from the Moon. I also saw Orion's Belt as well as Rigel and Betelgeuse. The horse head nebula was faintly visible too. Might have seen the Pleiades.

APOD 2.6

December 11, 2010
Meteor in the Desert

This picture is really cool! The meteor is huge and the tail looks so magical. This meteor is the pre-show for the Geminid meteor show coming up on December 13/14. The meteor exploded and formed a fireball that blazed across the sky. The meteor show is predicted to have 50-60 meteors per hour and even up to 120 in one hour! The meteor show is named the Gemini show because of the place in the sky where the meteors seem to be coming from, in this case, the constellation Gemini. The meteor show will be visible to those in the northern hemisphere and boy will they have a show to watch! A common way to point out meteors is to compare them to the big and small dippers, since they both happen to be in the sky. I can't wait until that night to see how many meteors I can pick out!

Observation 12-4-10

9:45 PM
In my driveway


Jupiter was clearly seen, very bright in the SW. Probably 48 degrees or so high. Then in the east, almost due east, was Orion. The constellation was very easy to spot and pick out. Could even see the faint nebula M43. The weather was really clear so all the stars were really bright. Moon is new so there was no light whatsoever from the moon. Perfect day to observe.

APOD 2.5

November 30, 2010
A Super-cell Thundercloud over Montana

This picture is unbelievable! The cloud is gigantic and looks exactly like an alien spaceship. The storm looks as though it would destroy everything in it's path, but ended up not doing any damage, and left after a few hours. A super-cell has characteristic swirling upward winds called mesocyclones. The wind spinning on a horizontal axis is mixed with wind flowing horizontally produces an air shaft that shoots upward and causes the swirling winds that rip up anything in their path. The super-cell creates tornadoes and influences the climate in towns and cities within a 20 mile radius! Even if the storm is not yet upon where you are, if it's within 20 miles, you're going to feel it! This would be the of the scariest things to look out the window and see, except maybe maybe someone running down the street naked.

APOD 1.4

November 17, 2010
Frosted Leaf Orion

I chose this picture because I thought that the photographer did a great job of capturing the beautiful night sky and nature. The leaf makes the picture seems like it's looking into water because the ice crystals look like they reflect the star light. I also really like this picture because it's one of the constellations that I know. I am able to easily recognize this constellation during the early morning. Now, I know that the top left shoulder of Orion is Betelgeuse and that the bright star to the left of Orion's foot is actually the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius. Sirius is in the constellation of Canis Major, or the big dog. This signified to the Greeks that it was summer. This is where we get our dog days of summer. Towards the left of the picture one can see a meteor zipping past in the sky. The next meteor shower will occur in December during 13-14. The best time to see the meteor is when the moon has set. I am hoping to try to see the meteor show that coming. All in all, this picture is a really neat picture because of the similarities between the sky and the ice.

APOD 2.3

November 11, 2010
Two Views

I chose this picture because it shows the same things from totally different places. As big as our world may seem, it's so tiny compared to space. Venus is now a morning object and when the moon is waning, it can be seen during the morning. Venus and the Moon are within 1 degree and both are in their present phases. I really like both pictures because they have different things to offer. For example, the picture on the left is taken in Italy above the clouds. I gives good perspective on how high up the camera was to take this picture. It's also really cool to see how close the two objects are. The other picture shows the Moon and Venus rising over the mountains is Iran. In the picture you can really get a good look at the phase that Venus is in. It's astounding how far the human race has come from the early times when Galileo first say the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus.

Observation 11-10-10

6:36 pm
I went outside with my little sister in our neighborhood. We participated in the Worldwide Star Count. We were only able to see the Northern Triangle and no stars of Cygnus. The moon was clearly visible in the waning crescent phase. The dark part of the moon was bale to be scene because the light reflecting off the moon was so bright. I think I also saw Jupiter, it was in the East, more South than East.

APOD 2.2

Night Lights
November 4, 2010

The picture shown here is of the Earth itself, taken by the ISS. In the picture the southern Coast of the US shows lit highways and bustling cities such as New Orleans, Jackson, and Memphis. Even though the ISS is 220 miles above the Earth, there is no problem of seeing the blazing lights. The ISS is as long as a football field including the end zones. There is 8 miles of wires in the ISS that are used to control all of the electrical wiring. The inside that habitable is as large as a Boeing 747 aircraft. The entire ISS weighs almost 1 million pounds! 196 lucky individuals have visited the ISS, from 8 different countries. Each of the missions to were aimed to conduct research and add to the ISS. I think it's amazing that you can see what the human race has done form outer space, using a machine that the human race has made.

APOD 2.1

October 27, 2010
Ultraviolet Andromeda

I chose this picture because I think it's beautiful. It's cool to think that there are so many other galaxies like ours out in space. And to think that our galaxy is only one of hundreds of thousands of galaxies. The Andromeda galaxy lies approx. 2.5 million ly away but is the closest galaxy to ours! The Swift telescope has taken pictures of it in optical and UV wavelengths.  I love the UV picture because of the blue colors and because you can see the spirals of stellar dust and stars better. The pictures show that there are more then 20,000 stars surround the galaxy.   What if each of those has a "solar system" around it? It's just sad that the human race will probably never be able to find out what lies within the Andromeda Galaxy. There could be life. There could be water or another life form that is thinking about the our galaxy. Space is so vast and filled with things waiting to be discovered.

APOD 1.8

It Came From the Sun
October 18, 2010

This picture of the Sun amazes me. The sun produces what are called prominences. These prominences are solar flares from the Sun that are held close to the Sun be the magnetic field surrounding the Sun. The Sun is so huge that the Earth could fit into the flare easily! That's huge! The Sun provides 99.8% of the ENTIRE mass of the solar system. Jupiter makes up most of the rest. Also, the core of the Sun is approx. 16 million degrees K! The sun is so impressive! Another interesting fact that I found as I was wondering through the hyperlinks, was that the density of the core of the Sun is 105 times heavier then water! The sun is so cool, well actually it's really is hot. The reason for such large prominences is caused by the fact that the Sun is coming up to its most active part of its "life". This is called the solar maximum. Other clues to that the Solar maximum is coming is the sight of many sun spots and prominences. Some of the prominences last for months while others are erratic and last for only a couple of days. The Sun is amazing and powers our lives!

APOD 1.7

Globular Star Cluster NGC 6934
October 9, 2010


I really like this picture, which is why I chose it. The stars a brilliant array of blues and make the scene look very magical. I never knew that there could be so many stars concentrated in one place. The reason for the high concentration of the stars is caused by the gravitational pull toward the center of the stars. The stars are actually acting as satellites orbiting around a galactic core. Normally, the globular star clusters have stars that range in age. Different bands of the stars have been there longer then others. The stars pictured are actually older then the disk that they orbit.This globular star cluster has been known to man since 1785 founded by William Herschel. The cluster is found in Delphinus the Dolphin. Although the cluster lies 50,000 light years away :O the Hubble Telescope has no problem seeing it from it's Advanced Camera for Surveying. The picture spans 50 light years across! That means if something wee going at the speed of light (pretending that mankind can make something that actually travels that fast) it would still take 50 years to reach the destination! That's incredible!

Quarter 1 Biography: Gian Cassini

Quarter One Biography: Gian Cassini

Gian Cassini was a fundamental astronomer of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Born in France during June of 1625, Cassini was born into a family that was very interested in astronomy. He was raised by his mother’s brother and studied at a Jesuit College in Genoa in addition to an abbey located in San Fruttuoso. Cassini showed an interest in the heavens right away. Because of this Marquis Cornelio Malvasia, the senator of Bologna and an astronomer, invited Cassini to work with him in his observatory. For 21 years Cassini worked with the Marquis while still learning the tools of the trade. One of Cassini’s other tutors was Francesco Maria Grimaldi, the man responsible for discovering the phenomenon of diffraction. Although Gian had excellent teachers, many people say that these teachers taught Cassini the Geocentric view of the universe that Gian upheld throughout his lifetime. Cassini soon became fairly popular and was later given the Principle Chair of Astronomy at the university in Bologna. Three years later, Cassini proved himself again as an elite astronomer. He did this by successfully constructing an accurate meridian; a measuring device like a sundial, after the previous obsolete meridian was no longer usable. Once the meridian was built Cassini was able to take precise measurements of the exact positions of solstices and equinoxes.

During the next nine years, Cassini took a break from solely studying the heavens. Gian wrote several memoirs about the flooding of the Po River, and even instituted some experiments involving hydraulics. He was also appointed superintendent of the rivers when the cities of Bologna and Ferrara were in dispute over the path of the rivers. This basically meant that is was Cassini’s duty to defend the papal view of controlling and regulating the Chiana River.  He also participated in studying blood transfusions and insects. Even though Cassini diverged from astronomy, the passion for the skies came back. During the beginning of the 1660’s Cassini published observations of solar eclipses and comets. In addition to making publications with the naked eye, Cassini’s relations with the lens makers Giuseppe Campani and Eustachio Divini allowed him to obtain a telescope. Using this telescope, Gian was able to make very precise and accurate observations that soon added up to an extensive collection worthy of Tycho Brahe. Cassini was able to see Jupiter with its moons and estimate the approximate length of rotation for the satellites. Not only did Gian observe that Jupiter itself was flattening, but also that Jupiter had spots and bands. Cassini was able to complete the Jovian tables of movement that Galileo could not. In 1668, Jean Colbert, the finance minister of France, invited Gian Cassini to the newly established Académic Royale des Sciences Academy. Cassini would be the head of the Royal Observatory. By using telescopes that had focal lengths between 17-136 feet, Cassini was able to identify three more moons around Saturn and the dark circle in the rings of Saturn. This divide in the rings is now referred to as the Cassini Divide. Gian was also able to map out an extensive portion of the lunar surface. Later in 1672, Cassini and fellow astronomers were able to estimate the length of the astronomical unit, or the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Jean Richer and Gian Cassini were able to determine the distance by using measurements associated with Mars’ opposition. This was quite achievement because astronomers were now able to approximate the size of the universe. While in France, Gian met his wife during 1674, and had two boys. The youngest of the sons followed in the footsteps of his father and became an astronomer.

Throughout Gian Cassini’s life he renounced the heliocentric view of the universe and the laws of gravitation proposed by Sir Isaac Newton. Even though Cassini did not agree with these theories, he was able to accomplish many things in the field of astronomy. Toward the end of Cassini’s life, in 1710, he went completely blind. Cassini eventually died in 1712 at the age of 87. Cassini leaves a legacy and for that reason, NASA launched a satellite named after Cassini, whose mission is to investigate Saturn. A crater on The Moon and a crater on Mars are named in honor of Gian Cassini as well. All in all, Cassini made essential contributions during his lifetime that has a lasting effect.

APOD 1.6

Io in True Color
October 3, 2010

This picture was taken by the spacecraft Galileo in 1999. It truly astounds me that we can see what lies millions of miles away. The interesting part of the picture is that NASA has reconstructed the image of Io so the image resembles that of what the moon would really look like to the human eye. The yellow coloring is due to the sulfur and the silica in the moon. The amount of sulfur must be amazing because sulfur is abundant in volcanoes. And since the entire moon is a giant volcano it would make sense as to why the moon is yellow. The weird holes are actually volcanoes. Each one is a separate volcano! NASA stated that there are so many volcanoes actively pumping out lava, that the moon is literally turning itself inside out! How could the human race obtain such pictures? The Galileo spacecraft has orbited Jupiter for 8 years collecting data and sending it back to Earth. The probe was dropped into the atmosphere of Jupiter to get readings. The probe had to withstand extremely hot temperatures and pressure. It's amazing how man can make something  like this and have trust that it will work.

Observation 10-5-10

My dad and I went to go walk the dog and see the Iridium flare tonight. We stood in our neighbor's driveway and looked up at about 8:03 pm. The scheduled time for the flare was at 8:05. While waiting I saw Jupiter about 30 degrees North and in the East direction. Jupiter continues to move south in the sky as the weeks pass by. I also found the Summer Triangle and was able to locate Vega and Altair. Right on schedule the Iridium satellite showed itself in the North sky almost 70 degrees North until I was able to see it. The flare couldn't have lasted for more then 10 seconds from the glance that I saw it at. It was pretty cool to see a satellite 300 miles above where I was though. :)

APOD 1.5

Arp 188 and the Tadpole's  Tidal Tail
Sept. 26 2010

The HUbble Telescope has reciently recieved new cameras. The new cameras are able to take ictures of thing never seen befoare. The camera can take pictures ranging from ultraviolet waves and infrared waves. The picture of this galaxy is amazing becuase of the lengthy tail trailing behind it. The tail was caused by an impact of another celestial body. In this case, scientist belive that the impact was created by yet another galaxy. The galaxy has blown by and now lies 300 thousand light years behind the Tadpole!! That emkans that the galaxy is now 300,000 * 6 trillion miles away!!! The fact that the galaxies can move so quickly amazes me. Also, the emornity of teh galaxies themselves is incredible. The tail alone is 280  thousand light years long! How is that even possible? The end of teh tail is held together by the gravity of the galaxy! The gravity of the galaxy can reach out to 280 thousand light years!! These galaxies are HUGE! And, if you look in the picture there are thousands more really really far away, that human kind will probably never even know about! Each of those tiny little dots is yet another huge galaxy that is waiting for man to discover. What lies in those untouched galaxies? Is there life else where that we have no idea baout? Will we ever get to know?

Biography Works Cited 9-28-10

Cassini, Gian Domenico (Jean-Dominique) (Cassini I)." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 3.
            Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 100-104. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 Sept.  
            2010.
Norton, Stephen D. "Giovanni Domenico Cassini." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. 
             Vol. 3: 1450 to 1699. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 364-365. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 Sept.
             2010.

APOD 1.4

Aurora Over Norway September 20, 2010

The lights over this small town in Norway are beautiful. Auroras are caused by the electromagnetic field around Earth. When electrons are are concentrated at the poles of the Earth, auroras are created. It is almost like a neon light. The electrons are shot through the atmosphere , instead of a tube, hitting the gas particle in the atmosphere, and get excited which makes them jump up to their next orbital, releasing energy on their fall back down to their original orbital. The colors are amazing and can vary. Green, blue, purple, pink... you name it. Auroras are only able to be seen in the Arctic Circle, and Antarctic Circle. The trip there is probably worth it. It would be so cool if Auroras were able to be seen from Florida. But they can't. One day I want to go and see the Auroras in Alaska. They are jaw-dropping.

APOD 1.3

Clouds, Birds, Moon, Venus September 15, 2010

The sky is such an amazing place! Pure luck and good timing is all it took for the photographer to capture this magical moment. After following a link on the website, the clouds are actually very interesting. The storm clouds are coming but what we are interested in are the white clouds. The white clouds are called shelf clounds because they are attached to larger clouds. Another aspect of the picture is that you can see Venus and it is day time. In this picture you cannot tell that the planet is actually in it's crescent phase. All over the world, photographers were taking pictures of this amazing sight. I wouldn't blame them either. The fact that both the moon and Venus can be captured in one photo is truly astounding. I love this picture and think that it is a great way to show how beautiful our heavens can be.

Observation 9-11-10

Last night around 8:30 I saw the moon. It happened to be in the waxing cresent, as the moon was getting larger. Looking in the Southwest of the sky about 21 degrees up at Riverview High, the moon was clearly visible. I had the chance to look through numerous telescopes and see the surface of the moon. On the moon, there were many craters, big and small. Around the moon there seemed to be a halo, I think it might be the clouds or the earth's atmosphere. I also saw Venus at about 8:40. Same place but Venus was much lower then the moon. Probably about 18 degrees. Looking at it through a microscope I saw that it was in it's cresent phase. It was easily distinguishable since it was the brightest object in the sky.

APOD 1.2

A Laser Stike at the Galactic Center- September 6, 2010

The picture was taken in Chile at the sight of the Very Large Telescopes (nice name). Three giant telescopes stand side by side as they watch the heavens, each spanning a huge 8.2 meters in diameter. The VLTs use laser to obstruct the Earth's atmosphere in order to obtain a better and clearer picture of Space. Using the this telescope can help the photo being taken because of the deformed mirror within. Normally, incoming waves are distorted, thus ruining or blurring the photo being taken. When the telescope comes to play, the mirror refracts corrected waves making the image much more clear. The laser is made to escite the left over sodium ions in the sky. Scientist are believed to have there from left over meteors. The laser, being the right color to excite these ions, can create an artificial star used for the distorted mirror. This is a brilliant way of thinking to get the outcome that we want. Creating the laser has helped to produce clear pictures so that we may know what else is located in space. The laser's light is not nearly as powerful as the sun but is still enough to get the job done. With the laser, scientist have been able to see what looks to be a black hole in the center of the galaxy. Whether this is true or not if left to other observations. Hopefully the Earth will never be sucked into such a thing! :)

APOD 1.1 Pelican Nebula Close-Up

Space is such an interesting and beautiful subject. 

While looking at the nebula, it’s impossible to understand how awesome 

and huge space is. My mind has a hard time grappling with the fact 

that the picture that I am looking at is nebula 2,000 light-years 

away! That’s 2,000 x 6 trillion miles! Nebulas are truly amazing 

things to look at. With the spectacular colors and gazillions of 

stars, nebulas are on of my favorite things to look at. I love 

flipping through the pictures on the Hubble Telescope page. Everything 

in the nebula has its place, the jets coming out if the tendril of 

the nebula, the shape of the pelican, and all the different stars. 

It is just jaw dropping to think that these massive things exist 

all the time, even though we can’t see it, 12,000 trillion miles away. 

-Hannah