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.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 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.
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.
Monday, September 20, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
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.
Friday, September 10, 2010
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! :)
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! :)
Friday, September 3, 2010
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
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