March 26, 2011
8:00-10:15 PM
Pine View Service Road
Tonight was astronomy night. It was a great turnout of people. It was also really practice for identifying the stars and objects in the constellations. It felt really good to be able to identify and name almost all of the constellations. my favorite telescope viewing was that of Saturn. Saturn was able to be seen in the Southeast. The rings were able to seen bright and clear through the telescope. Also, I was able to answer a lot of questions posed by my friends. They all were really interested in what I had to say, and eager to learn. They all especially like Mr.P's magical pointer of wonder. It was a lot of fun! There were almost no clouds so the sky was crystal clear. My friends are really interested in taking astronomy now.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
APOD 3.8
Boston Moonrise
March 24, 2011
This picture is so amazing! I love the way that the moon was able to be caught just as it arose over the Boston city line. The moon appears to be so large because it was at the perigee or the closest point around the Earth. The farthest point, or apogee, has a luminosity 14% less then at this phase, and a 30% smaller appearance. Although the moon appears to not be perfectly round, it's just the atmosphere messing with you. The moon actually is round, but the dust particles from the earth mess up the picture. This is the same reason why stars appear to twinkle. The moon also appears to be red because of the scattering of light caused by the sun. I didn't get a chance to see the moon a this point, but next year on May 6 the moon will be at the perigee, and resemble how it did this year.
March 24, 2011
This picture is so amazing! I love the way that the moon was able to be caught just as it arose over the Boston city line. The moon appears to be so large because it was at the perigee or the closest point around the Earth. The farthest point, or apogee, has a luminosity 14% less then at this phase, and a 30% smaller appearance. Although the moon appears to not be perfectly round, it's just the atmosphere messing with you. The moon actually is round, but the dust particles from the earth mess up the picture. This is the same reason why stars appear to twinkle. The moon also appears to be red because of the scattering of light caused by the sun. I didn't get a chance to see the moon a this point, but next year on May 6 the moon will be at the perigee, and resemble how it did this year.
Observation 3-24-11
March 24, 2011
6:50 AM
Driving to school on the interstate, and at school
I looked up at the moon and saw a brilliant halo around the moon. It was so prominent that it looked like there were rays coming out from the moon. The moon was a waning gibbous at that point so the moon was more than half illuminated. Venus was of course able to be seen in the east.
6:50 AM
Driving to school on the interstate, and at school
I looked up at the moon and saw a brilliant halo around the moon. It was so prominent that it looked like there were rays coming out from the moon. The moon was a waning gibbous at that point so the moon was more than half illuminated. Venus was of course able to be seen in the east.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Observation 3-20-11
7:00 AM
March 20, 2011
I went to take a look outside to see the moon at sunrise. The moon didn't appear to be as large as I thought that it might be, but it was beautiful nonetheless. It was about 30-35 degrees in the sky towards the West. Also, on the eastern part of the sky was not only the Sun coming up, but also Venus. Venus was about 40-45 degrees in the sky.
March 20, 2011
I went to take a look outside to see the moon at sunrise. The moon didn't appear to be as large as I thought that it might be, but it was beautiful nonetheless. It was about 30-35 degrees in the sky towards the West. Also, on the eastern part of the sky was not only the Sun coming up, but also Venus. Venus was about 40-45 degrees in the sky.
APOD 3.7
AE Aurigae and the Flaming Star Nebula
March 11, 2011
I picked this photo since we were/ are studying nebulae. The gas and dust creates such ornate and beautiful patterns in space. This one in particular is really pretty. I like the contrast between the blue and the red. The nebula is located in the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer. The star embedded within the nebula is a variable O-star. This means that the star is extremely hot (around 30,000 K). The heat form the star ionizes the dust around it causing it to glow the blue hue. The gas is made up of a lot if Hydrogen which correlates with the blue color. The star, though, was probably not created in the Auriga constellation. In fact scientist think that the star was formed in the Trapezium Cluster found in Orion. They think that gravity caused this star and another, Mu Columbae, to be be ejected from the Orion nebula almost 2 millions years ago, probably the effect of a supernova explosion. Mu Columbae and the Auriga star formed a binary system, but eventually ran into another binary star system and have be spreading apart ever since. The two stars are approximately separating a speeds of 200 kilometers a second!
March 11, 2011
I picked this photo since we were/ are studying nebulae. The gas and dust creates such ornate and beautiful patterns in space. This one in particular is really pretty. I like the contrast between the blue and the red. The nebula is located in the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer. The star embedded within the nebula is a variable O-star. This means that the star is extremely hot (around 30,000 K). The heat form the star ionizes the dust around it causing it to glow the blue hue. The gas is made up of a lot if Hydrogen which correlates with the blue color. The star, though, was probably not created in the Auriga constellation. In fact scientist think that the star was formed in the Trapezium Cluster found in Orion. They think that gravity caused this star and another, Mu Columbae, to be be ejected from the Orion nebula almost 2 millions years ago, probably the effect of a supernova explosion. Mu Columbae and the Auriga star formed a binary system, but eventually ran into another binary star system and have be spreading apart ever since. The two stars are approximately separating a speeds of 200 kilometers a second!
Friday, March 4, 2011
APOD 3.6
Discovery Visitis the Space Station
March 1, 2011
I really like this picture because it shows how far we've come as a a nation, sending astronauts into space to further our knowledge of the unkown. I think that it would be so cool to be able to go into space and look back at the place that 6 billion people call home. Space Shuttle Discovery was launched February 24 at about 4:50 PM. I was unable to see the shuttle launch, but I have a friend that went to see it. He said it was amazing. The space shuttle has flown numerous missions since its fabrication in 1984. After this flight though, the shuttle will most likely be retired. The crew consists of 6 members, 1 being a female. Their expedition is projected to last until March 7, 2011. On board is the Japanese Kibo. It will help in research and is the first Japanese space facility. I really like the picture as well. The picture of Earth in the upper part of the picture looks like it's glowing. The background of the picture shows complete darkness. The stars really are there, it's just that they are really faint, so they cannot be seen. On the other hand, this darkness can also be thought of as what we do not know about space. As far as we've come, there is still so much more to learn and to discover about space.
March 1, 2011
I really like this picture because it shows how far we've come as a a nation, sending astronauts into space to further our knowledge of the unkown. I think that it would be so cool to be able to go into space and look back at the place that 6 billion people call home. Space Shuttle Discovery was launched February 24 at about 4:50 PM. I was unable to see the shuttle launch, but I have a friend that went to see it. He said it was amazing. The space shuttle has flown numerous missions since its fabrication in 1984. After this flight though, the shuttle will most likely be retired. The crew consists of 6 members, 1 being a female. Their expedition is projected to last until March 7, 2011. On board is the Japanese Kibo. It will help in research and is the first Japanese space facility. I really like the picture as well. The picture of Earth in the upper part of the picture looks like it's glowing. The background of the picture shows complete darkness. The stars really are there, it's just that they are really faint, so they cannot be seen. On the other hand, this darkness can also be thought of as what we do not know about space. As far as we've come, there is still so much more to learn and to discover about space.
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