Lunar Eclipse Observation

I observed the Lunar Eclipse from about 2:30 A.M to 2:50. What I saw was basically the finally corner of the moon disappearing, and the entire moon turning into a blood red color. The entire process of the lunar eclipse takes hours, and what I saw was essentially the peak of the eclipse, when the Earth blocks all of the sun's light from reaching the moon. It took me a while to find the moon in the night sky when I woke up to look for it, as it was way darker than it normally is, and blends in far better with the nighttime sky.

APOD 2.6

The Mars rover Opportunity has managed to take this fascinating photo of Intrepid Crater on Mars. The crater shows a interesting scar across a landscape of just sand dunes. In the distance giant mountains can be seen, but extremely far away. Like any image of the landscape of Mars, this photo is fascinating because it shows a whole different world from Earth. The planet has its similarities (like a desert and mountains), but also incredible differences (like the composition of the sand dunes, and the fact that craters can stay intact for thousands of years). If a crater like that had been formed in the Sierra, desert winds most likely would have covered it up quickly. This crater remains completely intact however, and an interesting find by the rover Opportunity.

Obervation 12/4/10

Over the last two days I have been observing Venus in relation to the moon in the morning at around 6:45 AM. The sun is rising at this time, but the two objects are still very clear and easy to see, exhibiting their incredible brightness. On Thursday Venus was only about 6 degrees to the left of the moon, and the two so close together was a beautiful sight. The moon was in a crescent phase, and under binoculars I could see that Venus was crescent as well (as it always is). The next day Venus had risen so that it was about 18 degrees away from the moon.

APOD 2.5

In the photo "Martian Moon Phobos from Mars Express", spacecraft Mars Express took a mesmerizing photo of the Martian moon Phobos, the largest of Mars' two moons. Mars' moons are minuscule in comparison to all other planets' moons, and are believed to be just asteroids from the asteroid belt being caught in Mars' gravitational pull. What I found most interesting about the moon Phobos is that its orbit is continuously decaying, which means that in a matter of time the moon will actually be ripped apart by Mars. My question is, would this result in a ring system around Mars? Saturn's rings are hypothesized to have been created the same way, as disintegrating moons continued their orbits around their planet. A Mars with rings would definitely be an interesting sight. Ultimately, this photo of Phobos is extremely interesting, providing insight on one of Mars' two moons. 

APOD 2.4

In the picture "Atoms for Peace Galaxy Collision", two galaxies are being observed smashing into each other, a multi-million year process being observed now by researchers at NASA. Labeled NGC 7252, these two galaxies are located about 220 million light years away, and give an interesting view of what would occur if our galaxy was to collide into a nearby one, the closest being Andromeda. The sheer magnitude of this collision is not easily represented in this picture. These two galaxies reach a total of 600,000 light years long, showing off how enormous a galactic collision is.

APOD 2.3

Pictured above, NGC 4452 is a galaxy very similar to our own Milky Way, but this photo puts it at an angle in which we do not normally observe galaxy's. Spanning about 35,000 light years, this galaxy looks nearly two dimensional, like a sheet of paper, when observed from the side. However, if observed from above, this disk galaxy would appear as an ordinary galaxy. Of course, like our Milky Way, NGC 4452 is not actually paper thin. However, this photo gives an excellent perspective on the proportions of galaxies, and how much longer they are than wide. A photo like this can only be taken when the earth is exactly aligned with the galaxies plane, and therefore is not very common. The galaxy actually bulges in the center, showing that a majority of the mass is centered there, holding the galaxy together.

Stargaze Adventure 11/6/10

Went out stargazing at turtle beach for a few hours. Observed Sagittarius, Aquila, and Hercules. Also observed the Northern Cross in Cygnus for the light pollution project. The Northern Cross is easiest found by looking for the southern triangle, and then focusing on the faintest star in the triangle, Deneb. Deneb is a part of the northern cross. I determined the Northern cross to be about magnitude 5 out of 7 (no light pollution), and submitted the info online.

APOD 2.2

The pictures above are of the comet Hartley 2, taken by the EPOXI mission spacecraft in its journey through space. This flyby gives an extremely close-up view of a comet, objects which astronomers have been working hard to learn more about in recent years. Although Hartley 2 is only about two kilometers long (from the long side), these pictures reveal that is is incredible active as gravitational forces continuously pull on it. The photo itself gives an eerie viewpoint on the vast number of objects tumbling through our solar system. Comets such as the Hartley 2 are extremely common, and to learn more about them can spawn many new ideas and theories about the solar system we live in.

APOD 2.1

"Ultraviolet Andromeda" provides the highest resolution photo ever of the Andromeda Galaxy in ultraviolet light. Andromeda is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way at 2.5 million light years, and is the only galaxy visible to the naked eye at night. The ultraviolet photo is actually composed of 330 high photos of each specific area, creating an extremely high resolution picture. While the ultraviolet spectrum is not visible to the naked eye, computer programs are designed to translate the images into a visible spectrum, which allows us to see densities of various parts of Andromeda, and parts that may be invisible normally. "Ultraviolet Andromeda" gives a fascinating view of our neighboring galaxy, and insight on its composition in other parts of light's spectrum.

APOD 1.8

"It Came From the Sun" is a picture of one of the largest ever recorded solar eruptions. The mass of gas is enormous, as can be seen from its size in comparison to the Sun. The explosion is far larger than the earth itself, providing insight on the sheer size of the Sun. The fact that explosions larger than multiple Earths can occur on it without the slightest effect to its composition, orbit, or the orbits of other objects around it shows the awesome power that the sun possesses. Although the explosion is extremely hot, it pales in comparison from the amount of light emitted by the surface of the sun, and therefore appears much cooler. However the truth is that the eruption still reaches temperatures vastly greater than those reached on other planets. Large eruptions such as these are expected to continue as the Sun reaches a vital stage in its maturing process, which means more informative observations and exciting pictures.

APOD 1.7

50,000 light years away in the constellation Delphinus lies the Globular Star Cluster NGC 6934. This massive, beautiful ball of stars is an ancient artifact of our Universe, dating back to as many as 10 billion years. The cluster, with all stars being held together by their own gravity, is nearly 50 light years long and wide, taking up a massive amount of space. The stars give a fascinating look at the beauty of our Universe, and how many interesting objects their are hidden in the night sky. Globular Star Cluster NGC 6934 truly is majestic.

Astromer Biography Quarter 1: John Flamsteed

     John Flamsteed was born into a wealthy family in Derby England in the year 1646. An especially intelligent child, Flamsteed was also quite sickly, and as a result was unable to attend a University when he came of age, unlike most people of his intelligence. This may have actually worked out for the better for Flamsteed however, as in his free time at home he began focusing on his hobby, astronomy. Soon Flamsteed was submitting his observations of astronomical objects to the Royal Society, possibly the most prestigious organization of scientists in the world at the time. Soon Flamsteed’s work was noticed by Sir Jonas Moore, whose interest in science helped to launch Flamsteed’s career in the Royal Society. In 1675 John Flamsteed was appointed by the King of England to an observatory with a payment of 100 pounds a year to publish as much scientific research on the sky as possible. Flamsteed put and incredible amount of effort into scientific research at the observatory. After only two months of working there, Flamsteed began a three thousand star catalogue of the heavens. This process would become his lifelong achievement, as he focused a majority of his funds and time cataloguing each and every star visible to him. One object of which he identified was Uranus, which he had inaccurately identified as a star. This is the first known recording of the planet Uranus, which is not visible to the naked eye.
    Flamsteed’s work at the Royal Society coincided with many other astronomers and their massive discoveries in that field. Newton, Halley, and many other reputable astronomers all happened to work at the same time as Flamsteed, and they all looked over each others work, correcting errors and checking facts. This means that not only were such greats as Newton and Halley were looking over Flamsteed’s work, but Flamsteed was also looking over their published works as they all collaborated (for the most part) for scientific discovery. However, Flamsteed did have some extreme difficulties with his social skills, and ended up making enemies with many members of the Royal Society, especially Halley. In 1712, under a lot of pressure from the Royal Society (Newton was president at the time), Flamsteed refused to publish some of his works that the King had given him the money to research. Newton and Halley took matters into their own hands, and published Flamsteed’s work, without giving him credit. The reason for Flamsteed’s refusal seemed to be his extreme value of accuracy, and he insisted that he be certain of every single calculation he made. The Royal Society, headed by Newton, determined that this would take too long, and made the move to publish it. Flamsteed ended up buying a large quantity of the books, and burnt them in front of the Royal Observatory, to demonstrate his bitterness towards Newton and Halley.
    Flamsteed is primarily known for his focus on observational work, as opposed to the theoretical aspect of astronomy pioneered by Kepler and Newton. Flamsteed spent vast quantities of his life creating a record of the stars and the universe, and had the technological breakthrough of the telescope to make the first observation of Uranus and many other stars the previously could not be seen. Flamsteed died in 1719, however his final work was published by his wife in 1725, called Historia Coelestis Britannica. The completed work (unlike the work Newton published) contained a catalogue of nearly three thousand stars, with the most accurate locations of each star than any other previous work. This book would go down as Flamsteed’s greatest achievement, which paved the way for future astronomical discoveries.

APOD 1.6

The photo "Two Planet Opposition" is an excellent picture of both Uranus and Jupiter at their closest point to Earth, at the same time. In the upper left hand corner is the bright green Uranus, which resonates among the stars around it. The most fascinating part about Uranus in this photo is that you can just barely make out its massive ring swooping around the planet. This view of Uranus' ring provides a good example of the immensity of the ring, which takes up an area nearly double of what the actual planet does. Meanwhile, on the right side of the photo the behemoth Jupiter and its moon are made extremely clear. The physical appearance of Jupiter is extremely clear due to its proximity to Earth, and this photo gives an excellent view of the varying distances of Jupiter's moons. The furthest left, Oberon, seems incredibly far to still be in Jupiter's orbit.

Observing ISS and Stargaze 9/30/10

At 6:04 in the morning (Eastern Time) the International Space Station was as bright as Venus as it passed in the North. There was also a shooting star that I saw beforehand, which became one of the two shooting stars I got to see that day. Watching the International Space Station dip under the horizon was really cool, and things only got better at the stargaze that same night. Using Mr. Percival's telescope, I got to see Venus in its crescent phase, Jupiter and its moon (up close!), and a close up on parts of the Milky Way. The most fascinating part was definitely watching Jupiter's moons in orbit. Once again I got to look at all of the constellation I have learned, and a few M objects which are always really cool.

Astronomer Project sources for John Flamsteed

Print Sources:

The Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Vol. 5. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. p22-26. 

Web Sources:

The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 51, No. 297 (Dec., 1927), pp. 309-311 

http://www.jstor.org/stable/863460?seq=1&Search=yes&term=Flamsteed&term=John&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DJohn%2BFlamsteed%26gw%3Djtx%26acc%3Don%26prq%3DJohn%2BFlamstead%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&item=3&ttl=639&returnArticleService=showFullText&resultsServiceName=null

"John Flamsteed" http://seds.org/messier/xtra/Bios/flamsteed.html

APOD 1.5

The picture "Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tidal Tail" gives a great example of the enormous size of galaxies, and the way in which they are constantly interacting with each other. The tadpole galaxy is the focus of this picture, as it peculiar shape is of interest. The galaxy's tail stretches outside of its spiral, over 280,000 lightyears long. Scientists believe that the cause of this long tail was the gravitational pull of another galaxy passing by it. The idea of galaxy's interacting in that way is extremely interesting, as the passing of a single galaxy completely changed the structure of Arp 188, turning it into the "tadpole" that we see today. The passing galaxy tore massive pieces from the galaxy, and makes me wonder whether it through many of the solar systems within Arp 188 into chaos. It would be interesting to study the effects a galaxy passing through another galaxy has. 

APOD 1.4

"Equinox and the Iron Sun" is a fascinating image of the Sun on the autumnal equinox. The term equinox is referring to the fact that earth will experience an equal number of daylight hours as nighttime hours on that day. This image of the sun gives great insight on the massive amount of activity that is always occurring within the sun. The spirals seen on various parts are areas of the highest activity, as they spirals are plasma caught in magnetic fields. It is fascinating that our sun is constantly producing the many elements that make up our universe, and we can see it happening with this image. This image of the Sun focuses primarily on the emissions of Iron Atoms, which is what gives this false colored image such a unique look.

Stargazing Adventure With the Class! 9/20/10

What's better than stargazing alone? Stargazing with the class! On this stargaze we were provided with binoculars, which surprisingly change EVERYTHING. I always thought it was cool just being able to see Jupiter, but to be able to see Jupiter's moons orbiting around it is incredible. While trying to hold the binoculars steady to keep a view of Jupiter's moons occupied a lot of time, the most fascinating moment came when I focused the binoculars slightly above Scorpius' tail. I saw a nebula, which was the coolest thing ever. It was like a billion minuscule stars bunched into one tiny area, and it looked awesome. After seeing my first nebula, I basically spent the rest of the star gaze looking around Sagittarius for other nebula's which I was extremely happy to find. Other interesting observations, included the keystone in Hercules (and of course M13), Aquila and its star Altair, which made up the southern triangle, and the dual stars in the big dipper. To top the night off we watched a crescent Venus set on the horizon, which was a great way to end the star gaze.

Stargazing Adventure 9/18/10

On my second star gazing adventure I was able to find a few more constellations, primarily due to that fact that I had learned a few new constellations. For starters, I was quickly able to find the teapot in Sagittarius. After that I located Venus setting in the west, and then Jupiter rising in the east. While the bright waxing gibbous moon made it difficult to see stars in its proximity, It did not disrupt my viewing of the Summer Triangle, and a corner of that triangle, the star Altair. I was also able to find the keystone in Hercules. The most exciting portion of the night however came after a few hours of looking at the sky. A shooting star appeared for no more than a second, and it was awesome. That concluded my stargazing adventure.

APOD 1.3

"Clouds, Birds, Moon, Venus" is a fascinating photo taken from Spain, which shows, during daylight hours, the moon and Venus extremely close together (from our point of view). This photo is interesting as it gives a scale of what we see, showing the birds as closest, then clouds, and then through space to the mean, and even further out to Venus. What is also interesting is that Venus is close enough to the earth, and so bright that it is visible during the day. "Clouds, Birds, Moon, Venus" puts everything on an interesting scale, showing all that is observable from Venus to the birds flying right over the photographers head.

APOD 1.2: Vela Supernova Remnant

What happens when a star explodes? The Vela Supernova Remnant, over 11,000 light years away, provides an incredible example of how the surrounding space responds to the collapse of a star. Debris fills the space, giving an example of how new elements are formed, and then dispersed throughout the Universe.  The concept that it took the light 11,000 years to reach our planet is truly fascinating, as our view of this Supernova Remnant is probably entirely different from how it looks now. The sheer size of the debris is also incredible, the center of the explosion is now an estimated 800 light years away from the rest of the debris. This photo gives incredible insight on the size of supernova explosions, and that you can find every stage of a stars life throughout this infinite universe.

My first stargazing adventure.

Last Saturday, September 4th, myself and some other fellow classmates went stargazing on the beach. The view was incredible, and to my surprise I was able to find Sagittarius, Scorpius, and Corona Australis. The Teapot in Sagittarius in clear and easy to see, and I couldn't believe that I was able to find it so easily. I watched Venus set over the horizon, and it was awesome. I only wish I knew more constellations at the time, so I could identify  more of what I saw.

APOD 1.1

In the picture "Earth and Moon from MESSENGER" (September 1, 2010), NASA satellite MESSENGER took a photo from its orbit around mercury of the earth and the moon. The picture reminds me of the photo called "Pale Blue Dot" which was a picture of the earth taken my a different satellite as it was passing pluto. Just like "Pale Blue Dot," this photo gives a sense of insignificance to the earth. The earth is just a ball of light slightly larger than the moon, and from the photo one can see no sign that there is any life on it. The only thing distinguishing the Earth from every other star in the photo is its proximity to the photo. "Earth and Moon from MESSENGER" provides a fascinating perspective of the Earth from the closest planet to the sun.