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.