APOD 4.7

Shown above is an incredible picture of Saturn's moon Enceladus from the view of the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn. This view gives incredible perspective from Saturn, making it more Earth-like. The crescent moon makes it so much more like Earth's moon, the craters becoming incredibly clear. This picture is one of many that highlights the beauty of our Solar System.

Astronomer Sources Quarter 4: Jan Oort

Print Source:

Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 23. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. p341-347. 


Web Sources:




http://bc.ub.leidenuniv.nl/bc/tentoonstelling/Jan_Oort/inhoud.htm

http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMBPC2PGQD_index_0.html

http://www.answers.com/topic/jan-oort

APOD 4.6

 

50 years ago to yesterday this rocket sent the first American into space. Back in the good old days when they used rockets to shoot people into space, Alan Shepard only spent 15 minutes in orbit before returning back to Earth. In the photo you can see gas being released out of the cracks of the rocket, making the rocket appear fairly dangerous. This moment 50 years ago was a momentous occasion, and was the start of the United States sending people into space.

APOD 4.5

This photo above is the remnant of the supernova observed by Tycho Brahe. What is so incredible about space is that we are able to see the effects of something that happened centuries ago, as it continues to evolve. This supernova was clearly enormous, the amount of dust that has been created is incredible. The remnant star, quite possibly a neutron star, is impossible to see on this spectrum, with such an incredible amount of dust in the way. The Supernova was visible to the naked eye when it occurred, giving an idea of how incredibly monstrous a supernova truly is.

Going to see a shuttle launch, and looking at the stars from the top of roller coasters.

On Friday me, Sam, Max, and Jack began our epic journey to see the shuttle launch. Unfortunately, the shuttle was delayed, but we still got to eat hamburgers at a biker bar, and went on the worlds largest slingshot, which unfortunately is not astronomy related.

However, on the next day, at Gradbash in Universal Studios, I had the opportunity to observe many constellations throughout the entire night from the vantage point of roller coasters. First, on the Incredible Hulk roller coaster, I was able to observe Caster and Pollux setting on the horizon. Then, at around 1:30 I was able to see the big dipper while on an upside down, which was cool. I followed the arc to Arcturus, and then the loop dropped and I lost sight of it. Finally, at 4:00 in the morning I was able to see my favorite constellations, Sagittarius and Scorpius, while walking through the shell lot.

PLANETARIUM POST

On Tuesday I went to the Riverview Planetarium, to see a show conducted by the magnificent Mr. Percival. It was wonderful, and the knowledge I gained on black holes will always be of the utmost importance to me. The IMAX style presentation was like cotton candy for the eyes, and made learning about black holes even more exciting. Between super-massive black holes and regular black holes, I can't decide which ones I prefer. Additionally, Uranus is the coolest planet ever, and the space video to the theme of "Rocketman" was extremely enjoyable.

APOD 4.4

12,000 light years away, in the constellation Auriga lies IC 410, the beautiful Nebula pictured above. Frozen gas floats in space in IC 410, providing a beautiful site, yet also blocking the view of the rest of the universe. The dust clouds floating in the interstellar medium have a minuscule density, even though they appear to be solid from our vantage point they are actually less dense than most man-made vacuums. However, these dust particles take up such a massive amount of space that if it is ever compressed together it will be capable of forming a few stars. These awesome nebula's represent just one part of matters life cycle in the universe, as it will eventually move to star in the future.