Observation 4.8

This past week I went outside and looked at the night skies for one hour. The moon was in waning gibbous phase and I was able to see the constellation Leo the lion with major star Gamma Leonis.

APOD 4.8

This is a photo of the Flame Nebula in the crowded and dusty star forming regions near Orion's belt. It was compiled with x-ray data from the Chandra Observatory and infrared images from the Space Spitzer Telescope. The composite image spans 15 light years across the Flame's center. The youngest stars are concentrated toward the middle of the cluster.

David Levy Biography

David Levy, born in Montreal on May 22, 1948 is most well-known for his studies regarding comets, namely Shoemaker-Levy 9. Levy was interested in Astronomy from a young age, but majored in English when he attended Acadia University in Nova Scotia. Despite his English studies, he was able to discover twenty comets just from his interest in astronomy and by keeping his eyes on the sky. He met with the Shoemakers when they were tracking one of the comets he had discovered. Together, they worked at the Palomar Observatory where the three watched the comet they discovered named Shoemaker-Levy 9. He is considered the most acclaimed amateur astronomer ever to walk this Earth as a mortal. He is the author of many books and is known for popularizing astronomy to the layman. Levy is very well known and appears on television talk shows and leads many astronomy societies. Currently he lives in Vail Arizona with his wife where the two run an observatory and to facilitate astronomy education.

Observation 4.7

This past week I went outside and viewed the night sky for approximately one hour. The moon was in the waxing gibbous phase and I was able to see Betelgeuse and Rigel in the constellation Orion, Orion's belt, as well as Virgo and Spica.

APOD 4.7

This is a photo of cosmic dust scattered across the nighttime sky. This stream of dust was left behind the comet Halley during the annual meteor shower known as Eta Aquarids. The exposure captures a meteor streak moving from left to right through the frame. It trails from the Milky Way to the constellation Aquarius. Eta Aquarid meteors are known to be extremely fast, entering the atmosphere at around 66 km per second. This photo was taken near a small pond in Albion, Maine. The water reflects the stars and the glow of nearby artificial lights.

Observation 4.6

This past week I went outside and looked at the night sky for one hour. I saw the moon in its waxing crescent phase. I also was able to see Jupiter, Mars, and the constellations Orion (with the three stars that make up Orion's belt), Leo, and Ursa Major.

APOD 4.6

Astrogropher John Chumack saw this unusual aurora while on his usual aurora tour with a group in Fairbanks, Alaska last month. It appeared to change shape into a jumping dog with a curly tail. He was able to capture the image with a 15-second exposure through a wide-angle lens. He also captured the background sky filled with familiar highlights. We can see planets Jupiter and Mars through the dog's apparent legs. Within a few minutes the dog morphed into other shapes.

Observation 4.5

This past week I went outside and looked at the night skies for one hour. The moon was very bright and in the waning crescent phase. I was able to see the constellations Leo and Ursa Minor.

APOD 4.5

This is a photo of a massive ash plume from a volcano in Iceland in 2010. Its location was noticable because the plume drifted across many highly populated areas. Eyjafjallajökull volcano started errupting March 20th, 2010 and had a second eruption near a small glacier in April of that same year. The second eruption melted a large amount of glacial ice which cooled into fragmented lava. This is a photo of the second eruption.

Observation 4.4

This past week I went outside and looked at the night skies for one hour. I saw the lunar eclipse and the extremely reddish color of the moon during the eclipse. During the red moon eclipse I was also able to see the blueish star, Spica.

Observation 4.3

This past week I went outside and looking at the sky for one hour. The moon was in the waxing gibbous phase. I was able to see the very bright blue star, Spica. I also saw the constellation, Orion and the three stars in a row that make up Orion's belt.

APOD 4.4

The redded moon resulted after the moon was completely immersed in Earth's shadow. It is the year's first total lunar eclipse. This image was taken from the Carribbean Island of Barbados. The moon's reddish color contrasts with the very bright blue star Spica. Spica is in the constellation Virgo that we just learned about.

APOD 4.3

This is a photo of the Great Nebula in Orion, the most famous nebula. Glowing gas surrounds hot young stars on the edge of an interstellar molecular cloud. This image was taken by the hubble space telescope. This nebula is easily identifiable by the naked eye near one of the three stars in Orion's belt. This nebula is also known as M object 42.

Observation 4.2

This past week I went outside and viewed the night skies for one hour. I saw the waxing cresecent moon inside the constellation Taurus the bull. I also saw Orion and the three stars in a row that make up Orion's belt.

APOD 4.2

Mars is the bright red object depicted above. Spica is the blue star radiating very brightly. They will both be visible together for the next few months. We were able to see them together in telescopes at past star gazes. Spica has been seen since ancient times.

APOD 4.1

This is a photo of the galaxy group Stephan's Quintet. This image was constructed with data from the Hubble telescope and the Subaru telescope on top of Mauna Kea. All five galaxies are gathered toward the center of the field while only four of the five are really locked together. The interacting galaxies have a more yellowish glow. Stephan's Quintet lies within the boundaries of the constellation Pegasus.

Observation 4.1

This past week I went outside and looked at the night sky for one hour. Most of the days were rainy and cloudy but I was able to see the moon in the waning crescent phase and the constellation Taurus, the bull with stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.

Observation 3.7

This past week, March 17th, I saw in the night sky the extremely bright and golden looking waning gibbous moon. It was very close to the new moon phase. I was also able to identify the constellation Orion by first finding the three stars that make up Orion's belt.

Observation 3.6

This past week. February 21st, I went outside and viewed the night skies for approximately one hour. I saw the constellations Taurus and Orion, including the three stars that make up Orion's belt. I also saw the extremely bright waning gibbous moon.

Observation 3.5

This past week, February 14th, I went outside and looked at the night skies for one hour. The moon was in the full moon phase. I was able to see the constellations Orion and Orion's belt. I additionally saw Jupiter, which was extremely bright.

Observation 3.4

This past week, February 7th, I went outside and viewed the night skies for one hour. I saw Orion's belt and the constellation Orion. I also saw Jupiter, the brightest object in the sky and the moon in its half moon phase.

Observation 3.3

This past week, January 30th, I went outside and viewed the night skies for one hour. The waning gibbous, almost full moon was extremely bright. However, the brightest object in thes sky was the planet Jupiter.

Observation 3.2

This past week, January 24th, I went outside and looked at the night skies for one hour. I saw the extremely bright moon in its waning gibbous phase. I also saw Jupiter at night, one of the brighest objects in the sky. In the morning before school, I saw Venus.

Observation 3.1

This past week, January 17th, I viewed the sky for one hour. I saw Venus, one of the brightest objects in the sky. On a clear night, I was able to identify the constellation Orion and Orion's belt. I also saw the very bright moon in its crescent form.

Astronomer Biography: James Keeler

            James Edward Keeler was born September 10^th, 1857 in La Salle, Illinois to parents William Keeler, assistant paymaster on an ironclad steamship, and Anne Dutton. During his successful career, Keeler made many important contributions to modern astronomy that would last far into the future.

            Keeler and his family lived in La Salle where he attended public school as a young child. They shortly after moved to Mayport, Florida, where he was homeschooled. Keeler began to develop an interest in astronomy at a young age when he witnessed the solar eclipse that occurred in 1896. At age eighteen, Keeler built his first telescope which allowed him to view different objects in the night sky including Jupiter and Saturn. Keeler’s love of astronomy prompted philanthropist Charles H. Rockwell to fiscally support Keeler in attending John Hopkins University. During his time at John Hopkins, Keeler went with a research team to view the solar eclipse that occurred in 1878. He graduated in 1881 with degrees in Physics, German, Math, Chemistry, and Astronomy. Keeler then went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to work for professor Samuel Pierpont. With Pierpont, Keeler traveled to California to calculate the infrared radiation of the sun. After graduation, Keeler began working at the Lick Observatory.

           At the Lick Observatory in California, Keeler used the telescope he had built to measure emission wavelengths and the spectra of different nebulas. Keeler was one of the first to utilize Spectroscopy to study and analyze the composition of light from stars and other celestial objects. Keeler married Cora Slocomb and was one of the pioneers of astrophysics. Keeler theorized that like stars, nebulae were also in motion. Keeler invented the spectrograph so that he could photograph spectral lines. He then realized that James Maxwell’s hypothesis stating that Saturn’s rings were actually made up of numerous particles, each individual particle orbiting the planet, was correct. He named his discovery “Keeler’s gap”. Keeler additionally contributed to improving current understanding of Spiral Nebulae and Spiral Galaxies through his research at the Lick Observatory using the Crossley Reflector Telescope.  Most of his observations were in and around the constellation Andromeda, in M object 31. Keeler also studied in depth the Orion nebula. Keeler additionally discovered two asteroids, 452 Hamiltonia and A900 MA, in 1899 and 1900.

          In 1895, along with George Hale, Keeler founded the Astrophysical Journal for communication among the adherents of the “New Astronomy.”  Keeler became director of the Lick Observatory, director of the Allegheny Observatory and received the Henry Draper medal and Rumford Prize. James Keeler’s many achievements changed the realm of modern astronomy. Many of his discoveries helped establish what we are learning today in modern times. 

Astronomer Biography Sources: James Keeler

"Keeler, James Edward." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 20 Feb. 2014

"James E. Keeler." NNDB: Tracking the Entire World. Web. 24 Feb. 2012.

APOD 3.5

This weeks APOD I chose depicted above shows a panoramic viewpoint of the moon from the perspective of the Chinese Yutu robotic rover. This robotic rover arrived in mid-december of 2013 and has been exploring Mare Imbrium on the moon. The reason I chose this APOD is because i did not know what Mare Imbrium was. In Latin it means  sea of showers or sea of rains and it is a large lunar mare on the moon. Apparently, it is one of the larger craters in the solar system. Its origin is said to come from a flood of lava. Depicted below is the extent and location of the mare imbrium. I am glad I know now one more fact about the moon's surface.

APOD 3.4

This weeks APOD is titled Downtown Auriga which I chose to learn more about the constellation Auriga which we have to learn about for our constellation quizzes. This APOD entry depicts a deep telescopic mosaic view of the constellation while showing off Auriga's most popular sights for cosmic tourtists. This picture was taken in january. From the persepective of the picture, the zodiacal constellation of Taurus the Bull can be seen near the bottom. I enjoy choosing APOD which give me a new more realistic viewpoint of the constellations we learn so I can know what they look like beyond the bright dots I can only see with my naked eye.

APOD 3.3

I chose the APOD from March 2. This APOD is titled Martian Sunset. I chose this Astronomy Picture of the day, because of the title. As the title suggests this image depicts the sun setting on the planet of Mars. The dust particles create a bluish glow around the setting sun. A martian rover named Spirit took this picture. It offers a unique perspective of our solar system. The Gustev Crater is visible. The sun appears smaller and less bright, because Mars is farther away.

APOD 3.2

I chose the APOD from February 20. This APOD is titled Comet Lovejoy Over the Great Wall. I chose this APOD, because it was a beautiful picture with an interesting title. This photo was taken on January 12. It is actually two pictures, taken with a telephoto lens, merged together. The foreground features the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of China is located in northeast Beijing. As the title suggests the Comet Lovejoy is also featured in this photo. Ophiuchus is visible next to the comet.

APOD 3.1

I chose the APOD from February 28. This image is titled Möbius Arch Moonrise. I chose this APOD, because it is a very has compelling imagery. The photographer used a fisheye lens to capture this landscape giving it an circular feel. The foreground features the unique structure of the Möbius Arch. The bright moon illuminated the clouds in the right of the image. Orion is clearly visible in this picture. Jupiter is also visible in the night sky.
Canis Major is also visible, featuring Sirius.