APOD 2.6- Sunset at the Spiral Jetty

In August, at the Spiral Jetty in Utah, a beautiful and extraordinary sunset was photographed on the east side of the Great Salt Lake. Not only was this site outstanding because it was over the unique Spiral Jetty, but the sunset showed rays of sunlight called crepuscular rays. Crepuscular rays are parallel columns of sunlit air that are separated by shadowed clouds. Airborne dusts, salts and water droplets create this illusion of perspective and light.

Observation 3

Tonight, the moon is just passed the new phase and is entering the waxing crescent. The skies are extremely dark and clear. I was able to see even the faint stars of many constellations and may cloudy, clustered areas of stars. The constellations Perseus and Cassiopeia are visible in tonight's sky toward the north. In the west around 9:00 P.M. I saw Jupiter high in the sky.

APOD 2.5- Flame Nebula Close-Up

NGC 2024, also known as the Flame Nebula, is a giant, reddish molecular cloud located on the edge of the constellation Orion about 1,500 light-years away from Earth. The red glow is a product of glowing, ionized hydrogen atoms. As the ionized atoms re-combine with electrons and glow as a result. Behind the dark clouded mass of interstellar dust in the center of the nebula, is a massive cluster of young stars that is likely to be the cause of the hydrogen atom ionization because of its extreme ultraviolet radiation, however, the cluster of stars can only be seen with infrared wavelengths.

APOD 2.4- Spiral Galaxy M66

Spiral galaxy M66 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780, and four supernova have been spotted in this galaxy since. In the Leo Triplet of galaxies, (made up of the three tilted spiral galaxies NGC 3628, M66, and M65), M66 lies 35 million light years across and is about one-hundred thousand light years across, making it the largest galaxy in the trio. Dust lanes and young, blue star clusters are prominent in M66, as they circle the galaxy's center and form a nearly symmetrical galaxy. The dispacement of the glaxy's shape is most likely caused by the gravitational pulls of the neighboring spiral galaxies. The forming pink and blue stars, dusts, nebulae and gases make up the spiral arms of M66.

APOD 2.3- The Iris Nebula

 

 The bright blue center of this stellar flower is approximately 6 light-years across. The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023) is located 1,300 light-years away, in the constellation of Cepheus. The blue, cloudy appearance is caused by interstellar dust and gas reflecting the colors of starlight around young, extremely hot stars, which form a shape that looks somewhat like flower petals, giving the nebula its name. Faint hints of color near the center indicate that there are hydrogen  emissions taking pace and a possibilityof PAHs. The reddish dust particles give off their brighter colors because they have converted ultraviolet starlet into visible red light. The Iris Nebula is a wonderful example of a reflection nebula.

APOD 2.2- The Necklace Nebula

       Planetary nebula are formed in the last phase of stellar evolution of sun-like stars.They are composed of gaseous and dusty materials which are expelled from geriatric stars just before the star dies. The Necklace Nebula is a ring-shaped planetary nebula found within the constellation of Sagitta nearly 15,000 light-years away and 5,000 years old. The ring of the nebula is about half a light-year across. A unique property of the Necklace Nebula is that is believed to be a binary star with an orbital period of just over a day.

APOD 2.1- It Came from the Sun

The large cloud of dust that appears to be extending off of the surface of the Sun is what is called a prominence.  Solar prominences are enormous clouds of gas that  are held  near the Sun by its magnetic fields. A quiescent prominence last about a month, whereas an eruptive prominence  will erupt much more quickly. The expulsions of hot gas seen in the photograph are eruptive prominences. Prominences appear darker than the Sun because they are slightly cooler than its surface. This particular one (seen on the top right side of the Sun in this photo) is the largest one yet on record. It is large enough to fit the mass of Earth inside of it.

APOD 1.8-Globular Star Clusters

In the vast, starry area known as the Milky Way, globular star clusters are extremely common. Within these clusters, several hundred thousand stars are gravitationally held together in one large group. The stars within the clusters of the Milky Way are estimated to be up to billions of years old. This gives astronomers more information about the age of the Universe. This particular cluster, found in the constellation of Delphinius, is the cluster NGC 6934. It was discovered in 1785 by William Herschel, has a magnitude of 8.83, is 10 billion years old and is 50,000 light years away from our earth.

Christoph Clavius Biography

Christoph Clavius

Christoph Clavius was born in Bamberg, Bavaria on March 25, 1538 and died on February 2, 1612 in Rome, Italy. His life’s work was devoted to practicing mathematics and astronomy. It is suspected that he changed his name from a German name, possibly 'Schlüssel', which means ‘key’, to the Latin name ‘Clavius’ which also means ‘key’. Clavius was a member of the Jesuit Order, where he received his education and was sent to University of Coimbra in Portugal in 1556. He became a Professor of Mathematics at Collegio Romano in 1565, while still a student of theology. He published several books, the most well known one being The Elements of Euclid.

Gregorian Calendar

Although his primary studies were in the field of mathematics, his observation of the solar eclipse in 1560 inspired him to pursue the study of astronomy. His first and most significant astronomical achievement was his reformation of the Julian calendar (which came to be known as the Gregorian calendar under King Gregory XIII) and the establishment of functioning leap years. Since the Gregorian calendar used a more accurate value for the tropical year than the Julian calendar used, Clavius used its concept of omitting centennial years to correct the calendar, which became known as the solar correction. He proposed the rule that leap years occur in years that are divisible by four, except years ending in ‘00’ must be divisible by 400. We still use this rule today. Clavius met with Galileo in Rome in 1587, and the two occasionally corresponded from that day onward. Clavius confirmed Galileo’s discoveries, however, he did not confirm Galileo’s theory. As an astronomer, Clavius supported the Ptolemaic system and strongly opposed Copernicus. His development of the modern calendar is extremely significant, although it is greatly overlooked today.

APOD 1.7-Horsehead and Orion Nebulas

The Horsehead nebula (also called Barnard 33) is part of a massive, dark molecular cloud, located in the constellation of Orion. The nebula glows red as hydrogen gas is emitted by Sigma Orionis, which is located behind the Horsehead. A blue glow is also behind the nebula, coming from a reflection nebula called NGC 2023. Reflection nebulas give off light because they reflect the light of a nearby star. In the midst of the red and blue glow, the Horsehead shape is formed in a dark, black cloud of dust. Interstellar dust blocks out light, leaving the appearance of a dark hole in the nebula. Light from the Horsehead nebula takes approximately 1,500 years to reach Earth.

Great Orion Nebula in bottom right and Horsehead nebula in top left.

APOD 1.6- Auroras of Saturn

In order to investigate why auroras occur on Saturn scientists have looked at many infared photos of the planet previously taken by the Cassini spacecraft. Auroras can occur and are effected depending on Saturn's rotation and the angle of the Sun. Saturn's moon can also effect the auroras taking place in the magnetosphere, which like Earth's, deflects the solar wind particles being emitted by the Sun. The angle of the solar wind particles coming from the sun and the rotaion of Saturn will tell where the particles will be deflected on Saturn's surface. However, Saturn's auroras can occur over an entire pole, as opposed to merely the magnetic poles, where they happen on Jupiter and Earth. Saturn reflects a glowing red, while its ring appear to be a very bright blue as they reflect the most light from the Sun.

Observation 2

Location: Blackburn Pt. Rd.
Time: 8:30-9:30 P.M.

Last evening was extremely clear and wonderful for stargazing. The moon is in its third quarter, so it was not yet in the sky which made it even easier to see the constellations. I went to the stargazing session with my class and got the chance to look at the stars and planets with binoculars and a telescope. Jupiter was very bright in the sky towards the southeast and through telescope, its moons were visible as well. Vega was also shinning brightly overhead and I could spot summer and fall constellations such as Ursa Major, Scorpius, Pegasus, Saggatarius, and Lyra. However, around 9:00 something very unexpected occurred, as a "falling star" or meteor shot across the sky toward the northeast. It only lasted a few seconds before it disappeared, but nonetheless, it was spectacular!

Christoph Clavius Biography Sources

        O'Connor, J.J. and Robertson, E.F. "Christoph Clavius." GAP. December 2008. School of Mathematics and Statistics. September 29, 2010. <http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Clavius.html>.


        Müller, Adolf. "Christopher Clavius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 29 Sept. 2010<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04009a.htm>.

APOD 1.5-Autumnal Equinox and the Harvest Moon

              This year's autumnal equinox occurred yesterday, September 23rd at 3:09 (UT). The autumnal equinox is also called a 'harvest moon' as it is the first day of autumn and the harvesting season. On this day, the full moon is extremely bright because it is at opposition with the sun. Jupiter is also at opposition this time of year, so it could also be seen shining brightly underneath the full moon.

APOD 1.4- Equinox and the Iron Sun

the sun on the day of the equinox

plasma arcs on the sun

Every year on September 23rd 3:09 UT, the equinox occurs where the sun is right on the celestial equator, causing there to be 12 of hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Yesterday, the sun emitted highly ionized iron atoms as can be seen in the altered photograph above. Along with the emissions of iron atoms, luminescent arcs of highly charged plasma particles can be seen above the magnetic fields of the sun.

Observation 1-Autumnal Equinox

Time: Periodically from sunset to approximately 9:30 P.M.
Place: Casey Key beach

Full 'harvest' moon and Jupiter-picture taken in my backyard

At sunset (nearly 7:15), the sun set due west. Today is the day of the equinox, so the sun is on the celestial equator, meaning the sun will set due west and rise due east. The sky in the early evening was very clear and provided for a beautiful sunset. While the sun went behind the horizon, the moon could be seen in the west. The moon was extremely bright and appeared to be full. The day of the equinox is also the day of the "harvest moon", so the brightness of the moon and cloudy skies did make it a little more difficult to see any surrounding stars. Jupiter was visible underneath the moon, closer to the horizon in the west, and relatively bright since it was at opposition last night. There was one bright star in the northwest, nearly straight up in the sky above me, around 9:30, but it did not appear bright enough to be a planet.

APOD 1.3- Aurora Over Norway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sa-3DoXHQQ&feature=related

        These northern lights were photographed in Norway over the  weekend. In the photo there are several satellite streaks as well as one from an airplane flying through. This illuminated phenomenon called an aurora is the result of many streams of charged electron particles colliding as they enter the earth's atmosphere. Charged particles are deflected by earth's magnetic fields, which creates a magnetosphere. When electrons hit an obstacle in the magnetosphere, they produce light, and this process is what gives the illusion of colorful lights in the northern sky. When any powerful magnetic event, such as a large solar flare, takes place on the Sun, an aurora on Earth can aurora can be predicted to happen afterwards because the energy will hit earth's atmosphere, and possibly create light. Auroras are also visible in ultra-violet or X-rays as the light bounces off of the layers of earth's atmosphere.

     Streams of charged particles collide with earth after an electromagnetic event takes place on the Sun. This shows earth's magnestosphere.

APOD 1.2- Vela Supernova Remnant

Vela Supernova Remnants

Approximately 11,000 years ago a star in the constellation of Vela located within the Gum Nebula, underwent a massive explosion. The power behind this particular explosion was so great that it left behind X-ray detectable shock waves that are still visible. When a star explodes, it emits enormous amounts of extremely hot gases that linger in the atmosphere for thousands of years to come. The explosion left behind filaments of glowing gas and a rotating stellar core called the Vela Pulsar. The remnants of the explosion extend up to 230 light years across, covering over 100 times the sky-area of the full Moon. The Vela supernova remnants are some of the closest to Earth.

APOD 1.1 -Hole In the Sun

The Sun often appears to have dark spots or "holes" on its surface (the corona). These coronal holes happen in large magnetic fields and are caused by lower density and temperatures that exist there.Usually, the poles of the Sun are the only areas with the conditions for coronal holes, but occasionally the magnetic fields shift further down the hemispheres. A constant stream of plasma streams out of the holes at extremely fast and powerful speeds (nearly a million miles per hour), creating solar winds that move away from the sun on magnetic field lines. The coronal holes and auroral displays are visible to the people on Earth when the solar wind is facing it. The holes are dectected by ultra-violet and x-ray light cameras. Solar winds have stormy affects on Earth and everything in its atmosphere, including spaceships, weather and flight patterns.