APOD 4.1- NGC 5584: Expanding the Universe

The Type Ia Supernova explosion, NGC 5584, is one of eight galaxies being studied by scientists in order to improve upon Hubble's Constant, in order to better measure the Universe. This galaxy supports the theory that dark matter is the cause of the acceleration of the Universe's expansion. The spiral arms of the galaxy are full of dark dust lanes and young clusters of stars. The numerous red spots in the image are many distant galaxies. NGC 5584 is 50,000 light-years across and 72 million light-years away from Earth, toward the constellation of Virgo. Over 250 Cepheid stars, stars that have evolved off the main sequence into the Cepheid instability strip and are regular radial-pulsating that are ideal to be used as primary distance indicators, are found in this galaxy.

'Astronomy Night' Stargaze

Time: 8:00-10:00
Place: Pine View

On this past Saturday night the skies were clear and perfect for stargazing. The moon was in the waning crescent phase, so the skies were not obstructed by any lunar light. I enjoyed pointing out stars and constellations, such as Orion and Taurus, to friends who are not in astronomy. Betelgeuse and Rigel were bright in the sky to the north and south of Orion. Saturn was also visible, and spectacularly bright.

APOD 3.8- The Red Square Nebula

An infared image formed of combined exposure from various telescopes, such as the Keck-2, the Mt. Palomar, and the Hale telescope, have shown the MWC 922 nebula to be depicted in the shape of a square with extended light at the corners. It is unsure what phenomena could cause a nebula to take on a rectangular shape, however it is believed that the central star expels cones of gas late in its developmental stage. It is difficult to be sure of the cone theory, because if we were to view the nebula at a different angle, the square may appear more like rings like the ones seen in supernova 1987A. This leads astronomers to conclude that the red Square Nebula, MXC 922, may become a supernova relatively soon.

Observation 4

Time: 10-10:30 P.M.
Place: Casey Key Beach

This past Saturday night the skies were fairly clear and the moon was just passing through the full stage as the Vernal equinox and the beginning of spring had was just taking place. The equinox is the event at which the Sun crosses the equator and goes north. The full moon was the largest it has been in 19 years. On Saturday night, the moon (around 10 P.M.)  was located in the constellation of Virgo. Saturn was visible near the east just below the moon, not quite half way between the moon and the horizon. I believe I saw the star Spica just below Saturn as well. The reason the full moon was so large was because it occurred on the same day as perigee. Also, standing on the beach, I noticed the tides were extremely high because of the close proximity of Earth to the moon. The moon stayed bright and full for the rest of the night.

APOD 3.7- Sideways Galaxy NGC3628

The NGC 3628 galaxy appears almost as the shape of a line in the night sky, however this galaxy is actually a spiral galaxy seen from its side from the perspective from Earth. The Sideways Galaxy is located in the constellation Leo nearly 35 million light years away and is approximately the size of the Milky Way Galaxy. There are hints of red in the galaxy's star-forming regions. The shape of the galaxy seems to fan out at the edges while a faint arm is extended to the upper left, which suggests that this spiral galaxy is interacting with other members of the Leo triplet galaxies, M66 and M65. NGC 3628 has a tidal tail extending 300,000 light years from the edge of the disk. The tail, full of blue star clusters and star-forming regions, is drawn out from the galaxy because of past interaction with other galaxies.This galaxy is not in Charles Messier's catalog, although it is a member of the Leo triplet galaxies.