Date: Wednesday, September 28, 2010
Location: My driveway in Osprey
Direction: Directly Above
Time: 6:10 A.M.
During this observation when I had to take my dogs out, I saw the moon directly above me. There were a few clouds, but over all, the sky was very clear. The moon seemed to be in its third quarter phase. It was very bright and when I saw the moon I noticed that there was a large ring of light surrounding it.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sources for Astronomer: James Gregory (Gregorie)
Works Cited
"Gregory (More Correctly Gregorie), James." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 5. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 524-530. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Sept. 2010.
"James Gregory." MacTutor History of Mathematics. JOC/EFR, Sept. 2000. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. <http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Gregory.html>.
Friday, September 24, 2010
APOD 1.4
This week I chose the picture of the day on September 19, 2010 on the "Dark Clouds of the Carina Nebula". This picture shows the molecular clouds in the Carina Nebula. The clouds look like smoke and floating phantoms. The high contrast of the light and colors add to the eerie feel of the picture. The clouds are actually formed by the molecular dust and gases in space. The shapes of the clouds are actually influenced by the other stars in the nebula. The energetic light and winds that the nearby stars give off eat away at the clouds and that is what gives them their shapes. If they are left alone long enough they can form into stars or planets.
They tend to form stars or planets because of their low temperatures and high density. They also have their own gravitational force, and when it's force to collapse the cloud is greater than the outward force pushing to prevent it, a star can be formed.
I found this very interesting because the picture looked great itself, and I never knew where stars came from and how they were made. It was very interesting to read about the molecular clouds and how they were involved in forming the stars. I also liked the idea that the clouds could be sculpted into different shapes by the light and winds from other stars. It really does make the universe seem like a work of art.
They tend to form stars or planets because of their low temperatures and high density. They also have their own gravitational force, and when it's force to collapse the cloud is greater than the outward force pushing to prevent it, a star can be formed.
I found this very interesting because the picture looked great itself, and I never knew where stars came from and how they were made. It was very interesting to read about the molecular clouds and how they were involved in forming the stars. I also liked the idea that the clouds could be sculpted into different shapes by the light and winds from other stars. It really does make the universe seem like a work of art.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Observation 2 (9/22/10)
Date: September 22, 2010
Location: My driveway in Osprey
Direction: East
Time: 10:10 P.M.
Tonight, there were some clouds but it was mostly clear. There were not any stars visible. But I was able to see the moon again. It was a full moon in the east and near the bottom right of the moon was a single bright dot. I believe it was the planet Jupiter.
Location: My driveway in Osprey
Direction: East
Time: 10:10 P.M.
Tonight, there were some clouds but it was mostly clear. There were not any stars visible. But I was able to see the moon again. It was a full moon in the east and near the bottom right of the moon was a single bright dot. I believe it was the planet Jupiter.
Observation 1 (9/22/10)
Date: September 22, 2010
Location: My driveway in Osprey
Direction: East/Southeast
Time: 6:10 A.M.
This morning I saw Orion. This is pretty much the first constellation my older sister taught me to identify because it was easy to spot the 3 stars that made up his belt and the 4 stars that made up his shoulder and knees. It was a pretty clear morning, there were a few clouds, but the stars were very bright. Off to the west/southwest the moon was visible. It was a full moon and it was surrounding by clouds.
Location: My driveway in Osprey
Direction: East/Southeast
Time: 6:10 A.M.
This morning I saw Orion. This is pretty much the first constellation my older sister taught me to identify because it was easy to spot the 3 stars that made up his belt and the 4 stars that made up his shoulder and knees. It was a pretty clear morning, there were a few clouds, but the stars were very bright. Off to the west/southwest the moon was visible. It was a full moon and it was surrounding by clouds.
Monday, September 20, 2010
APOD 1.3
This week, I chose the picture "Aurora Over Norway" (2010 September 20). The auroras are caused by the magnetic field around the Earth. The field lines go into and out of the Earth around the Earth's magnetic poles. There are also electrons and positive ions in the the surrounding magnetic field. Those charged particles move along the magnetic field lines which are like wires. When they accelerate along these lines into the upper atmosphere they collide with gas atoms. This causes the atoms to give off light. Another component of auroras is solar winds. The Sun's atmosphere is made of particles that are constantly boiling off the Sun and streaming outward at very high speeds. The Sun's own magnetic field and particles are called the "solar wind". When the wind pushes on the the Earth's magnetic field, the energy from the solar wind is constantly building up in the magnetosphere , and this energy powers auroras.
This is very interesting because I never knew how auroras were formed. And just from the picture itself, I never really took the time to look at auroras even though they are often in our textbooks with explanations. I never thought that the auroras were this bright with these many colors, and even though the sky is all lit up, the stars can still be seen. It's amazing what you can see in the sky.
This is very interesting because I never knew how auroras were formed. And just from the picture itself, I never really took the time to look at auroras even though they are often in our textbooks with explanations. I never thought that the auroras were this bright with these many colors, and even though the sky is all lit up, the stars can still be seen. It's amazing what you can see in the sky.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
APOD 1.2
This week my post is on the pic of the day on Sept. 5, 20101: GRO J1655-40: Evidence for a Spinning Black Hole. It is an image of a black hole that is spinning and at the center is a swirling whirlpool of hot gas. The spinning of the gas is caused by x-rays that the holes emit, but they also pulsate periodically which is why it flickers. Still, this is still being researched.
Also, I found this image very interesting. Even though it was created from someone else's idea of how a black hole should look, I never imagined black holes to have any color or even spin. I had the generic idea that it was literally just a big black hole. Following up on the links, I enjoyed reading more into what a black hole actually is the the answers and explanations of FAQs about black holes like "What would happen if I were to be sucked into a black hole?" Depending on the size of the hole, one would ultimately feel stretched out until you were ripped apart due to the tidal forces. Even though this is expected I always figured that things would appear different from the inside of the hole but apparently, things don't appear too much different besides a little distortion. Reading about this pic of the day really gave me a better understanding of what black holes are like.
Also, I found this image very interesting. Even though it was created from someone else's idea of how a black hole should look, I never imagined black holes to have any color or even spin. I had the generic idea that it was literally just a big black hole. Following up on the links, I enjoyed reading more into what a black hole actually is the the answers and explanations of FAQs about black holes like "What would happen if I were to be sucked into a black hole?" Depending on the size of the hole, one would ultimately feel stretched out until you were ripped apart due to the tidal forces. Even though this is expected I always figured that things would appear different from the inside of the hole but apparently, things don't appear too much different besides a little distortion. Reading about this pic of the day really gave me a better understanding of what black holes are like.
Monday, September 6, 2010
APOD 1.1
The Bubble Nebula was NASA's astronomy picture of the day 2 Sept. 2010.
It actually does look like a bubble floating in space. The colors that form the bubble surrounding the star inside is caused by the star's winds and intense radiation blowing the material outward. Another example that is created by this process is Thor's Emerald Helmet. It is a colorful cosmic cloud that was created by the winds blowing from the star within. The stellar winds of the Bubble Nebula can go as fast as 4 million mph, and the nebula is 10 light years in diameter and is about 7100 light years from Earth. This picture was taken from Mount Wilson Observatory in Mount Wilson, California. It's amazing that they have the technology to take pictures this clear and colorful from so far away. It's also interesting that the winds can create so many different colors just from one star.
It actually does look like a bubble floating in space. The colors that form the bubble surrounding the star inside is caused by the star's winds and intense radiation blowing the material outward. Another example that is created by this process is Thor's Emerald Helmet. It is a colorful cosmic cloud that was created by the winds blowing from the star within. The stellar winds of the Bubble Nebula can go as fast as 4 million mph, and the nebula is 10 light years in diameter and is about 7100 light years from Earth. This picture was taken from Mount Wilson Observatory in Mount Wilson, California. It's amazing that they have the technology to take pictures this clear and colorful from so far away. It's also interesting that the winds can create so many different colors just from one star.
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