This weeks apod blog is about the photo labeled: "Calm, Cresent Moon, and Venus." The moon and venus are seen relatively close to each other. The photo is taken in the conjunction from Sweden, located about the calm lake of Vallentuna. On May 16th, the moon is occulted in front of Venus. For many of citizens, they occultation can also be seen during the daylight hours. My favorite aspect of the photo will be the colors of the sky line beyond Venus and the moon. Being able to witness this on a clear night would be such an amazing opportunity.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1005/MoonVenus_heden.jpg
Friday, May 21, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
apod 4.6
This weeks apod is based of the photo of the Halo of the Cat's Eye. This amazing photo was taken by the Nordic Optical Telescope. This nebula is one of the best known nebulae in the sky today. There is symmetries that are seen in the central region of this photo. Keep in mind however, that this photo is false-colored in order for you to grasp the details and amazing aspects of this nebula. The false-colors also reveal the faint halo that spans over three light-years across.It is very common for the planetary nebula phase to be thought to last for around 10,000 years, astronomers estimate the age of the outer filamentary portions of this halo is about 50,000 to 90,000 years. This photo still amazes me, and the gaseous halo is extremely photogenic.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1005/catseye2_not_big.jpg
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1005/catseye2_not_big.jpg
Thursday, May 6, 2010
apod 4.5
The title of this weeks apod blog is "Mars in a Manger". The opposition in late January has Mars shone very brightly in Earths night sky. This stands among the stars of the constellation Cancer, the Crab. Since the photo snapshot, the Red Planet has been fading. However, it still lingers in Cancer during the months of April and May. During mid-April, Mars wandered close to Cancer's star cluster of M44. This is also known as the Beehive Cluster. M44 is also known by the older name, Praesepe which is latin for cradle of manger. This awesome photo was captured in a 60 second time exposure made on April 14, a yellow-tinged Mars and M44 are near the center of the field, seemingly just beyond the reach of a pine tree. The photo is a little dark, but I still think it meets its purpose and is extremely interesting, especially against the starry night in the back round.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1004/MarsandM44ambrose-60S-1024.jpg
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1004/MarsandM44ambrose-60S-1024.jpg
apod 4.4
This apod is titled: "Sunset on a Golden Sea". This photo was taken on April 17th, by Pete Lawrence. This was an amazing telescopic view that captured the sun's swollen and distorted shape fro the southern coat of the UK. The photo reflects the bright column of the sunlight, and the sea from this photo also appears to be golden. The horizon is marked by the city of Portsmouth. The clear sky is a major reason why the atmosphere is clean and the sun is viewed near the horizon. The color of the water, and the size of the sun are my favorite aspects of this photo. I think that this photo portrays the amazingness of a setting sun.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1004/2010-04-17_C_IMG_0949.jpg
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1004/2010-04-17_C_IMG_0949.jpg
apod 4.3
This weeks apod blog is titled: "Dust Pillar of the Carina Nebula". The photo is very interesting. The apod photo is located inside the head of the interstellar monster, which has a star that is slowly destroying it. Located on the right side is an inanimate pillar of gas and dast that measures over a light year in length. The star that is destroying the nebula is not visible through the opaque dust. The photo illustrates the ejecting energetic beams of particles. If we fast forward about 100,000 years from now we will see the star destroy the pillars of creation. This will cause a new open cluster of stars. The image also shows pink dots that surround the newly formed stars that have been freed fro this nebula. This photos detail keeps me in awe, I think that it is extremely amazing the type of photos that can be taken in todays era. I am excited to see what other photos will emberge in the years to come.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1004/carina08_hst_big.jpg
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1004/carina08_hst_big.jpg
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Observations
March 15th, 2010 11:58
Location: The moon was not visible in the sky tonight. It was completely dark, making it apparent that there was a new moon out tonight.
Description: The fact that there was a new moon tonight made it easier for me to identify some constellations and see some nice stars from the streets of my neighborhood. I was able to identify the constellations of cancer and canis Minor. I used the star lab we received and I may have been mistaken, but I was able to see the stars out.
Weather: The night was almost cloudless that night. It was a bit windy, but it was a warmer night then the other days that I tried to observe the sky.
March 16th, 2010 12:00
Location: While I was going outside to get my backpack out of my car I was able to observe the night sky for about 30 minuets, unfortunately. There was a new moon, so I was able to record some very interesting observations.
Description: The new moon gave me the opportunity to observe vela, cancer, and lynx. Theses constellations where easier to identify based on the general location that was researched after I was outside for an excited period of time.
Weather: The whether was very similar to the night before when I was observing. The temperature was warmer outside, despite the light wind. The sky was bright enough from the stars for me to make accurate observations.
March 29th, 2010 10:49
Location: The moon was located high in the sky in the northern part of the night sky. Tonight there was a full moon, which made observing stars difficult due to the brightness.
Description: The moon was very beautiful tonight. I was outside for about an hour. The moons features were very nice, and I felt that the sky was very inviting for observing. I felt as if I could see all of the moons craters and features as it stood very high in the sky.
Weather: The temperature was very inviting. It was a little cold, due to the wind. The clouds were visible and at times would cover the moon, but for the most part the clouds would drift away and I was able to see the beautiful moon. The was an enjoyable observation session. I even attempted to take a photo f the moon tonight.
April 1st, 2010 9:30
Location: The moon was a Maxing Gibbous tonight. It stood towards the middle of the sky.
Description: The moon in the sky is almost a full moon. However, the waxing gibbous was still too bright for me to make any accurate observations of the stars. I am almost sure I saw the north star. I was a nice night, so I was able to look up at the moon and its shape for about 30 minuets.
Weather: The weather is getting warmer progressively through out my observations. It was windy, but not enough to cause a hassle when I was recording. The clouds posed very little of an issue. There was cluds, but they seemed to avoid the moon all together.
April 14th, 2010 11:00
Location: tonight there was a new moon. The location of the moon is therefore not possible to present. The location of the constellations on the other hand was something that was easy based on the perfect condition of the sky.
Description: The night was a great place for me to observe the constellations of leo and ursa major. The sky offered me a great deal of observation time. I spent about an hour and a half while I observed and walked my dogs. It was very enjoyable, and it was rather easy for me to spot these constellations due to the fact that I knew where they were generally located in the sky.
Weather: the night was fairly cloudy when I was outside, but I was still able to observe the constellations that I recorded. The temperature was warm, and was not as windy as my previous observation encounters.
Location: The moon was not visible in the sky tonight. It was completely dark, making it apparent that there was a new moon out tonight.
Description: The fact that there was a new moon tonight made it easier for me to identify some constellations and see some nice stars from the streets of my neighborhood. I was able to identify the constellations of cancer and canis Minor. I used the star lab we received and I may have been mistaken, but I was able to see the stars out.
Weather: The night was almost cloudless that night. It was a bit windy, but it was a warmer night then the other days that I tried to observe the sky.
March 16th, 2010 12:00
Location: While I was going outside to get my backpack out of my car I was able to observe the night sky for about 30 minuets, unfortunately. There was a new moon, so I was able to record some very interesting observations.
Description: The new moon gave me the opportunity to observe vela, cancer, and lynx. Theses constellations where easier to identify based on the general location that was researched after I was outside for an excited period of time.
Weather: The whether was very similar to the night before when I was observing. The temperature was warmer outside, despite the light wind. The sky was bright enough from the stars for me to make accurate observations.
March 29th, 2010 10:49
Location: The moon was located high in the sky in the northern part of the night sky. Tonight there was a full moon, which made observing stars difficult due to the brightness.
Description: The moon was very beautiful tonight. I was outside for about an hour. The moons features were very nice, and I felt that the sky was very inviting for observing. I felt as if I could see all of the moons craters and features as it stood very high in the sky.
Weather: The temperature was very inviting. It was a little cold, due to the wind. The clouds were visible and at times would cover the moon, but for the most part the clouds would drift away and I was able to see the beautiful moon. The was an enjoyable observation session. I even attempted to take a photo f the moon tonight.
April 1st, 2010 9:30
Location: The moon was a Maxing Gibbous tonight. It stood towards the middle of the sky.
Description: The moon in the sky is almost a full moon. However, the waxing gibbous was still too bright for me to make any accurate observations of the stars. I am almost sure I saw the north star. I was a nice night, so I was able to look up at the moon and its shape for about 30 minuets.
Weather: The weather is getting warmer progressively through out my observations. It was windy, but not enough to cause a hassle when I was recording. The clouds posed very little of an issue. There was cluds, but they seemed to avoid the moon all together.
April 14th, 2010 11:00
Location: tonight there was a new moon. The location of the moon is therefore not possible to present. The location of the constellations on the other hand was something that was easy based on the perfect condition of the sky.
Description: The night was a great place for me to observe the constellations of leo and ursa major. The sky offered me a great deal of observation time. I spent about an hour and a half while I observed and walked my dogs. It was very enjoyable, and it was rather easy for me to spot these constellations due to the fact that I knew where they were generally located in the sky.
Weather: the night was fairly cloudy when I was outside, but I was still able to observe the constellations that I recorded. The temperature was warm, and was not as windy as my previous observation encounters.
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