Observaton 12/11!

I observed with Jake and Fetty Saturday night!
We were east of the interstate at Twin Lakes Park, so it was an ideal location for looking at the stars. Early in the night I saw a meteor shower with Maddie! It was so great!
Then later I saw the moon, which was in a crescent shape. And I saw Jupiter, on the ecliptic, which was very bright. Also very visible was Orion's Belt. I also saw Pleiades, which was really very neat. And of course, earlier on in the night, I saw the summer triangle.

Observation 11/21!

Tonight I observed with Donna! There was a full moon tonight, so it drowned out many of the stars. And because of the light pollution of the area we were most of the stars were difficult to see. But we did see the summer triangle overhead, faintly. And Polaris was very visible tonight. But besides that, the rest of the sky was not visible from my location. However, the moon was beautiful!

APOD 2.4

One of the main reasons I chose this spiral galaxy is simply for aesthetics. The contrast of the dark black night sky with the bright colored nebula is truly beautiful. But, I also really like this picture because it is such a simple picture so it is hard to realize how much it encompasses. That seemingly small galaxy is actually 100,000 light years across, and is known as an "island universe." It houses planets and stars of all kinds, of which we have no clue, and it could even have intelligent life. And yet, in this picture, the galaxy seems so simple and serene. Really there is so much more.

APOD 2.3

I like this picture because I don't understand it! I mean, I kinda do, but I can't really wrap my head around it. And because I don't really understand it it's like the neatest thing ever! I could not have even imagined that a galaxy could be that thin, and that there are thousands of stars in that one strip is so neat. Also, it is said to be about 35,000 light years in distance. A galaxy this thin is actually called a disk galaxy, because of its appearance. But since it is so thin it is difficult to determine what kind of disk galaxy it is.

APOD 2.2

These are circling orbs are as wide as a state and as long as the Earth. And it is filled with hot gas moving at roughly 50,000 km per hour. And it is made of a transparent magnetic field. These are spindles on the Sun. Just some of thousands others on the Sun's surface. The main reason I picked this picture is because when it comes to picturing what the sun looks like, it is a very difficult task. I liked this picture because it shows just what exactly the sun's surface looks like-- it's not just yellow. It allows me to better understand what we are learning and better imagine it in my mind.

APOD 2.1

This picture above is a digitally altered image of the moon's surface. This image was taken because astronomers are curious to find out just exactly how much water is in the moon. As it turns out there is more than expected. The red areas indicate where it is likely dry. The blue and green areas indicate that the soil is relatively rich in hydrogen, which scientists believe could very well indicate a presence of water. One reason this is groundbreaking is because if there is a substantial amount of water in the moon, it could be the next step in making the moon an outpost for astronauts. There is still relatively limited information on it now, but images like this are hopeful.

Observation

Tonight the two most obvious things in the night sky were the moon and Jupiter. The moon is at waning gibbous right now, because for the past couple days it had been a full moon. But now it is waning and it is also very low in the sky. From where I was standing in my driveway the moon was just above the line of trees and houses. Also, Jupiter was very obvious tonight. It was straight up in the middle of the sky. Because I did not have a very powerful telescope and I could not see many constellations, I could not identify any stars tonight. And also, Jupiter and the moon were so bright tonight that their light cast over many of the stars in the night sky.