APOD 4.8

This beautiful vista was seen from atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, in the picture are three planets and many bright stars as well as the moon and the Milky Way. This picture was taken above the clouds and there is a city on the left side of the frame. The volcanic caldera of Kilauea lights up the clouds near the center a bright orange color. The atmosphere is glowing green due to excited air molecules.

APOD 4.7

During a largely unsuccessful trip to northern Norway to photograph auroras following a period of increased solar activity, the two brothers were packing up to leave when suddenly the sky erupted into brilliant green light. The aurora only lasted a few minutes but the impact of this fantastic experience on the two brothers will most likely last much longer.

Observations

I have gone out many nights this year to observe the stars as they move across the sky. I have looked at many planets as they travel across the sky and taken pictures of some of them. I am now able to name many constellations in the sky from memory and identify most of the first magnitude stars in the sky. I have also observed several iridium flares and other satellites in the sky.

APOD 4.6

This picture shows the International Space Station in front of a partially lit moon. The picture was taken in Madrid, Spain with an exposure of only 1/1000 of a second. The station is over the darkened side of the moon and adjacent to the terminator, or the day/night line on the moon.

APOD 4.5

This beautiful image of NGC 2841, a galaxy only 46 million light years away, depicts one of the more massive galaxies we know of. The beautiful red color is because most of the stars in the galaxy are old and there is little star formation. The spiral arms are very tightly wound and star clusters are embedded within them. Most other galaxies have very large regions of blue star formation but this ancient galaxy has few of these areas.

APOD 4.4

This image shows NGC 4725, a spiral galaxy in which is unusual because it only contains one arm. Most spiral galaxies contain many arms but this one contains just one which appears to form a ring around the galactic core. It is located in the constellation Coma Berenices. Simulations have been run to try and determine how this galaxy was formed, but no conclusive results have been found.

APOD 4.3

The Virgo Cluster of Galaxies is a giant formation of several galaxies located relatively close to our own Milky Way, enough that it spans nearly 10 degrees of the night sky. The heart of the cluster is about 70 million light years away and contains over 2000 galaxies which means it has gravitational influence on our own local cluster of  galaxies. This cluster also contains several objects from Messier's list.

APOD 4.2

This image was taken by the Opportunity rover on Mars which has been operational on the red planet since 2004. It has found evidence of ancient water and has been exploring craters and sending pictures back to NASA. It is traveling across a vast martian landscape to discover clues about the history of the planet and the early solar system.

APOD 4.1

This image shows the familiar constellation Orion in the early evening. The first magnitude stars Betelgeuse and Rigel can be seen as well as the three stars in Orion's Belt and the sword which contains the horsehead nebula. Aldebaren, a star in the constellation Taurus, is also visible in the picture.

Observations

Very cool picture I forgot to upload from last weekend (March 22), taken from my driveway, this photo shows the moon, with Venus on the right and Mars very faint below and to the left of the moon. This was taken when the moon and the two planets were near their closest and closest to the moon. The terminator on the moon can clearly be seen, and detail on the dark area can also be seen while the brightly lit area is overexposed. I simply looked up and saw this and knew I had to get a picture of it.

Quarter 3 Biography

Camille Flammarion was born on February 26, 1842 and died on June 3, 1925. His parents were not wealthy and they owned a store when he was born. Astronomy interested him from a young age, ever since he was able to see a solar eclipse for the first time at age 5. His parents were then forced to move to Paris, which Flammarion took in stride as it gave him many more opportunities to better himself. He worked hard and took on a part time job as well as studying rigorously. Pure chance led a doctor who was treating him to read some of his writing and this doctor showed it to Le Verrier, the director of the Paris observatory, who immediately hired Flammarion onto his staff.

Flammarion continued writing and soon was having his works published. His first published work was La pluralité des mondes habités, during whose writing he first encountered spiritualist Allan Kardec and joined his Society for Psychologic Studies. At the meetings of this Society, the members performed séances to promote inspirational writing. Soon Flammarion was supposedly able to conjure up words and images from beyond this world. Some of the writings he acquired were Galileo’s work and even signed by him, but Flammarion refused to accept this and saw them as entirely his work. The Society eventually published these papers. Flammarion soon gained access to the inner Spiritist circles in Paris, but never became a Spiritist himself.

Flammarion also made many flights in hot-air balloons to study atmospheric phenomena. During this time he wrote his most famous book, Astronomie Populaire, which was translated into many languages and spread interest in astronomy throughout the world. He also compiled all contemporary astronomical observations of the planet Mars into one volume, La planète Mars et ses conditions d’habitabilité. This title is because scientific opinion at the time held that Mars was the only planet that could potentially support life.

Flammarion’s greatest accomplishment, however, was spreading interest in astronomy through his Popular Astronomy, especially since for the first time during this era, high-quality consumer astronomical equipment was becoming available to many people. His works have influenced astronomy for many years and the interest gained in astronomy as a result of his works has shaped the field to this day.

Quarter 3 Biography Sources

"Flammarion, Camille." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 5. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 21-22. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.

"Flammarion, Camille (1842-1925)." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Ed. J. Gordon Melton. 5th ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. 571-572. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.

APOD 2.8

This stunning photograph shows an observatory in the Caucasus Mountains in Russia in the foreground. The middle layer of the image depicts the scenery of that region, which contains the highest mountain in Europe. Through the clouds, the Milky Way can be clearly seen. Though the cloud cover would probably make it a poor night for observing the sky, it helps create a really remarkable image.

Quarter 2 Observations 2

This quarter, I have continued my observation of the heavens in the following ways:
-I have gone out on most clear nights and looked up at the stars, identifying constellations and celestial objects.
-I observed Venus and Mercury as they approached their closest point in the sky
-I witnessed an Iridium flare as I was driving home
-I observed that the positions of the stars changes drastically with latitude while I was in Virginia over the holiday break.

APOD 2.7

This is an image of the Geminid Meteor Shower, viewed from high in the mountains in China. In the sky are a few familiar constellations, but the object of the photograph is the fireball in the lower right of the frame. This is a small meteor which burned up in the atmosphere and was most likely the size of a pebble. Meteor showers are truly amazing and I am sad that I missed the Geminid shower, but I got a great view of the Perseid Meteor Shower in rural Minnesota.

APOD 2.6

This image depicts the Flame Nebula, a stunning formation that is lit by the nearby star Alnitak, in Orion's belt. The star is a blue supergiant, one of the most incredible types of stars in existence. With a radius greater than our solar system and a temperature far exceeding that of our sun, the energy emanating from this object is simply astounding. If this star were not several hundred parsecs away, it would easily be one of the brightest stars in the night sky.

Quarter 2 Observations 1

In the first half of this quarter, I made many observations in the night sky including:
-Observing the sky on nearly every clear night and observing the daily shift in the positions of stars
-Also every night becoming familiar with constellations and being able to identify them
-Observing the sky from a different latitude while on a trip to Tennessee
     -I noted that the positions of stars were very different and I had trouble identifying some                       constellations.
-Observing the motions of Mars and Jupiter as they moved across the sky

APOD 2.5

This is an image of the lunar surface, focusing on the 95 km wide crater Plato, with the lunar alps to the right. The lunar alps were formed, not by tectonic activity like the alps on Earth, but by impacts from meteors which deformed the moon's surface. These mountains are still very impressive, with a length of 160 km and the highest peak reaching over 3 kilometers high.

APOD 2.4

This image depicts Europa, one of Jupiter's four Galilean moons. These moons are by far the largest of Jupiter's moons, the four together comprising 99% of the mass of all of Jupiter's dozens of natural satellites. Europa is covered in ice and is believed to have an ocean of liquid water just beneath the surface. This moon is one place of particular interest for astronomers in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Astronomer Biography - George Airy

Marcel Griffioen

Astronomy, Per. 5

Mr. Percival

8 January 2014

Astronomer Biography – George Airy

George Biddell Airy was born in Alnwick, Northumberland, England on July 27^th, 1801 and died in Greenwich, England, on January 2^nd, 1892, the eldest of four children. He attended Byatt Walker’s school at Colchester but was not particularly well-liked as he was introverted and snobbish. He learned basic subjects along with his classmates, and won some friends through constructing peashooters and other toys. At age twelve, he met his uncle, Arthur Biddle, who was a well-educated man and saw in him an opportunity to escape his current life which he found restrictive. At his request, his uncle almost literally kidnapped him, and he spent nearly half of his time with him over the next few years, during which he made several well-known acquaintances. He was then accepted to Trinity College in Cambridge.

During his time at Cambridge, he developed the habit of carrying a notebook at all times in which he did mathematics and translations in Latin and Greek daily, and wrote down all of his thoughts. He also met his future wife while attending Trinity, proposed to her, and was denied by her father, then proceeded to repeatedly propose to her for six years until he was finally allowed to marry her.

After graduating, he became a professor at Cambridge and ascended through the ranks of professors until he came to be in charge of the observatory. After several years as the caretaker of the Cambridge Observatory, he left to become astronomer royal at the observatory in Greenwich. As caretaker of this observatory, he turned it into a well-oiled machine which carried out its orders and did not allow much in the way of individual thought. During his time at Greenwich, he was also consulted about the potential discovery of Neptune, and was initially skeptical, but upon the discovery of the planet credited Le Verrier with its discovery.