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.