APOD 1.5

The picture above was take in near Monte Conero, Italy on the Adriatic Sea. In the expansive sky there are boundless amounts of stars, however, the one star that I will be focusing on is the fuzzy-looking star just left of the top center of the picture.

That one fuzzy star is the only star in our whole entire sky that is outside our galaxy.

Let me dwell on this a little more. A galaxy is a system of which there are millions of billions of stars and solar systems such as our Sun and the planets that circle it. Every star that we see in the sky are stars and formations that are within our galaxy which is 100,000 lightyears long.

This fuzzy star, however, is another galaxy called the Andromeda Galaxy that is 2.5 million light years away! What's more is that the average person can see this star without the help of binoculars.

This galaxy is called the Andromeda Galaxy because of its closeness to the constellation of Andromeda.

From this picture, the constellation Andromeda is also visible. The 4 prominent stars underneath the Andromeda Galaxy are part of that constellation.

It is just amazing how one is able to see the expanse of space and that we are looking at billions of stars that continue to amaze so many.

Astronomy Project Sources

Callippus:
1. http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Callippus.html
2. http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/C/Callippus

Eudoxus
1. http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Eudoxus_of_Cnidus.html
2. http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/hmendel/Ancient%20Mathematics/Eudoxus/Astronomy/EudoxusHomocentricSpheres.htm

Observation 1.4

The Moon is starting to rise.

The Moon has a very yellow tint to it.

It is amazing how clearly you can see the craters. 

The Moon is slowly getting lighter.

It is getting even more light.

Tried to be a little photographic here.

Date: 19 September 2013
Time: 7:48 - 8:00 pm

In the pictures above you can the Moon in its different stages in only 12 minutes.

This day the moon was seen rising from the horizon unlike the other nights when the Moon just seems to appears in the middle of the night sky. Although I was not able to see the Moon actually rise from the horizon due to trees being in the way, I saw the moon a few minutes after it had risen and it was big! Apparently, when the Moon is seen rising from the horizon it is very beautiful as the Moon has a strong yet beautiful color and as the sky around it is filled with different hues, and trust me, even seeing the Moon right then was beautiful.

As the Moon was rising, it had a very dark yellow color to it. It was also very, very big! In fact, it was so big that I could easily see the craters on it.

Slowly, the Moon, as it rose, it began to get light as seen in the last picture.. Even the next morning, the Moon was still up in the sky still bright and big, however, by that time it looked white.

The change in the color of the Moon is due to the position of it near the Earth. Having to pass through more atmosphere as the Moon rises, the light is slightly scattered and there is a change in the color. In one of my previous posts, I explain the reason more thoroughly.

It is so amazing to see the beauty of the Moon in its different stages and that every second it is a new experience. It is worth going outside, looking at the sky, and getting attacked by mosquitoes and accidentally stepping on ant piles and looking insane running around your backyard trying to find the best spot to take a picture, but that is besides the point. All that matters is the appreciation, respect and wonder you get from the beauties of the world, or in that manner, the mysteries of the celestial world.

Observation 1.3

The hazy sky is scattering the Moon's light.

Date: 19 September 2013
Time: 6:25 am

The pictures above show a really bright full moon. Once again before going to school I saw the Moon which was so bright that even my room was illuminated from its light.

As you can see, it was hazy that day so the light scattered in the night sky. Unfortunately, the effects of light and air pollution also impacted the picture. It is a shame that so many of the beautiful stars in sky are shrouded by pollution.

However, on a brighter note, the Moon was 2 fists (10 degrees) above the horizon. Also, at that time I saw the constellation Orion which I was not able to take a picture of but I attempted to find the approximate distance from it to the Moon which was around 7 fists (35 degrees). I noticed from the day before, Orion had moved slightly westward in the sky as well.

In a day or two the Moon will soon start to become a Waning Gibbous and slowly it seemingly disappear.

Observation 1.2

Date: 18 September 2013
Time: 6:26 am

In the picture above, you can see the constellation Orion. That Wednesday, on my way to the car to go to school, I just happened to look up and I saw Orion. The first thing I noticed was Orion's belt (the 3 stars in a row). Actually, I have always seen Orion's belt throughout my life but I just never realized it. My family has always called "Orion's belt", The Three Kings after the 3 wise kings in the bible who traveled to Bethlehem to see baby Jesus.

After researching The Three Kings, I actually found that it was also another legal name for Orion's belt which surprised me. Apparently, the The Wise Kings are in line with the star Sirius (which is also known as the star in the East which the three wise men had followed to get to Jesus when they got lost in the desert) which is part of the constellation Canis Major, also called the "Great Dog". Canis Major is represented as one of the dogs that follow Orion.

There are many stories of the constellation Orion. It is said that Orion, who is followed by Canis Major and Canis Minor (Smaller Dog), is hunting a hare (constellation Lepus). Other stories involve him chasing after Taurus the Bull, or him running away from Scorpius, a scorpion sent out from the gods to get him when Orion declared he could kill any beast on Earth, which is why Scorpion appears in the East and Orion in the West. Lastly, Orion is also said to have fallen in love with the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, and is in the continuous pursuit in finding them.

I find that all these stories in depth and that all these constellations have something related to each other, almost like a huge story, which I personally love. Orion is most visible in the night sky during winter time in the Northern Hemisphere so slowly Orion will more and more to the West and he will soon disappear forever running away from Scorpius and trying to find Pleiades.

APOD 1.4

This gorgeous photo was taken on September 8, 2013 in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. The photo shows the Moon in it's crescent form as well as the two stars close by it. The star closest to the Moon is the planet Venus and the star a little to the left of Venus is Spica.

Venus at its present state in the photo is it coming out of lunar occultation. A lunar occultation is when the Moon passes in front a planet or star.

The sky in the picture appears to have around 8 different colors in one time but this is not due to the actual sky appearing like that, however, it was due to the long exposure that the camera took which showed the gradual change of the sky color and also the path of the stars, planets and the Moon. What causes the sky to appear in different colors is from the light from the sun being diffused into the atmosphere.

The world is a canvas with a beautiful palette where ever you go.

APOD 1.3

Many believe that once Earth is no longer inhabitable by people, we will be able to move to Mars. However, it is possible that there might be a another type of Earth, a super-Earth. Although the image above is not an actual picture, it is an illustration of a possible planet found (the black circle) that might hold water. There were recent observations that showed blue light around this planet which is constant with planets that hold a watery atmosphere. It is amazing to think that if there really is a possiblity of another planet that holds water then there might be a chance that there is some kind of life form out there other than us. This planet is around 42 light years away and yet we are still able to notice a planet like this. Our technology has gotten us so far. Who knows, maybe one day we will be able to travel through space and somewhere out there we will be able to find another home for us.

Observation 1.1

The Sun's light reflecting on the Moon shows its craters on the ragged line that separates the light and dark.

The brightest star to the right is Venus and the star in between the Moon and Venus is Saturn. 

Its amazing how clear the craters and the colors of the Moon are.

This is just the East side of the Moon.

Observations:
Where: North Port, Florida
When: 9:20-9:45

With the exception of a slight layer of fog, the sky was finally clear. I could clearly see the waxing crescent in the sky, which was 3 fists (15 degrees) up from the horizon. The sky was absolutely gorgeous; there were stars everywhere. When I first went outside and when I saw the Moon, I could see the whole outline of the Moon, which you can see in the first picture. Around this time, the Moon was closer to many of the houses whose lights were on so there was a little haziness. After taking a picture of the Moon again, I zoomed up the photo and I was able to see the craters and the Moon spot which I thought was really amazing. I saw this very bright star south west of the Moon and it actually had a sparkle which indicated that the star was Venus and not far from it was Saturn. However, after a couple of minutes, Venus disappears and Saturn began to get hazy from being so close to the lights of the houses. Even with the numerous mosquito bites, I felt that this was a great experience and a nice way to relax.

APOD 1.2

What is seen here is called the Crab Nebula. This sort of explosion-like object in space is actually what it looks like; it is the remains of an exploded star. What causes a star to explode is when it is essentially all out of fuel and bursts. These beautiful lights come from the hydrogen and the  electrons in the center of the star that slowly diffuses into space and could possibly become a breeding ground for new planets. According to ancient observations, all the back to 1054 (around 960 years ago), this supernova appeared into the night sky. The amazing thing about this explosion was that it so bright that it appeared in the daylight for 23 days and was even visible in the night sky for around 2 years in some places. So at one point it was brighter than the moon! Today being at about 10 light-years wide (that is approximately 60 trillion miles!), this nebula is a phenomenon that will happen to every star. What is so amazing about this star is that it travels 1,000 kilometers per second, yet that amount of space is nothing compared to the astronomical size of outer space. When put into perspective, this whole process takes thousands upon thousands of year to accomplish which is nothing compared to the billions of years that this planet has been alive for. Who knows, maybe our sun will also explode into this magnificent creation once it has reached it's end, but hopefully not until a long time.

APOD 1.1

This picture is of 2 galaxies, the more prominent one called NGC 5195 and the blueish spiral to the side is M51, also called the Whirlpool galaxy. What I think is so amazing is that NGC 5195 is close enough to M51 (a couple of thousand light years away) that it is able to distort not only it's shape, but also the shape of the Whirlpool galaxy. Apparently, NGC 5195's gravitational force has caused part of M51's spiral to sort of drift off or pull away from its galaxy. What I found interesting was the fact that Whirlpool galaxy was making stars in it's spiral. It is also interesting that NGC 5195 has been traveling near the Whirlpool galaxy, although for millions of years. I can't help but wonder if something like that will happen to our galaxy.