APOD 4.8

                  This image is very unique. To think of the small moon as an ice ball is somwhat confusing. The moon Helena has such smooth and flowing surface features. To think of this idea as the result of ice does not compare to that which is imagined of ice on earth. Natural forming ice is jagged and sharp. The only way the surface could form into the flush state it is in now is if liquid water cooled as it was moving, such as rivers that freeze over. They appear frozen in time as the liquid has been set in stone and appears to be in motion but is solidified. Hopefully more research is done on the unique image and some answers or conclusions can be developed.

APOD 4.7

                   The green flash! Where is davey Jones and captain William Turner? Are they ferrying souls across to the other side. And what happened to captain Jack, last I heard he was chasing the search for the fountain of youth. Well none of them are present in this picture, however the famous green flash was captured on film. This is the first time I have ever seen a photograph of the actual event occur. Unfortunaetly i dont know of any methods in predicting the nights it will occur. Even though it is an instant event, this photographer must have been capturing some other time lapse and got lucky, as you cant predict an event such as this.

APOD 4.6

           I can only imagine the trouble it is for astronomers to observe Mercury. With the planet being in such a close distance to the sun Im sure it is somewhat impossible to gain visual observations of the planet. The imge is very cool and portrays just how difficult it is to even spot Mercury. I must appreciate however not being so close to the sun when witnessing this image. It make me understand that if Earth was not at its prime location is correlation to the Sun the human species would not be what it is today if even exist. Our location provides the perfect range of temperatures for our kind to survive.

APOD 4.5

                   This is the APOD organization responding to my previous blogger post about solar eclipses at sunset. I guess Africa is not the only location for such an event to occur. Texas is much closer so Im glad I wont have to travel too far to see such an awe inspiring occurrence. This APOD however minimizes my enthusiasm to go see such an event as i guess its not as uncommon as I assumed it would be. Hopefully this occurs in Florida as Siesta Key beach would be a prime spot to witness such an event.

APOD 4.4

                 This is so cool. I have never seen anything like this before. I was unaware that with the alignment of the sun and the moon that an eclipse at sunset was even possible. I assume this is a very rare occurence. Talk about your sunsets, that is an awesome way to end the day. I would compare an event like this to witnessing the rumored green flash at sunset. I wonder if Manila Bay is the optimum location for wiitnessing such an event or if it was just the specific night that this was the location it occured in where it was best visible.

APOD 4.3

             Its amzing that such an event occurs. When you think about how big space is, its unfathomable because no one knows how big space actually is. All the vast distances between objects in the sky and we can visually witness an event where two objects have such an encounter on one another. Let alone for the shadow of the moon to actually cover parts of the Earth. Its just a physical effect that is amazing that would be a rare occurence to see in any other part of the galaxy.

APOD 4.2

             I found this picture very interesting as just the other day I was watching the television and watched a show about the earths water. Apparently in Australia they rely heavily on the desalinization of salt water to source their fresh water to cities for drinking, showering etc....The statistics of the show claimed that the major facility in Australia is consuming 90 million gallons of water a day from the ocean. I hope there wont be any side effects to come from such a large amount of water being removed from the ocean on a daily basis.

APOD 41

            This picture is just really cool. One the engineering feats that must have gone into being able to equip a 747 to carry a space shuttle ontop of it must be amazing. Second the picture is very inspirational. As it says in the description of the monument of liberty in the city of the american dream and a space shuttle representing the exploration of the unknown are all symbols of a similar idea and theme. Together they represent the idea of freedom in a very blended and unique way

Observations 7-8

May 20, 2012
- My friend bought a glow in the dark frisbee and this night was perfect to go and use it. The moon wasnt visible in the sky and we played ultimate frisbee in the dark. All of the stars in the sky were illuminated. I observed many and identified as many as I could. I witnessed a few satellites cross the night sky as well. I think there should be more astronomy night ultimate frisbee events. Except you have to watch where your running as you will trip and fall, its just a matter of when its going to happen.

Observations 5-6

May 6, 2012
- This weekend my uncle was in town from maryland and my little sister decided to roast marshmallows that night. So we spent the night under the stars enjoying the night sky. Unfortunaetly for us the moon was in its full phase or at least close to it because it looked full to me. The moons glow highly disrupted our view of the night time sky. We were still able to see many constellations and I tried to teach my uncle as much of the night time sky as I knew. I was surprised by his already lengthy knowledges of astronomy. He took it in college and diminished my finite knowledge of astronomy.

Astronomy Cast 2

Observation 2

In this astronomy cast post I did episode 18: Black Holes.
They discussed how they were discovered, as well as that one would have to travel even faster than the speed of light to escape from one. Back in 1784 was when the idea of the first black hole was discovered. They discussed the two different types of black holes and how they are formed, sometimes with the death of a star. In addition, they talked about the mass of a black hole and their rate of rotation.

Astronomy Cast

Observation 1: Astronomy Cast

For this observation, I listened to the astronomy cast episode 194 on Dwarf Planets.
I learned that is has to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, meaning that it has to be round, so this would not include things like the Mars moons which are asteroids. It also has to orbit the sun, so for things orbiting other planets, such as Jupiter, it would not count. It also needs to have cleared out its own orbit... which Earth wouldn't even do if it were in the Kuiper Belt, which makes us rethink the definition. They also discussed various dwarf planets and their names as well as what they are composed of.

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Biography

Cecilia Helena Payne was born  May 10, 1900, in Wendover, England, the eldest of three children born to Edward John and Emma Leonora Helena (Pertz) Payne of Coblenz, Prussia. Her father, a London barrister, died when she was four years old. Her mother, a painter and musician, introduced her to the classics, of which she remained fond throughout her life. Payne-Gaposchkin recalled that Homer's Odyssey was the first book her mother read to her as a child. She knew Latin by the time she was 12 years old, became fluent in French and German, and showed an early interest in botany and algebra. As a schoolgirl in London she was influenced by the works of Isaac Newton, Thomas Huxley, and Emmanuel Swedenborg.

Payne-Gaposchkin's career at Harvard began in 1925, when she was given an ambiguous staff position at the Harvard Observatory. By that time she had already published six papers on her research in the field of stellar atmospheres. That same year, she was awarded the first-ever Ph.D. in astronomy at Radcliffe. Her doctoral dissertation, Stellar Atmospheres, was published as Monograph No. 1 of the Harvard Observatory. A pioneering work in the field, it was the first paper written on the subject and was the first research to apply Indian physicist Meghnad Saha's recent theory of ionization (the process by which particles become electrically charged by gaining or losing electrons) to the science of measuring the temperature and chemical density of stars. Despite this, Payne-Gaposchkin's research remains highly regarded today; Otto Struve, a notable astronomer of the period, was quoted in Mercury magazine as saying that Stellar Atmosphereswas "undoubtedly the most brilliant Ph.D. thesis ever written in astronomy."

In 1926 when she was 26 years old, she became the youngest scientist to be listed in American Men of Science. But her position at Harvard Observatory remained unacknowledged and unofficial. It was not until 1938 that her work as a lecturer and researcher was recognized and she was granted the title of astronomer, which she later requested to be changed to Phillips Astronomer. From 1925 until 1938 she was considered a technical assistant to Shapley, and none of the courses she taught were listed in the Harvard catalogue until 1945. Finally, in 1956 when her colleague Donald Menzel replaced Shapley as director of the Harvard Observatory, Payne-Gaposchkin was "promoted" to professor, given an appropriate salary, and named chairman of the Department of Astronomy - the first woman to hold a position at Harvard University that was not expressly designated for a woman.From the 1920s until Payne-Gaposchkin's death on December 7, 1979, she published over 150 papers and several monographs, including "The Stars of High Luminosity" (1930), a virtual encyclopedia of astrophysics, and Variable Stars (1938), a standard reference book of astronomy written with her husband. She also published four books in the 1950s on the subject of stars and stellar evolution. Moreover, though she retired from her academic post at Harvard in 1966, becoming Emeritus Professor of Harvard University the following year, she continued to write and conduct research until her death. Her autobiography, writings collected after her death by her daughter, Katherine Haramundanis, was entitled Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin:

Observation Hours 8

March 22, 2012
              Tonight there was a new moon. Its always kind of a bummer when you look up into the sky and you cant find the moon. You always sort of feel dumb when you look around and cant find the moon and then at last think that maybe its a new moon. New moon phases though are always good star viewing nights because then the moons shine doesn't abrupt or get in the way of any observations.

Observation Hours 7

March 8, 2012
          This night there was a full moon. I always find the full moon the coolest of all the moon phases. Its always a good night if theres a full moon. The moon lights up the night time sky in a way that can only be compared to the sun. Im looking forward to the next full moon phase.

Observation Hours 5-6

March 3, 2012
             This night I walked to the end of my street with my friends and roasted marshmallows. It was a good night but the sky was even better. Mars or what Im pretty sure was Mars was clearly visible in the sky. It might of been Jupiter or something but im pretty sure it wad Mars. The planet was one of the brightest objects in the sky and couldn't help but be noticed. There were unfortunaetly some clouds throughout the night obstructing our view from time to time but for the most part it was a very pleasant observation night.

APOD 3.8

March 20, 2012
              This APOD is my first video reflection. I really enjoyed the video about the creation and overall formation of the moon we see today. The one thing I learned from the video is that overall the moon we see today could easily change into something we can only imagine. The surface structures have changed so intensely over the many millions of years of abuse from comets and asteroids and other materials that impacted the moon. Also I did not realize that there is volcanic activity under the surface of the moon. To this day there might not be any volcanic activity but in the video there shows volcanic things happening when the large asteroids impact the moon.  

APOD 3.7

          The conjunction of Jupiter and Venus is a very cool and interesting site to see. The fact that no matter where you lived on Earth and were able to see the conjunction is another amazing fact in itself.I dont see how this is possible though because what if you lived on the opposite side of the planet thats obviously not physically able to see the two planets? I would think that the planets would not be visible if the planet was to then rotate so the planets were visible but it would then be daytime and the suns light would completely diminish the ability to see the planets. This picture reminds me of the leaning tower of pizza images, except its with planets which is much more interesting.

APOD 3.6

          Honestly at first glance I thought the picture was fake, as in some form of computer generated photo or something as its really pixelated. When reading the description and finding out this actually occured near San Jose, California I was amazed. This has to be the most amazing full moon image Ive ever seen. There have been many perfect nights here in Sarasota to view the moon but I wish i could have been standing on that hill, that would have been a life changing site to see. I still dont know what the description means though by the green rim. I dont see any hint or shade of green anywhere in the image.

APOD 3.5

          This image is an artists rendition of five seperate images viewed of Jupiter. I found this picture interesting because it differs from the normal apod images displayed on the site. I have never seen an artists image chosen for the site until this one. The artist was very unique and extremely skilled to be able to draw the extensive ring cloud patterns on the surface of Jupiter. The images are very good and even display the giant red dot, as well as some of Jupiters closest moons. All in all a very interesting image to look at and study Jupiter from a different perspective.

Astronomer- Percival Lowell

       Percival Lowell born March 13, 1855. Died November 12, 1916. Born in Boston, Mass. Lowell was a very important astronomer in the early stages of the understandings of planetary existence. Lowell believed in planets beyond the at the time furthest known planet of Neptune. Ultimately discovering Pluto. Also known for his extensive studies of Mars and its odd canal like structures. 

       Based off this obsession of planets Lowell established an observatory is Flagstaff, Arizona. In his observatory he created two telescopes, a 12 inch and an 18 inch refractor telescopes. Lowell was convinced that there had to have been a superior alien civilization on Mars. He believed that the canals were definite proof of an intelligent civilization capable of utilizing the polar caps for water. Lowell even named dark spots on the planet "oases" as he hypothesized of their lake like parallel.

       Lowells theories were widely criticized as other astronomers were not as accepting of Lowells beliefs. Nevertheless, despite all opposition Lowell published two books; "Mars and its Canals", and "Mars as the Abode of Life". Lowell never dropped his beliefs all the way until his death in 1916. Lowell was a very important astronomer who contributed a great deal of knowledge to our now current understandings of astronomical facts. Lowell was so beneficial to Astronomy that when naming the rings of Neptune one of the rings was named after him along with other astronomers who were influential in the field of Astronomy. 

Sources: http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/L/LowellP.html

              http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349831/Percival-Lowell

              "Lowell, Percival." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 8. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 520-523. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 Mar. 2012

APOD 3.4

              This image first appealed to me as I had been watching lord of the rings and it reminded me of the giant eye at the top of the tower in the movie. The image above is of the the helix nebula from the vista telescope. The nebula is what forms after after a star. When a sun like star diminishes a gas like cloud called a nebula can form. The image is taken in infared as the colors of the nebula would be unseen to the naked eye. Its confusing to think that when a star nears the end of its life it basically explodes. Sending debris in every direction. Why would there be anything left? Would not all of the debris be sent, scattered across space. What force holds material back to create a object such as this?

APOD 3.3

              I always enjoyed these types of photos. The long exposure images were always very appealing. This image taken from an observatory in the Atacama desert in Chile is very cool. I guess other than the unique image these pictures portray they actually have some astrological importance as well. When understanding the sky and the stars it is sometimes difficult to comprehend them as moving. Its obvious to see the sun as it appears to rotate across our sky, but stars are not as unique and don't have as much as an impact on our minds. These long exposure pictures help instill the idea of stellar motion. This also helps better understand the seasonal positions of constellations and where to identify them in different parts of the night throughout the year.

APOD 3.2

             When i first viewed this image it appealed to me as it looks like a giant sand ball. The outer texture visually appears to be loose and sand like.The description says that the moon is being lit by Saturns light, which can obviously be seen on the right side of the image. However what is illuminating the rest of the moon? There must also be light coming from other nearby stars or other planets to allow the moon to emit light. The satellite which took the image contains evidense of the possibilities of ice crystals under the surface of the moon. This might explain the the surface composition.

APOD 3.1

          The image above is of a comet passing through the Hercules constellation. I was not viewing the night sky when it passed, however in the description it says that the comet would have been below the visibility for the naked eye. I did not know that the tail of the comet contained iron. I was under the impression the tail was simply dust and debree from whatever compound the core of the comet was made of. I assume this particular comet contains iron if its tail is composed of iron. The description states the tail is altered by space wind. This concept is confusiong as I try to assimilate it with wind on Earth. However this can not be the same as there is no oxygen is space.

Observation Hours 1-4

Feb 12, 2012 Stargaze 7-9pm

       In the western sky we observed Pegasus, Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Also just after we started somewhere around 7:15 there was a satellite orbiting overhead. On the south western corner of the sky near the horizon there was Jupiter and Venus as well as Eridanus. In the eastern sky we saw Gemini, Canis Major, Lepus, Auriga and Orion. The binoculars were aimed at the plyeades. In the north we saw the big dipper and cancer. Directly above us we saw taurus (hyades) 

William Lassell- Biography

                  William Lassell was born 1799 and past away in 1880. During his life he was a very important astronomer who made many important achievements in the advancement of celestial understandings. At the time astronomy was a hobby and you needed a financial base to be able to dabble into it. Lassell made his fortune in the beer brewing industry and was then able to study the night sky. He actually built his own observatory in Liverpool to conduct his observations.Specific achievements are involved with Saturn and Neptune.
                Lassell manufactured his very own telescope and it was a refracting telescope. The telescope was extremely heavy and was perfect for viewing the long term aspects of planetary motion. Following the creation of his own satellite he discovered many of Saturns satellites. He discovered Triton and Hyperion of Saturn and several of uranus including Ariel. Lassell also had studied into the planetary rings of Saturn and led to the better understandings of their existence. Lassell had major contributions in the telescope aspect of astronomy. Aside from making his own telescope, he had many advancements in his telescope design. Lassell made a steam powered telescope. Along with this he produced a 48 inch speculum mirror for his observations. This larger telescope was built in Malta because of the better prime observing location. Adding to his accomplishments he recieved the Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society in 1849. He then served as the society's president for two years (1870-1871).
               Following his death he was renowned forever as one of the most famous and important astronomers in planetary objects. He detailed many important things in Saturn, Urnaus, Jupiter and Neptune, involving their natural sattellites and ring systems. He innovated satellites and all in all was an innovative person in the field of astronomy. Neptune had a ring system named after him. The Lassell ring was one of the inner rings of Neptune named after him as he was an important person involved with its observations. The rings were named after astronomers who were involved with the early detailed observations of Neptune.

Observations Jan 11, 2012

                  My family went out to dinner and then went to the beach afterwards at night. It was neat to see the entire night time sky from a uninterrupted area of light. I was looking up at the stars and tried to identify some specific points. I noticed one object shining brighter than all the others. I assumed it was probably a planet. I thought maybe it was Venus because Venus is usually visible in the early evening sky. I looked it up on my phone and it was Jupiter. To the naked eye its hard to distinguish planet to planet unless I had known specific locations. Anyways I felt proud to be able to identify a planet from a star.

Observations 01/09/12

            The moon was in its full phase tonight. It was interesting because I havent seen a full moon in a long time. The moon just appeared larger than normal and really placed it in my mind that I had not seen it in its full state in a while. It reminded me of something I had learned a long time ago. Someone had told me that if you look at the moon that there is a rabbit shape visible. From the rabbitt if you look at the ear then that is where Neil Armstrong had landed on the moon. Whether or not it was true I dont know but it was weird to visualize someone standing on the moon.

Observations Dec 24, 2011

            I looked up at the sky to make some observations of the moon. I couldnt see a thing. I looked all over the sky and there was no moon. I couldnt tell if it was because it was hidden behind a cloud or what was going on. I realized maybe it was a new moon because there wasnt even a hint of a shine coming from behind any clouds. I looked it up on my phone and realized it was a new moon. In relation from our perspectives its hard to imagine what the planets are actually doing when the moon isnt visible. Its cool to think that the moon is behin the Earth in a direct path away from the Sunlight inhibiting it to be seen.

Observations 11/12/2011

              I looked up at the sky that night at looked at the moon. It did not appear to be full. I believe i had just missed the full moon. This was sort of a let down because I now have to wait almost a month til I can witness the next full moon. While ooking up at the night sky I sat on my lawn and let my eyes adjust so I could try to spot some satellites. I witnessed a couple things appear to be moving across the sky, but Im not sure if they were satellites or soemthing else. I assume it was a satellite because it was faint and moving slowly. Other than that I tried to identify some major points in the sky. After dozens of constellation quizes and star labs, I still have trouble identifying major stars in the sky.

Star Gaze- Observations

October 23, 2011 8:00-10:00 pm

         The night was another success. We started by looking up at the sky to observe Scorpious just above the horizon. After that we used the binocular stand to look at the many stars that ran through Scorpious and Saggitarius. Following we observed Delphinus and Jobs Coffin directly west over the shell parking lot. Opposite from Delphinus we saw Jupiter and Hercules. I found it interesting that with the telescope we were actually able to view four of Jupiters moons. A little after 8:15 we then viewed the Hubble Telescope orbiting above us. Amazingly as it approached our zenith it increased in brightness and then slowly faded away as it continued onward. We saw a bunch of satellites along with the hubble as well. Followin g the hubble we used the awesome laser pointer and identified constellations. We found polaris and then identified Casseopia which then led to identifying Cepheus. We also saw a meteor flash across the sky about fifteen minutes before nine pm. All in all the night was awesome and educational. 

APOD 2.8

                  What a feeling it must be to be floating above Earth. I can only imagine. Now my first thought is, they are orbitin Earth right? So therefore he must be flying around the Earth at a couple thousands of miles per hour, no? Anyways what a sight. Im sure the thought came across his mind that hopefully nothing went wrong or flawed with his mmu while being so far away from the ship. It almost looks like a photoshopped image to think that someone in 1984 did this. I would not want to be the first person to have to test an untethered space walk. None the less Im sure he had some serious bragging rights when he landed. On a side note the picture of the man and Earth is poetic. The astronaut resembles the Earth in a manner of a single entity. The Earth despite being around millions of other planets and stars, we as humans are alone in the universe. The floating man emphasizes this fact of how unique we as a species are.

APOD 2.7

                Add another one to the list of large storms in our solar system. There have already been years of study on other storms on other planets in our solar system. One such example is the infamous red spot on the planet Jupiter. A massive storm similar to those on Earth but ha been in existance for many years. Following Jupiters storm Neptune also has an identifying mark. The great dark spot is Neptunes storm like marker. However unlike Jupiter it has come and gone. Giving way to its new name, the New Dark Spot. Now we can add Saturn to the list. This storm is more similar to Jupiters red spot. Despite the artificial color enhancement to identify the storm, the cloudlike bans on jupiter and saturn probably gave way to more similar circumstances to the storm relating them more. Neptunes dark blue color and lonesome black spot does not follow that which the two others do.

APOD 2.6

        This is every Sci-Fi enthusiasts dream. To find another planet with life, and possibly intelligence that has surpassed our own with technologies only hollywood can portray. The fact that out of all the planets that have been discovered, the odds that there would be one with similar circumstances to our own should have detailed many situations to the possibilites of life. Its kind of sad that there is only one planet that possibly resembles ours, and that could sustain water, and life. Anyways the distance will be a huge factor to overcome when trying to stufy it as its a mere 600 light years away. This pretty much crushes any attempts to study the planet further from visual observation, which is still difficult as even the picture is an artists rendition.

APOD 2.5

             I remember when i was younger the missions to mars that were televised all over the news. I remember specifically the concept of the landing portion of the trip. The genius idea to create a large cacoon of inflated bubbles to house the rover as it bounced along mars surface until it came to a stop. I see that this next rover has some improvements. The primary ones being the rock analyzing equipment and the plutonium power source. The rover should last much longer with the increased power supply and the rock crusher will make for more experiments directly from the rover. Im not sure how they (scientists) expect to analyze the rocks to find evidense of life. I would assume that they are looking for traces of oxygen or chlorophyll or other hints to the possibilities of life. Otherwise they're just going to find crushed rock.

APOD 2.4

               I first appealed to this image as recently I have been experimenting with different exposure settings on my camera. After looking at the landscape I can only imagine the adventure it is just to get to and from the telescope. The concept to create an artificial solar eclipse was genius. However the Corona I imagine is still probably pretty bright. I also wonder what the actual size of the corona is, to comprehend the distance it expands must be difficult because it slowly fades away. It must be easier to study the outer portions of the corona as they would be less bright.  

APOD 2.3

             The creation of stars must be a complex manifestation of matter and events that come together after years of build up. After reading the description and then looking at the picture, I really dont understand whats going on in the image. It appears to just be a nebula. I cant find any distictive central point, where gravity brings the star together. Also even when these gases come together, why are they hot and how do they sustan their own heat drifting through space. Space is cold, relative to our temperatures in Florida. So shouldnt drifiting gases lose their heat energy without any central energy source keeping it. Like stars hold their energy longer because of their dense core.

APOD 2.2

         Nebulas are so visually appealing. They resemble a somewhat gas cloud but emit colors and take extraordinary shapes. Nebulas to me are like the aurora lights found on Earth. I assume that the different gases found in the nebulas are a portion of why the different colors are emitted. This specific nebula was found to have hydrogen in it. Im not sure how they can determine that from a telescope, so I would hypothesize that the colors determine the compound. Similar to neon lights, the different gases when excited have specific color properties.

APOD 2.1

          This image is very interesting. It portrays a newly born star. A hundred thousand years old, but none the less in relation to other stars, it is just a newborn. The nebula pictured in the image is more interesting to me than the star. The fact that a star forms a nebula is interesting. This leads me to wonder why our star does not have a nebula within visible distance. Also the description says that the star emits matter, that then forms the nebula. What is this matter? I was under the impression stars only emitted photons, rays of sorts and electrons.

William Lassell: Sources

"Lassell, William." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 8. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 46. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 Jan. 2012.

"Neptune." Encyclopedia of Space. Healther Couper and Nigel Henbest. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2009. 136-137. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 Jan. 2012.