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