APOD 2.1

The Medusa Nebula

The Medusa Nebula is named for its long, looping, snakelike filaments of gas. It is a planetary nebula located in the Gemini constellation, 1,500 lightyears away. When small stars burn off all its hydrogen in the core, the outer layers begin expanding in a very unstable phase of the star's evolution. Eventually, much of the star's mass is ejected, while the central star continues to emit very high energy radiation, causing all the surrounding gases to glow.  This is how the Medusa Nebula was born.  It is subject to very rapid transformation as it evolves. The nebula is around 4 lightyears across.

APOD 1.8

 

Aurora Over White Dome Geyser 

This image was captured in Yellowstone National Park where the geyser pictured exploded in front of a picturesque landscape of stars.  The colors of the aurora is what makes it unique.  The red aurora occurs with atoms high in the earth's atmosphere when they fall from an excited to ground state.  The green occurs in the same situation, except with atoms that are lower in the earth's atmosphere.  The carefully planned photograph captures the wonders of the earth and the sky in one composite image.

Observation 5

Sunday October 14th, 2012
8:30pm
East Laurel Road
Clear dark skies with minimal clouds and a New Moon

Although City lights dimmed most of the stars I could see, the Summer Triangle was clearly seen overhead.  In the East to Northeast I saw the Great Square of Pegasus, and further North, the constellation Cassiopeia. Both were very clear.  I tried to look to the left to see Cassiopeia's king Cepheus, but it was only faintly visible.

Biography of Christen Severin Longomontanus

               

Christen Severin Longomontanus was born in Longberg, Jutland, Denmark in 1562. He was born Christen Severin and gave himself the Latin name of Longomontanus as a Latinized version of his hometown, as he became a more renowned astronomer. His parents were poor peasants who could not afford a proper education for their son. Christen’s father died when he was eight years old, and his uncle took over his upbringing until he was sent back to work with his mother as a farmer and laborer. He was determined to learn, however, and convinced his mother to allow him to study during winter when there was not much work as a farmer. He worked with the clergyman of the parish for some months until he finally got up the nerve to run away in search of knowledge and education.


He went to Wibourg where he attended grammar school. Soon, he went to Copenhagen for a secondary education, which was possible with the positive reputation he earned at grammar school. He did not complete his basic education until 1588 due to his lack of funds. In fact, he paid for much of his schooling through manual labor. In 1589, he met Tycho Brahe, who took him in as an apprentice in the astronomical observatory of Uraniborg. For eight years, he was an invaluable assistant to Brahe. He went off to university in Germany but soon met again with Brahe in Prague in 1600, to help him complete the Tychonic lunar theory, which included the discovery of fluctuations in the inclination of the moon’s orbit and changes in the longitude of the moon.


Longomontanus left Brahe to get his master’s degree, and get a professorship at the University of Copenhagen. He served as chair of mathematics from 1607 to his death forty years later. He began construction of an observatory in Copenhagen, but died before its completion.


While he was not a particularly advanced thinker of his time, Longomontanus was still invaluable in developing many of Tycho Brahe’s models and theories. He took responsibility for organizing and continuing Brahe’s work after his death as well. His texts were published based on Brahe’s observations and evidence, but involved Longomontanus’ calculations and work, which were the most up-to-date and accurate of the age.


Longomontanus served primarily as a teacher at the University of Copenhagen, and an apprentice to Brahe. He made no significant discoveries of his own, but he made valuable contributions to Tycho Brahe’s work. He also published “Astronomica Danica” in 1622, describing the various astronomical systems of Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Brahe.

APOD 1.7

Nauset Light Star Trails

This photograph is intriguing and very well executed. Star trails can be photographed using very long exposure times to document the movement of stars in the sky over long periods of time. This photographer documented the trails with 30 minutes worth of exposure, showing 7.5 degrees of rotation. The center of the circle, where the stars don't move much, is the North Celestial Pole with the circumpolar stars that are always above the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere where this picture was taken. It requires careful planning and a steady tripod to achieve a photograph like this one, which illustrates Earth's daily rotation in the solar system.

Observation 4

Wednesday October 10th, 2012
8:00pm-10:00pm
Blackburn Point Rd
Clear dark skies, with fifth magnitude visibility

This observation session was a great success, with the help of discussion, direction, and tools to augment my view of the sky. The telescope offered great views, especially of the bright orange Antares and M11, the Wild Duck Cluster. It was amazing to be able to view the arc of the Milky Way Galaxy overhead, as well as the faraway Andromeda galaxy, both through binoculars and the telescope. I enjoyed being able to identify many of the constellations we have learned in class, and noticed that they seem much larger and more spread out in the sky than on paper and maps. Sagittarius's teapot shape was especially distinct in the sky. I was also lucky to see one meteor flash across my view.

APOD 1.6

 

Goat Aurora Over Greenland 

The Shelios Expedition was a project which sought to observe auroras in Greenland with the increase in aurora due to solar activity. The sun is expected to reach solar maxima somewhere in mid 2013. Increased solar activity correlates with increased sun spots. There will be a large increase in solar wind and storms which can interfere with satellites, affect the climate, and affect the frequency of auroras. This particular aurora, pictured above a farmhouse in Greenland, moved very rapidly, creating different strange shapes and images in the sky. The captured photograph resembles a goat's head, which is why it is affectionately titled the Goat Aurora. 

Observation 3

Monday October 1st, 2012
12:00am
East Laurel Road
Clear skies with minimal clouds at the horizon

The full harvest moon, overheard nearly at zenith, brightened the entire midnight sky, making star-gazing a difficult task.  I did however see a few faint stars. Among them was a bright object due east: Jupiter.  Easily the second brightest object in the sky after the moon, Jupiter was still visible in the southeast around sunrise at 6:00am. At sunrise, the moon was about to set, about 45 degress high in the sky at 6:30am. Clouds at the horizon quickly hid the moon from view, but I was able to enjoy a few minutes while the bright moon was clearly in view due west.