Observation 12-9-10

I went outside and tested myself at recognizing the stars I've been teaching myself. I did pretty good, and I correctly identified Capella, Aldebaran, Bellatrix, Elnath, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Altair, Deneb, Alberio, Vega, Achernar, Algol, Polaris, Fomalhaut, and Mira. I also saw lots of constellations, including, but not limited to, Ares, Triangulum, Pisces, Perseus, and Sagitta.

APOD 2.4

A frost-covered leaf with constellations in the background

The sky in this picture, taken in Japan, shows many constellations, but the most prominent are Orion, Canis Major, and Taurus. Orion, the hunter, is the most recognizable, with the red supergiant Betelgeuse at its top left corner. The Bull, Taurus, is to the left of Orion, with M45, the Pleiades open star cluster to the left of that. To the lower right of Orion is the constellation Canis Major, the big dog. It's eye, the star Sirius, is the brightest star in the sky.

Tune in next week for another great APOD post!

APOD 2.3

This object is part of the Cepheus Flare, located in the constellation Cepheus. It is a large expanse of cosmic dust that is likely condensing into a binary star system. There's not much information about the Cepheus Flare out there, but it is interesting to note that this image and exact explanation was used as the APOD for October 30 in both 2008 and 2010.

Observation and WWSC

I just did the World Wide Star Count. My driveway in Englewood has a limiting magnitude of five. That's pretty awesome, so I'm gonna miss that when I move closer to the city in a month or so. Oh well.

I also took a pair of binoculars outside and was able to identify every constellation in the sky. I saw two meteors and M31. I tried to observe Polaris B, but my nocs weren't good enough. But, I'm trying to get my own telescope, so no worries!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more cool astronomy posts, my dear followers!

APOD 2.2

Jupiter's two storms approaching.

Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, is known for its tempestuous weather conditions. The storms of Jupiter are thought to be caused by the equatorial clouds, warmed by ultraviolet light from the sun, mixing with the cooler polar air. The high pressure of Jupiter's atmosphere also causes some of the wind, which averages around 360 kilometers per hour. The clouds, however, despite being colorful, are only about 50 kilometers deep.

APOD 2.1

The Andromeda Galaxy, seen in the visible spectrum.

The Andromeda Galaxy, seen in the ultraviolet spectrum.

Here we see M31, or the Andromeda Galaxy, with pictures comparing the visible spectrum and the ultraviolet spectrum. The ultraviolet image, on the bottom, reveals many individual stars that can't be seen in the visible spectrum. The galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way, and the theoretical collision might occur in 4.5 billion years.

APOD 1.8

A bucket-wheel excavator, used in Earth-based mining.

Machines like this, designed for continuous digging in large scale mining operations, are now restricted to Earth, but in the future, they could be used on other planets, like Mars, or even the Moon, to mine for ice and other minerals. They are capable of digging a hole 300 feet long and 75 feet deep in one day, but alas, they can only travel at 1 kilometer an hour.