APOD 2.5 Clouds in Cygnus

November 30, 12 Clouds in Cygnus

    The clouds visible in this interesting image are made up of interstellar dust and gas in the direction of the constellation Cygnus.  I found this picture intriguing because we are studying Cygnus as one of our constellations and it is one that I can usually easily identify in the night sky.  The bright star near the left of the image is Deneb, part of the Northern Cross.  The dark spot in the center of this picture is known as the Northern Coal Sack.  Also, NGC 7000 (North America nebulae) and IC 5070 (Pelican nebulae) are featured here.  

    Some other visible nebulas are the Crescent Nebula and the Tulip Nebula (towards the top of the image).  

Constellation Quizzes

http://www.uni.edu/morgans/ajjar/Constellations/quiz/ra18.html
This is the best quiz I found although we haven't learned all the stars they ask for.

http://www.kapoleims.k12.hi.us/campuslife/extracurricular/techquest/Stars/StarsandConstellations/MAINquiz.htm
This quiz is very frustrating but pretty informative as well.

Observation 1 (Quarter 2) Star Gazing Session

Nov 18th Star Gazing Session

    On November 18th at the star gazing session at Pine View, the moon was waxing crescent and was fairly bright, making the sky to the South slightly harder to see.  Rising around the NE was Jupiter which appeared very bright.  When we viewed it through the telescope, we could see all four moons and the weather bands.  

    We identified many constellations and tried to see a very bright satellite which was supposed to be passing overhead.  We thought we saw the satellite but it turned out to be a plane.  

    Through our binoculars, we viewed the coat hanger cluster along with a few other clusters and binary stars.  

    Through the telescopes we saw, in addition to Jupiter's moons and weather bands, the "double double" stars.  Also, we got to move around the hand powered telescope to view the entirety of a star cluster up close.  

    The sky was very clear that night with no clouds and the trees and buildings blocked the light from Sarasota which helped to increase the darkness and viewing ability.  

APOD 2.4 Meteor and Moonbow over Wallaman Falls

November 12, 2012 APOD

    Although hard to believe at first glance, this picture was taken at night.  The image is illuminated by the rising moon behind the camera.  This picture was taken in Queensland, Australia.  Queensland is in the North East of Australia and its capital is Brisbane.  Specifically, this waterfall is Wallaman Falls and has a 268 meter drop.  It is the highest waterfall in Australia.

    The moonbow visible was produced by light reflecting off of the surface of the moon.  They always appear opposite the moon in the sky and are fairly faint.  Sometimes, because they are so faint, moonbows appear white to the naked eye.  Long exposure photography helps to enhance the appearance of color in moonbows.  

   Also, in the center of this photo there is a line which was created by an airplane.  Above and to the right of that, the long almost vertical streak was created by a meteor.  This image is taken with the camera directed toward the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.  The cloudy region in the sky in this photo is the Milky Way Galaxy.

APOD 2.3 Melotte 15 In the Heart

November 9th Melotte 15 In The Heart

    

    This image shows a nebula called IC 1805 and is located in the star cluster also known as Melotte 15.  The cluster is relatively young at only 1.5 million years of age.  The Melotte Catalog of Star Clusters was created by Philibert Jacques Melotte in 1915.  He took a previously created photographic atlas of the sky produced by John Franklin-Adams and documented where the clusters were located in the catalog.  The catalog by Melotte includes open and globular clusters which can be seen through most astronomical equipment.  

    This image features a colorful sky with dark clouds made up of interstellar dust.  This picture is of about 30 light-years of the sky and different elements are highlighted in different colors.  Green represents Hydrogen, red sulfur, and oxygen blue.  If observed with a wider field of view, this nebula appears to be heart shaped, hence its name.  

    This nebula is located 7,500 light-years away in the direction of Cassiopeia.  This picture caught my eye because it is similar to the image on the cover of our Astronomy textbooks.

APOD 2.2 Lenticular Clouds Over Washington

Nov 4 2012: Lenticular Clouds Over Washington

    Lenticular clouds are clouds with a lens shape.  They usually form at high altitudes when stable moist air passes over a mountain.  Also, they normally shape themselves at a right angle to the wind.  The ones in this picture are multilayered which creates the tornado like effect that is visible.  The water droplets in this image have cooled below the dew point and condensed into the clouds pictured.  The particles in clouds are also called aerosols.  This image was taken from Seattle, Washington in December of 2008.  The mountain seen is Mt. Rainier which is 14,411 ft tall at its peak.  It is actually a volcano and is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.  There are normally about 5 earthquakes observed per month around the volcano.