Night Sky: Moon Illusion

                                 

                   Day Time                                                                                Night Time 
      Color: White, some grey (grey craters)                                         Color: White, very bright 

                   8:33 PM                                                                               10:20 PM
                    Size: 2                                                                                   Size: 2 as well 

               Altitude: 50 degrees                                                              Altitude: 45 degrees 

                                                                                          Moved more westward!
                                                                June 26, 2012 


Temperature: 75 degrees 

Comic Strip

This is pretty funny, and i found it fitting since my astronomy teacher was talking about how we only send two to three people up to space now. When we sent seven people to space the rocket ship malfunctioned. Better to be safe than sorry, but im sure those two to three people would get annoyed with each others habits traveling years on end.

Concept Map: HR Diagram

Night Sky: Moon Maps

This was the moon on 6/26/2012 at 10:20 PM 

My attempt at drawing the moon

I see the moon at it's greatest lunar visibility when it is at a far distance and higher in the sky, not exactly when it's right above your head but when you are looking straight ahead. 

The sun is at its worst lunar visibility when it is about to set because of all the obstacles around it such as clouds, blocking all of the moons lights. The sun in most cases  rises at 6:34 a.m., at which time the moon is 74 degrees above the horizon, almost overhead. Sun and moon will both be above the horizon until the moon sets at 3:03 p.m., although the moon will be hard to see for the last hour or so because of horizon haze. Altitude range is relative to the setting sun, which excludes all relatively trivial sighting events.

*** FUN FACT: Sadly, much of the world's population is not 

privileged to enjoy the amazing sight of the thinnest, shortest crescents because of poor air transparency due to dust, haze, humidity, pollution, chronic cloudiness, and other hindrances to observing the celestial sky.

Poem: The Moon is Frowning

Here comes summer, And the sky is bright, even so, the planets are out of sight, The moon is pale even will all its light but its still the leader of the sky  during this breezy June night. I sit there and gaze awhile Is that a face on the moon? is it her cold smile? Even with this beautiful night the moon is still Too cold—too cold for me— It almost has a frown Proud Evening Star, such a glory from afar beams and light; it brings joy to my heart Now the moon slowly fades  as i fall fast asleep And for the last time I admire The distant fire, even with its frown now a lowly light.

Favorite Night Sky App: Google Sky

AN ASTRONOMY APP FOR THOSE ANDROID LOVERS OUT THERE!! 

Google Sky Map turns your Android-powered device in a window on the night sky. By using this application you can search for planets, grids, deep sky objects, and also use the search functionality to find something specific in the atmosphere.And the bonus is that is totally free.

I use this when i am just laying outside in the grass during nice summer nights, and i want to locate constellations and stars i have learned about in class or just want to find  because i heard about them.

I use it about once or twice a week when i am doing my night sky observations or for personal enjoyment! It's simple and easy to use! Uses GPS and compus data to be 100% accurate! 

YES i said it.......... FREE!!!! and free to do all the star and planet gazing you want!!!!! 

What i found: 

The Big Dipper

The Little Dipper

Polaris

The transit of Venus when it was behind the clouds 

Cassiopeia

Check out how to use it here >>>

Google Sky App
Just go to the android market on your smartphone and you are one click from locating your favorite star!

QUIZ TIME: PART TWO >> Time to learn more

Lets keep the momentum going and answer another quiz! 

1) These types of burning stars neither shrink nor grow because their thermostat is temporarily fixed.


2) How does a star like ours die?


3) What is the brightest thing in our night sky?


4) What does MACHO stand for?


5) Left over rock? HINT: Jupiter prevented them from forming


6) What type of planet is Earth?


7) What type of planet is Jupiter?


8) What proof do scientists have of the Big Bang Theory?


9) Point of infinite density?


10) How many Earths can you fit in our Sun? HINT: A LOT

ANSWER:
1) Helium burning stars

2) By puffing off it's outer layers, creating a planetary nebula

3) The Milky Way

4) Massive Compact Halo Object

5) Asteroids

6) Terrestrial

7) Jovian

8) Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

9) Singularity

10) 1,000,000 A MILLION!!!!!

It's QUIZ TIME!

DON'T LOOK DOWN AT THE ANSWERS TILL YOU ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS! 

1) What two planets stay close to the Sun and you can't see them during the night?

___________________

2) What is Hydro-static Equilibrium? 

___________________

3) Almost like the heart beat of the Sun-- Every 11 years. 

___________________

4) Outer part of the sun; 1-2 million K?

___________________

5) What waves are large and are everywhere? HINT: They don't bother you

___________________

6) Number of waves that pass a certain mark?

 

___________________

7) This man made the best telescopes in the world? HINT: Only his telescope figured out that the planets go around the Sun. 

___________________

8) What color star is extremely hot HINT: 30,000 degrees

___________________

9) What type of stars are extremely rare?

___________________

10) How do we classify stars?

___________________

DID YOU GET THEM RIGHT?

LETS TAKE A LOOK! 

ANSWERS

1) Mercury and Venus

2) Gravity pushes the sun to make it as small as possible

3) Sun Spot Cycle 

4) Corona

5) Radio Waves

6)Frequency

7)Joseph Fraunhofer 

8) BLUE

9) O type stars

10) According to their spectral type and luminosity class 

Night Sky: 6 Sunset Observations

Thought I would share this with you guys. I got a glimpse of a beautiful sunset off of my aunt’s rooftop. My Smartphone actually did a pretty good job. It almost looks like it is giving off red/orange rays around it. I wonder why this is.

Today it was about 81 degrees.

The time was 8:32 PM

It was mostly cloudy all day today, with the sun peeking through the clouds at some points in the day.

The Altitude was about 4.26(changed data) Find Altitude <--- found altitude using this





1. How frequently do you see a distorted sunset (sunrise) from your site? 
I've only been up on the roof of my aunt's house once, but this is a beautiful distorted sun set.  
  
2. What is the most common type of distorted sunset (sunrise) from your 
site? 
A bright white/yellow sunset with a redish hue around it. 


3. What relationship do you see between altitude, weather patterns and 
temperature with the distorted sunsets (sunrises) that you observed?
The day was mostly cloudy but it cleared up later in the day, allowing me to see a clear view of the sun. The less humid and cloudy it is the clearer you can see the sun, and it is not as distorted.

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Beautiful Sky.

The sun is setting behind the house

I was driving and i had to stop and take a picture of these clouds and sunset. The sun was just setting behind the houses. These clouds were extra beautiful today, the sun was casting an almost reddish/pinkish shade on them.

It was 76 degrees today.

The time was 8:45.

It was mostly sunny today, with more clouds from 4-6:30 pm, but the sun came out again after 6:30pm.

The altitude of the sun almost setting behind the house is about 1.00.



1. How frequently do you see a distorted sunset (sunrise) from your site?  
I see this type of sunset almost everyday when the weather is nice and not humid coming back from Kutztown University. 
  
2. What is the most common type of distorted sunset (sunrise) from your 
site? 
I see a very bright sun with a bright yellow hue setting behind the trees. 


3. What relationship do you see between altitude, weather patterns and 
temperature with the distorted sunsets (sunrises) that you observed? 
At a lower altitude the brighter the sunset is, and it is especially bright during nice weather.

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June 20th 2012

June 21st 2012

I took these two pictures two days in a row at the same time and i noticed that the sun stayed in the same spot the second day, i just took the picture from a different angle

.

It was 94 degrees on June 21st and 90 degrees June 20th.

I went out to take the pictures at 8:15 PM.

It was mostly sunny both days, and extremely hott and humid! Not to mention the 20th was the first day of summer.

The altitude of the sun almost setting behind the house is about 3:00 both pictures.

1. How frequently do you see a distorted sunset (sunrise) from your site?  

  I see this sort of sunset frequently when i shop in the Target shopping center where i live, this type of sunset in the summer usually happens around 8:15, and it is extra bright when you are seeing it through the store windows. 

2. What is the most common type of distorted sunset (sunrise) from your 

site? 

A bright yellow sun that gives off red/pinkish  rays.

3. What relationship do you see between altitude, weather patterns and 

temperature with the distorted sunsets (sunrises) that you observed? 

When it is extremely hot and pretty humid the sun shines very bright and it is at a medium altitude. It is hard to look at the sun.

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June 24th 2012

June 26th 2012

It was 80 degrees June 24th and 76 degrees June 26th 

The time was 8:10 in the first picture and 8:33 the second picture.

It was mostly sunny both days and hot, but it was not humid. 

The altitude of the sun in the first picture is about 5 and the altitude is about 1 in the second picture

The sun moved a little rightward on the third day, and i got a little closer to the sun in the second picture



1. How frequently do you see a distorted sunset (sunrise) from your site?  
I see this type of sunset when i walk around my neighborhood often during the warm summer nights. These last three days have not been extremely humid and hot but warm.
  
2. What is the most common type of distorted sunset (sunrise) from your 
site? 
A bright orangish/yellow sun that gives of redish rays, not as bright as usual, the rays become dimmer when close to the trees.


3. What relationship do you see between altitude, weather patterns and 
temperature with the distorted sunsets (sunrises) that you observed? 
The higher the altitude the brighter the suns rays. The sun looks dimmer when the weather is cooler.
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What i learned: At the end of the day i learned that the sun stays in the same position each day from the same place of the taken picture until the 3rd day where it moves slightly to a new position. 

Zooniverse.org

Zooniverse Completed!!! 

All parts of Earth are touched by sunlight at some point. Not so on the moon. Some parts of the moon – craters near the lunar poles – lie in permanent shadow while other nearby regions remain sunlit for the majority of the year. Bright areas and streaks, dark areas, and circular features can be distinguished easily even with the naked eye, just use your telescope.


These are some of the craters able to be found on the moon.  During my Zoouniverse observations i found a lot of impact and highland craters, as well as dome craters. 

• Highlands - bright, extensively cratered areas of igneous rocks rich in the mineral plagioclase and breccias (rocks actually made of broken pieces of many rocks smashed back together again).
• Maria - dark areas covered by lavas of the volcanic rock type called basalt.
• Impact crater - roughly circular hole created when something struck the surface.
• Terraced crater walls - steep walls of an impact crater with stair steps created by slumping due to gravity and landslides.
• Central crater uplift - mountain in the center of large (>40 kilometer diameter) impact craters.
• Crater ejecta - material thrown out from and deposited around an impact crater.
• Ray - bright streak of material blasted out from an impact crater.
• Multi-ringed basin - huge impact crater surrounded by circular mountain chains.
• Lava flow - a break out of magma from underground onto the surface.
• Rille - channel in lunar maria formed as an open lava channel aor a collapsed lava tube.
• Wrinkle ridge - long, narrow, wrinkly, hilly section in maria.
• Cinder Cone - low, broad, dark, cone-shaped hill formed by explosive volcanic eruption.
• Dome - low, circular, rounded hill suspected to be a volcanic land form.

I found many craters that had a shadow to the left of the crater.

I also found many fresh white craters, which are craters that are in the developing stages. 

Go to Zooniverse.org to try your own astronomical activities!! 

Im having trouble with the "number of classifications/observation" counter on the website, i observed at least 25 different screen shots and classified them but it still says 0 :(

"Supernova explosion Video" Plus some FUN FACTS

What if a star 50 light years away from the Earth exploded into a supernova!! What would happen?!?!?

- OKAY MOST LIKELY YOU WOULD DIE.... there i said it.... but the good news is there's a some that wouldn't!!! They would simply get radiation poisoning.

- The ozone layer would be gone. DESTROYED.....................

- Harmful UV rays from the sun and the supernova would be penetrating your skin.

- Satellites  would die.

- Cell phone reception = GONE....OH NO.... there goes half of America's source of survival...

- Good part about it all....... This event would outshine the entire galaxy!!! yes, that means a great view from where you are standing.
- The Earth's magnetic field would go crazy


No need to fret, the closest supernova is 500 light years away.
We would need to be closer to the south, THE EQUATOR would be ideal, to see the supernova

Travel into a black hole - NewScientist.com

Read more here <-----

Won't it take forever for you to fall in? 

Won't it take forever for the black hole to even form?

TO FIND THIS OUT!!! One is to see something -- MAYBE a small robot spacecraft -- fall into the black hole. The odd thing is it never seems to get there. The closer it approaches the hole's event horizon, the slower it seems to travel. 

To the observer, the spacecraft appears to halt, seemingly forever suspended at the boundary of the black hole. The spacecraft begins to turn orange, then red then fades imperceptibly from view. Though it is gone, you never see where or how it disappeared.

The Universe is Expanding!!!

You will see that the expansion of the universe is the expansion of space itself---the galaxies are not moving through space, but, rather, they are being carried along with the expansion of space. 

Read the rest here <--------------------- Link
The Universe is continuously expanding as a result of the Big Bang, the force of the explosion of the Big Bang however is neutralized by clusters. While in general all galaxies and cluster are moving away from each other, the galaxies inside clusters are moving towards each other, which is caused by their mutual gravitation. The larger the cluster, the stronger they pull the brakes on the expanding motions of the galaxies. This is one of the main reasons why astronomers do a lot of research on clusters, perhaps they are the key to the solution of the question of the Big Crunch.


Below is a demonstration of a galaxy clusters and how they expand and move due to the universe expanding.

My ring finger is the Milky Way Galaxy and the rest of my fingers are other galaxies. This example shows the slow expansion of the galaxies due to the universe moving and growing. Galaxies slowly expanding over time too because the universe stretches them out!

Join in on the fun and watch the Venus Transit 2012

HERE IS THE ACTUAL TRANSIT CAUGHT ON NASA SATELLITE!

Transit of Venus

Transits of Venus across the disk of the Sun are among the rarest of planetary alignments. Indeed, only six such events have occurred since the invention of the telescope (1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874 and 1882). The next two transits of Venus will occur on 2004 June 08 and 2012 June 06. Read more here <----------------------------- Venus' Transit

Yesterday my class and  i gathered at one location to join in on the exciting event of Venus transiting the sun.    This is an extraordinary event and i was happy that i could be apart of it. Unfortunately, the weather did not turn out the way we excepted; it was cloudy and looked like it was about to rain. We got excited for seconds when the sun shown slightly behind the clouds and we saw our shadows, but it quickly disappeared behind a cloud. We were prepared for this rare occurrence with our handy dandy Solar Eclipse Viewer. CAN'T HAVE US HURTING OUR EYES NOW. We had our telescope prepared two hours before the actual event just to be ready, and we had a live broadcast from Mongolia and Australia, just in case we couldn't see the transit due to the weather. WE WERE GREATLY PREPARED, but sadly the weather was not our side. 

Projection ready in the planetarium for the live broadcast from
Mongolia and Australia. 

We had our telescope ready. CLOSEST I'VE EVER BEEN TO A TELESCOPE. 

Solar Eclipse Viewer. Protects your eye's from harmful UV rays while looking  at the transit. 

Our professor has been excited for this event for months and did not hesitate to bring out all the equipment for the crowd to see the transit nice and clear. The equipment included a projector, laptop and high tech telescope. 

Many people gathered at the local high school to see the transit; some even brought their own telescopes. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side and the clouds took over the sky. 

Movie Review

Star Treck: First Contact <------- Watch Trailer Here

The scientific content in this symbolic movie is vast. Though technically a part of the science fiction genre, the Star Trek series boasts a large amount of content of scientific and astronomical data that is not fictional. In this movie specifically, the nature of the information portrayed ranges from engineering, historical (fiction), tactical, scientific and medical. The plot of the movie follows an assault on earth by which the enemy uses time travel to alter the past to conquer and enslave the human race in the future, or 'current age' in which the movie is set. There are remnants and symbols within the plot that point to Moby Dick and the moral issues of revenge. All-in-all, I do not think the science-fiction genre has seen a movie of this caliber in a long time, which is absolutely jam-packed with astronomical data, as much of the TV series and other movies are.

Captain Picard's 'Dream Scene' as Locutus of Borg

ASTRONOMICAL DATA USED 

There some actual astronomical content used in these Star Trek books, episodes and movies:
These projects mostly deal with astronomy, and even if the data basis is fictitious, cartographic and astronomical procedures are used for its evaluation. Beside special  material (celestial maps, astronomical data tables etc.), this also includes three-dimensional spatial geometry and astronomical calculations. Because Star Trek usually does not provide us with complete maps, but at most with maps showing a mission-specific, small part of space instead of the whole explored space, we usually have to fall back on the smallest building blocks of the Star Trek cartography, with which we still have to build a complete picture of the universe: the distances given in episodes, movies and books. 

What if a comet hit the Earth?

COMET HITS EARTH AT DEEP IMPACT! <------- Press to watch

This is one of my favorite astronomical YouTube videos because it was made to resemble a movie trailer. This video is very interesting because it shows what can actually happen to the earth if it was hit by a comet at deep impact. I would not want to be on Earth if a comet was about to hit. I am not  sure if a comet moving at that speed and size would cause that much impact, this video might be an over dramatization. Could a comet do that much damage to Earth? Can the water envelop all of a huge city like New York and ruin everything? Is it possible in the future that a comet like this can hit Earth and destroy all of Earth? What would be the precautions? -- it is most definitely a possibility.
The water rising and destroying everything including all of New York (HUGE BUILDINGS) was fascinating and scary at the same time! Hopefully no comets are planning to hit Earth anytime soon!

What is a Comet: Read more, got information from here
Summary: Comets are often referred to as "dirty snowballs." They are left over from the formation of stars and planets billions of years ago. Before zipping around the Sun with their characteristic big tails, comets that we see in our solar system start out as big chunks of rock and ice just floating around in something called the Oort Cloud. When the gravity from a large passing body, like a star, becomes strong enough, some large chunks of ice get pulled away from the cloud and head toward the Sun. As that ball of ice gets close enough to the Sun, its heat begins to melt some of the ice that makes up the comet. The melted ice becomes a gaseous tail that extends away from the source of the heat (in this case, the Sun). The tail is pushed out by the Sun's solar wind.