3.7 APOD

I chose this picture because we talked about the Eagle Nebula in class and it is a really great photograph. In the dark off-shoots we see the formation of bright blue stars occuring. The colors in the photo of M16 come from hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Stars have been forming in this area for about 5 million years. The light we see from M16 was actually emitted 7,000 years ago and is just now reaching Earth. Clearly M16 is very far away from Earth, but its large size (it spans about 20 lightyears) allows us to see it with only binoculars when looking toward Serpens.

Biographer Sources

"Asaph Hall." 28 Feb. 2008 .

Hall, Asaph. "A Suggestion in the Theory of Mercury." 2 June 1894. American Astronomical Society. 28 Feb. 2008 .

Sheehan, William. "The Planet Mars: a History of Observation and Discovery." University of Arizona. 28 Feb. 2008 .

Star Formation

The blue regions in this false color image are star forming regions.

Here is another nice picture of star formation from space.com


Info on star formation
A site on the very first star

This site has pictures and videos of N11B, a star forming region

Here is a cool simulation of a large star collapsing into smaller starts

Observation 3.1

Date: February 25, 2008
Time: 8:30-9 pm
Place: Bee Ridge Road (East of the Interstate)
Sky conditions: Some clouds

Bright Stars: Sirius, Orion's Belt, Betelgeuse (looks orange), Aldebaren, Procyon

Constellations: Orion, Taurus, Canis Major, Canis Minor; Of all the constellations visible, Orion was the most recognizable because of Betelgeuse, it was almost directly overhead

Other: The moon was not really visible with the clouds; the most unobstructed view was looking straight up while it was cloudy around the horizon

3.6 APOD

In the center of this picture is the elliptical galaxy, NGC 1132. This galaxy, which is located near to the constellation Eridanus, has contains an enormous amount of dark matter and hot gas. This is a composite false-color photograph of the galaxy which is home to over 1 trillion stars. Some scientists believe that NGC 1132 may be the product of a merging of several galaxies. NGC 1132 is located over 300 million light-years away from Earth. This means that the light we currently see coming from the galaxy was actually produced before the human race even existed. The other bright spots in the photo are background galaxies.

3.5 APOD

In January 2002, V838 Mon became the brightest star in the galaxy after it's surface suddenly expanded for an unknown reason. The star shrunk just as quickly, confusing scientists as to why the outburst occured. In this photo, the Hubble Space Telescope captured a light echo associated with the flash. In a light echo, interstellar dust reflects light. V838 Mon's transformations amazed scientists who saw the star change from a small under-luminous star that was hotter than the Sun, to a cool supergiant. The star is about 20,000 light-years away from Earth in the Monoceros Constellation. It's light echos extend about 6 light-years, and it is expected that the light echos will continue to occur until 2010.

3.4 APOD

I chose this painting because Art History is one of my favorite classes I'm taking this year. Historians think this could be the first accurate depiction of a solar eclipse in history. It was done by the German artist, Cosmas Damian Asam, who completed the work in 1735. Asam, born in Germany, was one of the famous artists from the late Baroque period. Not only does the paintng portray a total solar eclipse, but it also shows the solar Corona. Asam may have seen a total solar eclpise himself as they occured in 1706, 1724, and 1733. In the painting, St. Benedict is looking up at the solar phenomenon. It looks as though he's having some sort of religious experience, especially with the inclusion of the cherubs and the billowing movements of his cloak and beard in the wind.