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Eugene Parker Biography/Bibliography

Letts 1

Olivia Letts

Mr. Percival

D.E. Astronomy, Per. 3

21 May 2013

Eugene Parker and his Intellectual Contributions

            As a respected solar astrophysicist, Eugene Parker is best known for his contributions regarding theories on the characteristics and origins of solar winds, the heliosphere (the magnetic bubble predominated by the sun which includes the solar system), and Earth’s magnetic field.  Parker, still alive today, was born in 1927 in Houghton, Michigan.  Physics captured his heart at a very young age, and by high school, he was bent on turning it into his career path as he had always had a powerful curiosity about why things do what they do.  He received his B.S. degree in physics from Michigan State University and a Ph.D from Caltech in 1951.  From 1951 to 1958, he held many positions at the University of Utah in the physics, astrophysics and astronomy departments.  From 1955 onward to the present day, he has been a professor at the University of Chicago, where he has conducted his most important research and continues to do so.  His discovery of solar wind, a flow of plasma extending into space at speeds of 200 to 600 miles per second, forever changed astronomy.  Until Parker’s recognition of this ineluctable physical presence in 1958, solar wind had repeatedly eluded known science.  Scientists had simply regarded interstellar space as  a vacuum; it did not occur to most that a stiff wind filled it with ionized gas.  In publishing his theory, Parker made calculations and explained how the solar corona expands to the outer reaches of the solar system, and this became an intellectual building block for the realm of astrophysics.  He showed that although the Sun’s corona is attracted to the Sun due to the presence of solar gravity, it is such an impressive conductor of heat that at very large distances from the Sun, its outer atmosphere escapes into interstellar space as gravity

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weakens. Parker began delving into the matter partially because of Sydney Chapman’s model of

a hot gas that must extend into space and the comet tail blowing away from the Sun in Ludwig Biermann’s theory.  He connected them both to the same phenomenon, and his theory of solar wind was born.  At first his very strongly-written paper on it was rejected by two reviewers, but it was saved by the famous astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.  Still, the idea about this intricate flow of particles from the Sun received a lot of criticism from the scientific community.  In the 1960s, the theory of solar wind was confirmed via direct satellite observations by the Soviet Union.  It helped explain many other different phenomena as a result, like the formation of distant stars, and geomagnetic storms.  Over four decades later, Parker received the distinguished 2003 Kyoto Prize for Lifetime Achievement for Basic Science.  He was incredibly important to the scientific community, as his many books, research papers, and memberships in advisory committees (especially the American Geophysical Union) denote.  He was elected in 1967 to the National Academy of Sciences.  His findings have enriched the study of interplanetary space; his book Cosmical Magnetic Fields has educated many on the effects of the magnetic fields of various bodies on X-ray emissions.  The American Geophysical Union gave Parker an award in 1990 for his research contributions, unselfish scientific involvement, and technical leadership, and in 1989 President George H.W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Science.  In 2000 he reminded the scientific community about the erratic nature of the Sun with his article, expounding upon the challenges of applying laws and measurements of physics to its studies.  He wrote about the dangers posed by space radiation for future interplanetary missions.  Parker realizes that many fundamental questions have yet to be answered, such as what heats the corona to almost two million degrees Celsius.  He hopes that the new generation of space and ground-based telescopes can aid in finding the answers, especially in the study of the space between the sun and the edge of the solar system. 

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Bibliography

Roach, John. "Astrophysicist Recognized for Discovery of Solar Wind." National Geographic.

National Geographic Society, 27 Aug. 2003. Web. 20 May 2013.

<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0827_030827_kyotoprizeparker_2.html>.

Tatarewicz, Joseph M. "Eugene N. Parker." American Geophysical Union, n.d. Web. 20 May

2013. <http://www.agu.org/honorsprogram/bowie_lectures/parker.shtml>.

"Class of 1944- Eugene N. Parker." Royal Oak High School, n.d. Web. 20 May 2013.

<http://www.rohshalloffame.com/class-of/1944/parker-eugene-n.html>.

APOD 4.8: X-Class Solar Flares

On May 13, it had been observed that a group of sunspots collectively labeled AR1748 produced 2013's first four X-class solar flares, within 48 hours. Solar flares are ranked in order according to their peak brightness in X rays; the X-class solar flares are the most powerful class, often accompanied by coronal mass ejections (massive clouds of high-energy plasma ejected into space) as well. In the picture, clockwise from the time left, the time sequence of the solar flares displays the four flashes taken through extreme ultraviolet means in the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Coronal mass ejections from the first three flares were not directed toward Earth, but one that accompanied the fourth may have affected Earth's magnetic field on May 18. AR1748 caused temporary radio blackouts, and may produce more strong flares yet. This active region is rotating into a more direct view on the Sun's "nearside."

APOD 4.7: Clouds & Birds & Moon & Venus

The ethereal-looking photo, which seems nearly computer animated or photoshopped, was taken in 2010, in Spain. Venus and the crescent Moon appeared quite near each other, and during the sunset they were bright against a profoundly blue sky, almost enveloped by the darkly august storm clouds. Birds happened to be flying across the sky while the photo was taking, adding to the surreal appearance. As in many other scenarios however, the dramatic beauty was quite fleeting, as Venus and the Moon set in the sky. Venus will become visible again this May.

Zooniverse Hours Pt. 1

All in all thus far, I have spent about 3.5 hours on Zooniverse, documenting types/appearances of galaxies, and "exploring" the surface of the moon, which entailed labeling craters, boulders etc.

APOD 4.6: Supercell Thunderstorm

The image of what is called a supercell thunderstorm cloud looks like a giant portal in the sky that opened up to drop an ocean of water on that one spot west of Glasgow, Montana, USA. This was photographed last July and thankfully the storm did not really cause damage. It lasted several hours. Such storms are centered on a mesocyclone, a rotating updraft spanning a few kilometers, delivering torrential rains, high winds and tornadoes. On the edge of the supercell are jagged sculptured clouds while dust and rain come from the center.

APOD 4.5: Lunar Eclipses

The very pretty image depicts different sorts of lunar eclipses. The umbra's appearances are derived from images of both partial and total eclipses through its different parts. The images were collected from 1997 to 2011 in Voronezh, Russia with the same optics. The bottom and top are stages from 2006 and 2008 partial lunar eclipses; in the rightside bottom the Moon was entering the umbra (the inner shadow of planet Earth) for a 1997 total eclipse. The bottom shows the Moon leaving the umbra after 2004 totality, while middle right, center, and left are stages of a 2011 total eclipse (this encompasses the deep red phase in the center).

APOD 4.4: ISS Lookout

The image is credited to Chris Hadfield, Expedition 34 flight engineer, while the annotations are credited to Vincent Berseth. The picture shows the space station lookout of Japan's Kibo Research Module. The photo is interesting, as I have never quite known about the structure of such aspects of the International Space Station. There are long solar panels stretching from the upper left, and the ePressurized Module's cylindrical airlock can be found in the lower right. Toward the left one can find what looks like a washer and dryer- these are NASA and JAXA's HREP (near) and MCE (far) respective research platforms. Gold foil experiment in the rear of HREP is the Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System. to monitor atmospheric airglow; the MCE includes the Global Lightning and Sprite Measurements instrument that keeps track of atmospheric electrical discharges.

Currently, Expedition 35 is commanded by Colonel Hadfield. The crew is to stay aboard until May.

Astronomy Podcast 4.1: How the World Will Really End

I wanted to know exactly what sort of chain reaction would trigger/occur during the end of all life on Earth, so I listened to Astronomy Cast episode 285.

There are a lot of silly theories as to how the Earth will really end. There is a constant pattern of people trying to frighten others with such theories. Well, I didn't get a straight answer.

Recently there was one theory about a "rogue planet X" coming out of some strange orbit causing a catastrophic polar alignment switching in our own orbit. This extra planet was in the Mayan stone carvings, while some research discusses an extra star, that is coming. -The speaker was sarcastic the whole time while describing this rogue planet theory-  The other speaker was, meanwhile, debunking this theory as there is no giant object obscuring our vision of the sky. No stars are "winking out" as this "rogue planet" heads towards us. Frequently, when these apocalypses don't occur, the most common excuse is that the calculations for timing were wrong.

Solar flares that shake up the Earth's magnetic field, however, are worrying. Communication satellites even lose their lives in the face of solar flares as well.... (all this was relevant because a solar flare recently occurred that may also produce pretty aurorae as discussed in the podcast as a result of these phenomena)

Every year, the Sun, the Earth, and the center of our galaxy roughly line up since the center of the galaxy is in the constellation of Sagittarius, and the Sun of course passes through Sagittarius in December. Some people think this is a sign that some crazy laser alignment is going to come about and cause catastrophes.

A growing black hole slowly eating away at Earth is a possibility in the future. Or, our universe could spontaneously collapse into another.

According to the speaker, our universe is always experiment with itself- particularly with AGN- an active galactic nucleus.

Getting hit by a comet or asteroid is actually the thing that is likely to happen to Earth.  According to all current data, an asteroid could come close to destroying the Earth but is more likely not to actually destroy it. If an asteroid was going to come incredibly close to the Earth, anybody could find out and it would be common knowledge even among amateur astronomers. Passionate astronomers can't keep secrets anyhow! Scientists aren't exactly involved in conspiracy theories.

As for aliens, if there is an alien force that is actually big enough to invade our planet, we would certainly see them coming.

APOD 4.3: A Recent Solar Flare

On April 11 the Sun emitted its strongest solar flare to date in 2013. It was followed by a coronal mass ejection in the direction of Earth.

The picture, taken from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, does not portray the real colors of course as it is in extreme ultraviolet light. The solar flare was an M6.5 class flare erupting from active region AR 11719, which is near the center of the solar disk. The sunspot areas of visible light are regions with intense magnetic fields and they become more prominent as solar maximum approaches. Other glowing areas designate glowing plasma tracing the magnetic field lines. The coronal mass ejection that occured will have an effect on the Earth's magnetosphere, leading perhaps to auroral displays.

APOD 4.2: The Black Eye Galaxy

Messier object 64 is usually known as The Black Eye Galaxy, or, for its appearance in telescopes, the Sleeping Beauty Galaxy. It is found about 17 million light-years away, found in the constellation of Come Berenices. In the center of the galaxy, the reddish color as opposed to black is a result of the huge dust clouds glowing with hydrogen- it is a star forming region. M64 is most likely two rotating star systems rotating oppositely; one is within the inner 3,000 light-years while the other extends to 40,000 light-years, rotating in another direction. These odd rotation patterns could be the result of, throughout a billion years, two different galaxies merging.

APOD 4.1:Large Magellanic Cloud

The picture is an infrared portrait  of enormous cosmic dust clouds strewn across the Milky Way's satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. There is something about it, perhaps the way the lighting looks, that render it both heavenly and hellish in appearance. It's a composite image fom the Herschel Space Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope. The Large Megellanic Cloud, 30,000 light-years across and 160,000 light-years away from Earth, is a neighboring dwarf galaxy, filled with dust clouds in which temperatures denote the occurrence of star formation. Where there are blue hues, there is warm dust heated by younger stars. The red and green show dust emission from cooler and intermediate regions of beginning star formation. The brightest region is actually the Tarantula Nebula.

Astronomy Observation Log 3.3 (Astronomy Cast - Exploration of Venus)

Apparently, the planet Venus has also been the subject of a number of in-depth explorations, even if these efforts haven't been as publicized as those of Mars.

The science fiction interpretation of the past was interesting and almost funny- the speakers recount a story, perhaps by Asimov, that was adapted into a movie in which people lived on the warm wet world that was Venus, which would only be clear of rain every 20 years. One child was stuck inside during the "fun" of a clear day, which seemed sad at first, except the kids that went out to play all died horrible deaths burning in sulfuric acid. He ended up being lucky for being unlucky.

Scientists had no clue what was going on with Venus. From Earth we could see it had an atmosphere and that it had phases. By 1960 when we started bouncing radio waves off the surface we could see it was a rocky planet. It was not until 1962 we knew it was a "hell-scape" with insanely high temperatures, totally unfit to be considered a planet capable of harboring life. In the 60s there were many failed missions to Venus.

"Venera 4" in 1967 finally measured the atmosphere of Venus- not only was it hot there, it was 95% carbon dioxide, totally different from what astronomers expected. The atmosphere is so thick (it's 22 miles thick) it could almost crush spacecrafts. Many engineering challenges were faced.  Probes, devices and communication methods indeed need to be able to penetrate through 22 miles of sulphuric hail.

In the late 1970s, through the "Pioneer" program we sent four different probes through Venus' atmosphere to take data as they traveled- not only did the atmosphere have extremely high pressure, but we learned the winds are incredibly turbulent. Yet a certain altitude in the cloud layer, you can get a pressure and temperature that are the same as those found on Earth (even though you couldn't breathe the air, you could sit outside in this area if you were on some floating station).

Venus is fascinating to observe, with evidence of past oceans, vortexes in the polar region of the atmosphere near the South Pole, and the presence of hydroxyls. The main problem is protecting the instruments against the intense heat...  After that, the pressure bearing down on all sides is the problem. At least the Russians have got some steel-reinforced drawing boards! The Russians have historically seemed to have the upper hand in Venus exploration.

APOD 3.8: Sakurajima

It looks very alien for a volcanic eruption to produce lighting, as Sakurajima does in this picture. Located in southern Japan, Sakurajima volcano was erupting in early January, the magma being so hot it glowed. Liquid rock burst forth from beneath the surface. Volcanic lightning is currently a prevalent research topic because it is still a somewhat mysterious phenomenon; the lightning bolts help "quench areas of opposite but separated electric charges." One hypothesis posits that magma bubbles and volcanic ash are electrically charged, and created separated areas with their motion. Or, charge-inducing collisions of volcanic dust could spur on a spot of lightning, which strikes 40 times each second, somewhere on Earth.

APOD 3.7: Tardigrade!

The picture, credited to Nicole Ottawa and Oliver Meckes, is one of the weirdest coolest things I've ever seen- especially since it's actually a real picture from nature from an electron micrograph. The milimeter-long creature is an adorable moss piglet- aka the tardigrade. Officially, this polyextremophile is a new favorite animal of mine, and it's also a subject of close study. Since it can survive such incredible pressures, it was the first animal to be sent into space, and it survived hard vacuum. It was tested in 2011, actually outside the space shuttle. Tardigrades are extremely hardy, being able to go for decades without food and water, survive far above the boiling point or near absolute zero, and survive under direct exposure to dangerous radiation. This is partly because they can repair their DNA and reduce body water content to a few percent. Tardigrades were also launched to the Martian moon Phobos on Russian mission Fobos-Grunt, but the rocket failed and they only stayed in Earth orbit.

Dorothea Klumpke Roberts

Letts 1

Olivia Letts

Mr. Percival

Astronomy, Per. 3

7 Mar. 2013

Dorothea Klumpke Roberts: Life and Contributions

            Dorothea Klumpke Roberts was born in San Francisco in 1861, where her German immigrant father John Klumpke arrived and attempted to strike it rich in gold.  While his gold prospecting efforts were a flop, he became a wealthy real estate broker instead, and fathered five daughters and two sons with his new wife.  One son died in infancy and the other became a businessman, though Dorothea, the third born, and her four sisters all became renown for their artistic, musical, and scientific pursuits.  The girls were all educated in elite schools in Germany, Switzerland, and France; Dorothea ended up enrolling at the University of Paris (the Sorbonne), where she switched from studying music to studying her true passion, astronomy.  After attaining a Bachelor of Science degree in 1886, she received a post at the eminent Paris Observatory.  Here, she worked on a 34 cm refractor with which to photograph the minor planets, or asteroids.  Her skill set was mathematical in nature, and she also measured star positions, and studied meteorites and stellar spectra.  That same year, Scottish astronomer Sir David Gill and Director of the Paris Observatory Admiral Amédée Mouchez initiated a “Carte du Ciel” project to create an atlas of the entire sky, including all stars even down to the 14^th magnitude and a list of those down to the 11^th magnitude.  As the Paris Observatory was to handle a major portion of the sky, there was fierce competition for Director of the Bureau of Measurements, who would head the bureau in handling plate measurements and reductions.  Dorothea Klumpke won this position and held it until 1901; the project was a success.  Her doctoral thesis, “L’étude des Anneaux de Saturne,” a mathematical insight into Saturn’s rings, was highly acclaimed and well-defended,

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thus Klumpke became the first woman ever to attain the Docteur-és-Sciences degree.  In 1896 she traveled to Norway for a solar eclipse that ended up being obscured by clouds, yet she met her future husband Dr. Isaac Roberts, a pioneer astronomer who produced the first good pictures of the Andromeda Galaxy.  In 1899, the Meudon Observatory chose Dorothea Klumpke to ride in a hot air balloon called La Centaure above Paris to observe a Leonid Meteor Storm.  The numerous Leonids are from the comet Temple-Tuttle and seem to come from the constellation Leo, after which they were named.  In 1799, 1833, and 1866 the Leonids filled the skies with magnificent shooting stars, but only 15 of them were observed during Klumpke’s seven-hour balloon flight.  Still, her ride only made her more popular and was a milestone for women in the male-dominated field of astronomy.  In 1901, when Dorothea married Dr. Roberts, she left the Paris Observatory for her husband’s observatory and home in Sussex, which he called “Starfield.”  She assisted him in his project to take pictures of all 52 Herschel Areas of Nebulosity, although he died three years later, and all his money and astronomical equipment went to her.  She completed the remainder of the work and brought all the photographic plates with her back to Paris, where she went back to work for the Paris Observatory and spent years measuring, reducing, and printing she and Isaac’s work.  It was not until 1929 that she published "The Isaac Roberts Atlas of 52 Regions, a Guide to William Herschel's Fields of Nebulosity,” to which she added a supplement in 1932.  Dorothea Klumpke Roberts published two photographic atlases and deep sky object catalogues for which she attained the Hèléne-Paul Helbronner prize from the French Academy of Sciences.  In 1934, for 50 years of astronomical study, the president of France awarded her highest honor as she was elected a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur.  She spent the rest of her days in San Francisco with her sister Anna, who was a famous painter and protégé/companion/heir to Rosa Bonheur.  Two minor planets were named in honor of Dorothea Klumpke Roberts, along with the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Klumpke-Roberts Award.

APOD 3.6: Mercury

The MESSENGER orbits Mercury, using radio science investigation and seven instruments to attain more knowledge about the evolution and history of the planet.  The picture is from image data collected from this spacecraft with a wide angle camera, and the colors would not normally be seen but they reveal the richly complex regions of Mercury. Apart from chemical and mineralogical areas that cause the variety of appearances there are many physical features such as the Caloris basin, seen in the upper right of this angle of the planet. It was created by an ancient comet or asteroid, then the area was flooded with lava. The light blue areas were also created by impacts, although ones that occurred more recently. The beautiful blue areas are low reflectance terrains.

Dorothea Klumpke- Bibliography Listings

"Dorothea Klumpke Roberts Biography, Life and Career Facts, Invented." Web log post. Info. Page Rank Studio, 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://pagerankstudio.com/Blog/2010/09/dorothea-klumpke-roberts-biography-life-and-career-facts-invented/>.

Jones, Jane H., and Don Stone, comps. Dorothea Klumke and the 1899 Leonids. Rep. Leonid MAC, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://leonids.arc.nasa.gov/Klumpke.html>.

Roberts, Dorothea Klumpke. "Woman's Work in Astronomy." Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 31.182 (1919): 216-19. JSTOR. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40692050>.

Stone, Don. "Dorothea Klumpke Roberts, Pioneer Woman Astronomer." AANC. Astronomical Association of Northern California, 2002. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <https://sites.google.com/site/aancsite/articles/donstone>.

..::h e l i x n e b u l a::..

NGC 7923. Also known as Caldwell 63. Best known as the Helix Nebula. Sometimes referred to as The Eye of God.

This planetary nebula is well-deserving of the dramatic nickname due to its beauty and shape. And God would get a pretty decent view of Earth anyhow, because of all the bright planetary nebula, the Helix Nebula is one of the closest to our planet- about 700 light-years away.

The Helix Nebula is located in the constellation Aquarius (...some say that the Age of Aquarius has dawned!). The very bright core we see in pictures is a nucleus that is to become a white dwarf star; it is so energetic that gases expelled around the area glow bright. In the attached image, this core is bright red from the infrared wavelength used for the picture. Around the core, the excitation temperature changes frequently in different areas. It is estimated that the age of the planetary nebula is about 10,600 years, give or take a couple thousand. In the helix there are also many "cometary knots"which are the result of an electric discharge phenomenon.

Astronomy Observation Log 3.2 (Astronomy Cast - Nebulae)

In place of an astronomy observation, I decided to listen to a podcast from astronomycast.com on my favorite celestial object- the nebula.

Dust and gas compose the beautiful nebulae that we all see in pictures. One of the speakers of the podcast denoted them as "everything-" having to do with stars, I think. They are huge.

Cold temperature condenses regions, keeps them dark. With emission and reflection nebulae, however, the heated gas gives off light in different colors.

I learned that if you're seeing a star "on the other side of the nebula," you're going to see it as red. But if you see one off to the side, you see the blue and the green (in reflection nebulae).

When you crank the energy up, that's when you get emission nebulae. In emission nebulae the stars also tend to be embedded in the cloud of gas. -I am now less confused about the differences between the types of nebulae- Reflection nebulae are cooler, emission ones are hotter.

The light we see does not come directly from the stars, but from absorption lines, where the light is re-emitted. We see oxygen lines in planetary nebulae, as they are still hot.

Gas becomes tens of thousands of degrees, and gravity pulls the gas together, but something has to cause it to collapse.

The bubble structures we see in nebulae are stars beginning to ignite and blow matter around them. And to see stars forming within them, we need infrared light.

The female narrator discussed stars that were likely to go supernova, and star clusters that show what our Sun may have looked like during its formation. Planetary nebulae and supernova are the forms of dead stars, on the other hand. The crazy shapes we see in nebula are defined by the physics of how the gas is moving. Some nebulae form over long periods of time (brightening, expanding, fading...), others form in a sort of "splat," depending on the stars.

The Protostar

The Protostar is what we consider to newly-forming star to be when it is in stages four and five. A solar-mass star typically lasts about 100,000 years as a protostar.

The video is about protostar V1647 Orionis; we derive information about it from its emission.

Protostars develop into main sequence stars with the formation of a T Tauri Star, found near molecular clouds.

APOD 3.5:Aurora in Alaska

The photo, taken by Todd Salat, shows a reflection of Aurora borealis over a lake in Alaska; the red part of the Aurora could only be seen with a camera (after a 20-second exposure) while the green was visible to the unaided eye. The human eye takes in light for a fraction of a second at a time but a camera shutter is left open for much longer. Auroras are created by the Sun's energetic particles, which impact Earth's magnetosphere. These particles case electrons and protons to rain down near the planet's poles, which shows in the air. The red and green are made by excited oxygen atoms. The scene from last autumn is near Anchorage, and lovely lily pads dot the lake encircled by trees. The sky annotations outline such sights as the Pleiades star cluster, and Jupiter, right above the clouds. 

APOD 3.4: Shadow at Point Lake on Mars

The picture was taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, which has landed on Mars in August, on Gale Crater. Curiosity has been looking for more signs that water once ran through the planet, and also clues that life existed. The picture, taken in November, shows its shadow in the direction opposite the sun at "Point Lake." There are some areas near there that appear to have been dried streambeds. In the next few years, Curiosity is to climb Mt. Sharp, which has been a spot scientists have long been wanting to study.

Moon Surface Features

I labeled parts on the moon :)

Astro-Observation Log 3.1 (2.2.13)

Last night, in the crisp air, my stargazing group identified a number of objects and constellations in the sky with the help of the binoculars we were afforded, the telescope, and the instructor's profound knowledge of the cosmic neighborhood.

Jupiter was found in the constellation of Taurus, and through the telescope I actually was able to see some of its red patterns! It was found overhead as were the Pleiades, in the horns of the Bull, although they were less easily visible than they were at the last stargaze.

I hadn't realized that the belt of Orion was so easily identifiable, and that Betelgeuse and Rigel emitted different colors. Rigel is a blue supergiant and Belegeuse is a red supergiant.

I also learned that Betelgeuse, one of the most notable stars in Orion, is very unstable and likely to become a supernova within 10,000 years. Although it is unlikely, Betelgeuse may reach the end of its lifetime during my lifetime, and when it does so, it may even leave an impact on our solar system and what we see and the sky and our Sun.

Cassiopeia, Leo, and Perseus were among the other constellations I saw. My instructor informed us that  the north star Polaris and the two dippers were more unreliable than usual to use as references at their current locations, as they were harder to observe.

Through the telescope, I observed a few pairs of binary stars (Sirius being one of them), and also, albeit faintly, the Andromeda Galaxy, which is the nearest one to our Milky Way Galaxy. I also saw some other "M" numbers such as M42, the Orion Nebula.

On my sky calendar beforehand, I observed that the moon was apparently very near Spica (the brightest star in the constellation Virgo)- but this occurrence was only visible in Madagascar and southern Africa. From the calendar map, however, I also discerned that tonight, the moon is to be seen very near Saturn and it will also be a last quarter moon, meaning it will look half-illuminated.

APOD 3.3: Andromeda Galaxy

The infrared image displays a view of the Andromeda Galaxy from the Herschel Space Observatory. As I have just learned, this galaxy (which is more than roughly twice the size of the Milky Way Galaxy) is the closest large spiral galaxy to our Milky Way, at a distance of 2.5 million light-years. On Messier's list, the Andromeda Galaxy is M31. Cool dust lanes and clouds comprise the galaxy, which is shown in false color in the picture. The red hues on the exterior parts designate starlight-heated dust, while the blue colors in the interior designate hotter dust warmed by stars in the central core. The dust is a tracer of molecular gas, and reveals that Andromeda Galaxy is stocked with a huge supply of material for future star formation.

APOD 3.2: The Antikythera Mechanism

I liked this particular "astronomy picture of the day" because of its incredible historical connection. the "Antikythera Mechanism" was found in an ancient Greek ship at the bottom of the sea, which most likely sank around 80 BC. Such a gear was not thought to have been created for another 1,000 years later- it was a sort of mechanical computer. The wheels and gears create a sort of orrery of the sky; although some of its functions are unknown, one use was probably to predict events such as eclipses. It is about the size of a large book.

• Moon (silver)
• Mercury (turquoise)
• Venus (lapis lazuli)
• Sun (gold)
• Mars (red onyx)
• Jupiter (white crystal)
• Saturn (obsidian).

APOD 3.1- Stickney Crater

The surreal-looking, enhanced-color picture, belonging to NASA, displays Stickney Crater, which is the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos. It was taken by the WiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2008. The crater was named for the wife of the astronomer Asaph Hall, who was responsible for discovering both of Mars' moons.

Stickney Crater is half the diameter of Phobos; whatever created it likely could have destroyed the moon in fact. The streaks are probably from loose material sliding down the walls of the geological feature (although Phobos' gravity is less than 1/1000th Earth's gravity), and the bluish regions denote exposed surfaces. There are many groves in Stickney Crater, created during the impact that produced the feature.

APOD 2.8: "Jellyfish Nebula"

This usually faint, elusive nebula, which looks much more like a brain than a jellyfish to me, is part of a supernova remnant known as IC 443. It forms a debris cloud, from an enormous star that exploded. Light from the explosion reached Earth 30,000 years ago- although I should like to review how astronomers find this out. This nebula is located near a bright star called Eta Geminorum, in the constellation Gemini. It is about 5,000 light years away, and it is a "complex environment."

Nathaniel Bowditch Biography

Letts 1

Olivia Letts

Mr. Percival

Astronomy, Per. 3

10 Jan. 2013

Nathaniel Bowditch- Navigator and Mathematician

            In 1773, the year of the Boston Tea Party, Nathaniel Bowditch was born in Salem, Massachusetts.  Because his father, Habakkuk, was a shipmaster, he grew up exposed to the idiosyncrasies of seafaring ways in a community where daring mariners were esteemed and blows were delivered against British shipping during the time of the American Revolution.  It was Bowditch’s family’s brief stay in Danvers that shielded him from the dangers of the political and military turmoil that was occurring.  As a child he tried to fill every moment he could learning mathematics; although the school system at that time was poor, there he excelled.  His father was nearly always absent on voyages, and while Bowditch was adored by his mother for his promising future, the family was most often hungry and in a state of near-poverty.  Thus, Habakkuk Bowditch pulled his son out of school, and young Nathaniel became an apprentice clerk at a ship chandler’s shop.  However, he taught himself calculus, and also Latin and French, which allowed him to both read and translate many influential works.  He carried on with his studies all through 1795-1806, during which he undertook many sea voyages aboard merchant ships. As his mathematical, observational, and scientific skills were sharpened he also became a rising businessman and after his final voyage he became president of a prosperous fire and marine insurance company in Salem. 

While president, the mathematical and scientific research he undertook earned him great respect.  His first wife died in 1798 after only seven months of marriage, plunging him into a depression.  He was married again two years later to Mary Ingersoll, with whom he would have

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many children.  The many honors he attained for his work also lent him comfort; he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1799.  After his New American Practical Navigator was published in 1802, Harvard awarded him a Master of Arts Degree. He became known as the father of modern maritime navigation because of this detailed instructional work, which also improved upon John Moore’s faulty yet influential Practical Navigator.  Harvard would later offer him a chair of mathematics and physics, which he refused along with the U.S. Military Academy and the University of Virginia, though he would also go on to be elected to the American Philosophical Society, the Royal Irish Academy, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Royal Society of London.  Aside from naval charts, Bowditch wrote many astronomical articles based on his observations.  In 1806 he published a well-read article on the motion of the moon.  Using a magnetic needle in some interesting experiments, he illustrated and bolstered concepts of revolution, the Earth’s oblateness (slightly flattened at the poles), and he also corrected parts of the celestial table including meridians and latitudes.  Bowditch wrote publications on meteor showers, and the orbits of three comets, and reportedly demonstrated how to find the place of a meteor.  He added touches to many famous works, including Newton’s.

            Lissajous curves (part of complex parametric equation systems) became known as Bowditch curves due to the man’s groundbreaking mathematical studies on them conducted through the observation of the motion of a pendulum suspended on two points.  Bowditch also translated Pierre-Simon de Laplace’s Mécanique céleste in 1818, to which he added commentary.  He could not afford to have the various volumes published until 1829, 1832, 1834, and 1839, but these translations became vital to the development of theoretical astronomy and mathematics in the United States. He did not form any great theories but instead is admirable for his painstaking mathematical work and tireless observations.  He died in 1838 from stomach cancer, and is said to have thousands of descendents in the United States.