Sunday, May 18, 2008
4.9 Astronomer Biography: Kip Thorne
Born in Logan, Utah in 1940 to a college professor father and chemist/economist mother, Thorne was raised in a highly academic environment and excelled in his schoolwork. Thorne's academic prowess allowed him to achieve his high educational goals at a relatively young age, receiving his BS at 22 from Caltech and his PhD from Princeton at 25. In 1967, Thorne returned to Caltech as one of the youngest full professors to teach theoretical physics. Throughout his many years of teaching at the institution, Thorne has mentored as many as 50 physicists who now work in the observational and experimental fields.
Overall, Kip Thorne's research has centered on astrophysics and gravitational physics, leading him to study such phenomena as relativistic stars, gravitational waves, and black holes. He is also credited with the somewhat controversial assertion that wormholes can be used for time travel. However, his contributions to the field largely concern Einstein's theory of general relativity, namely the general nature of space, time, and gravity.
Several of Thorne's discoveries are of great worth to astronomy. F0r example, Thorne proposed the idea of hoop conjecture, which describes the mechanism for black hole formation and also eliminates the view of a black hole as a naked singularity. Thorne along with his friend and colleague Stephen Hawking, believe that there is instead a singularity at the interior of the black hole.
Friday, May 16, 2008
4.8 The M81 Galaxy Group
Friday, May 9, 2008
4.7 The Dark Tower in Scorpius
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
4.6 Observation Log
Time: 8;30-10:30
Location: 270 15' 29.35" N, 820 23' 44.36" W; My Home
Sky Conditions: Clear and great visibility after sunset.
Instruments: None (I forgot to come back and pick up binoculars)
Planets: Mars, Mercury
Bright Stars Noted: Capella, Castor, Pollux, Sirius, Procyon, Regulus, Spica, Arcturus, Betelgeuse
Constellations Noted: Hydra (Hydra's Head only), Gemini, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Ursa Minor, Auriga, Leo, Leo Minor, Corvus, Virgo, Bootes
Binary Stars: Capella (However, could not distinguish separate stars as no instruments were used)
Deep Sky Objects: Hyades, Pleiades
Asterisms: Winter Triangle, Hydra's Head, The Scythe, Big Dipper
Sunday, May 4, 2008
4.5 Shaping NGC 6188
4.4 M86 in the Virgo Cluster
4.3 Messier 63: The Sunflower Galaxy
Friday, April 11, 2008
4.2 Stickney Crater
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
4.1 The N44 Complex
Friday, March 14, 2008
3.18 Sculpting the South Pillar
Thursday, March 13, 2008
3.17 Planetary Nebulae
http://www.cynical-c.com/archives/bloggraphics/eskimo.jpg
http://cseligman.com/text/stars/egg.jpg
http://home.att.net/~a.campanella/hubble_nebula_0828_f.jpg
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles
/Science/Images/Content/supernova-chaos-remnant-n-63a-sw.jpg
This is a Black Hole, for good measure:
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles
/Science/Images/Content/perseus-black-hole-perseus-sw.jpg
Friday, March 7, 2008
3.16 The Cat Paw Nebula
Thursday, March 6, 2008
3.14 Edward Pickering Biography
Edward Charles Pickering
Edward Charles Pickering was an American astronomer and physicist who indelibly left a lasting mark on both fields both in the United States and abroad. Pickering was born on July 19, 1946 in Boston, Massachusetts where he spent nearly all of his childhood. He attended Boston Latin School and then went on to receive his B.S. degree at Harvard University, graduating in 1865. In 1867, Pickering became a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and held that position for ten years. At MIT, Pickering helped to establish the first U.S. laboratory in which student were required to use laboratory instruments to make measurements. Pickering left MIT to become the professor of astronomy at Harvard as well as the director of the Harvard observatory. That same year he co-founded the Appalachian Mountain Club, one of the United States’ oldest outdoor groups. Pickering was the director of the observatory for forty-two years during which time he and his staff observed more than forty-five thousand stars. The observatory under his direction was also able to make great leaps in the gathering of stellar spectra by means of photography. Pickering was also able to hire several women in his observatory due to several donations from Henry Draper’s widow. They included Annie Jump Cannon, Henrietta S. Leavitt, Williamina P. Fleming, and Antonia Maury. These women became popularly known in the scientific community as “Pickering’s Harem.” Despite this nickname, many of these women made important discoveries in the field. The observatory also produced the Henry Draper Catalogue, which contained objective prism spectra from nearly a million stars according to Annie J. Cannon’s “Harvard Sequence.”
Pickering also introduced the use of the meridian photometer to the observatory, which utilized a calcite prism to juxtapose the image of a star with one of a designated group of north polar stars to compare their brightness. Much of the data collected from this device was used to compile another catalogue entitled Harvard Photometry. He also established an observatory in Arequipa, Peru in 1891, where he collected data of southern stars that he combined with the data collected in Massachusetts. From this data, he published the first all-sky photographic map. Pickering and Hermann Carl Vogel both independently discovered the first spectroscopic binary stars. In addition, Pickering discovered a new series of spectral lines that were actually due to ionized Helium. In 1911, Pickering also co-founded the American Association of Variable Star Observers with William Olcott, where he encouraged many amateur astronomers. Edward Pickering died at Harvard on February 3rd, 1919. Pickering also won several awards during his lifetime. These include the Bruce Medal, the Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal, the Henry Draper Medal, and the Order Pour le Merite for Arts and Sciences. Furthermore, Pickering held several leadership positions in his field, including President of the American Astronomical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Because of Pickering’s contributions to Astronomy, many objects are named for him. The Pickering crater on the Moon is named both for him and his brother William Pickering. There is also a Pickering crate on Mars in his honor as well as minor planet 784, Pickeringia.
Sources were previously listed.
Friday, February 29, 2008
3.13 The Eagle Nebula
Thursday, February 28, 2008
3.11 Pickering Biography Sources
3.9 Young Stars in the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
3.8 Apparent Magnitude Worksheet
- Eta Aurigae 3.5
- Beta Eridani 3.9
- Gamma Orionis 2.4
- Beta Tauri 3.1
- Delta Orionis 2.1
- Zeta Orionis 2.0
- Mu Geminorum 2.8
- Xi Geminorum 3.7
- Sigma Canis Majorum 4.4
- Eta Canis Majorum 1.9
- Alpha Geminorum (Castor) 1.0
Thursday, February 7, 2008
3.7 Light Echoes fro V838 Mon
Saturday, February 2, 2008
3.6 Observation Log
Time: 7:30-9:30
Location: 270 15' 29.35" N, 820 23' 44.36" W; My Home
Sky Conditions: Very clear and great visibility. Considerable light pollution in NW (from Sarasota)
Instruments: None
Planets: Mars
Bright Stars Noted: Sirius, Rigel, Betelgeuse, Pollux, Castor, Capella, Aldebaran, Achernar, Algol, Arneb, Procyon
Constellations Noted: Lepus, Columba, Canis Major, Gemini, Orion, Monoceros, Eridanus (I only traced part of it as I lost sight of the rest), Taurus, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Camelopardalis (only two stars visible), Aries, Auriga, Canis Minor
Binary Stars: Rigel, Capella, Algol (However, could not distinguish separate stars as no instruments were used)
Deep Sky Objects: Hyades, Pleiades
Asterisms: The Three Kids (Auriga), Orion's Belt & Orion's Sword (Orion), The Worm (Cassiopeia)
Friday, February 1, 2008
3.5 Young Star Cluster in Westerlund 2
Star forming region RCW 49 surrounds a young star cluster, Westerlund 2. This cluster is not able to be seen in the visible spectrum, so this image was captured in the infrared by the Spitzer Space Telescope. The black and white image is from the infrared data. The color image was taken with X-ray from the Chandra telescope, appearing in false color. Westerlund 2 is in Centaurus. This cluster contains some of our galaxy's most luminous and massive stars and is 2 million years old or less.
Friday, January 25, 2008
3.4 Andromeda Island Universe
Friday, January 18, 2008
3.3 The Cocoon Nebula
Friday, January 11, 2008
3.2 Observation Log
Time: 7:00-9:00
Location:270 15' 41.46" N, 820 24' 48.71" W; Field behind Suncoast Community church on Hawkins Road
Sky Conditions: Relatively clear. Clouds toward the end. Some light pollution.
Instruments: Binoculars, Telescope
Planets: Mars
Bright Stars Noted: Sirius, Rigel, Betelgeuse, Procyon, Pollux, Castor, Capella, Aldebaran, Polaris, Deneb, Achernar, Algol
Constellations Noted: Canis Major, Cepheus, Casseopeia, Auriga, Gemini, Canis Minor, Lepus, Monoceros, Eridanus, Andromeda, Pegasus, Perseus, Taurus, Orion
Binary Stars: Rigel, Capella
Deep Sky Objects: Hyades, Pleiades, M42, M31, M38, M36, M37
Other: Observed the Moon and the Trapezium of M42
3.1 Jupiter and Io from New Horizons
Taken by the New Horizons spacecraft, Jupiter and its moon Io appear in fantastic detail. Jupiter was captured in three bands of infrared light, causing the Great Red Spot to appear white. Jupiter's complex atmosphere is clearly visible with swirls, stormy ovals, and bands that span the entire planet. In this picture, Io's volcano Tvashtar is clearly active, emitting a sunlight-scattering plume. Below the plume lava is visible.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
2.11 Picture Related to Rittenhouse Biography
2.10 Biography: David Rittenhouse
Whitney Webb
Mr. Percival
Astronomy Honors
10 Oct. 2007
David Rittenhouse
As the leading astronomer of Revolutionary America, David Rittenhouse indelibly left his mark on the astronomy of
In 1766, Rittenhouse married Eleanor Coulston, who bore him two children soon after, but tragically died during childbirth only four years after their marriage. Rittenhouse moved to
During the Revolutionary War, Rittenhouse was a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. He also served on the Board of War and was state treasurer from 1779 to 1787. In 1779, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the
Works Cited
"David Rittenhouse." Penn in the 18th Century.
Dodge, Russ. "David Rittenhouse." Find a Grave. 21 June 2001. 10 Jan. 2008 [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22735].
Leitch, Alexander. "The Rittenhouse Orrery." A
O’Connor, J. J., and E. F. Robertson. "David Rittenhouse." 12 Aug. 2005. Dept. of Math and Statistics,
Rittenhouse, David. "To Determine the