Observation 6

On Monday, March 21st, I looked up in the morning at approximately 6:50 in the morning to see one bright spot in the sky other than the moon in the south east.  It was visible when all other stars were not so I inferred that it was a planet.

It was Venus.

Observation 5

On Saturday, March 19th, I witnessed my first supermoon apparently.  It was a full moon at the time that it was closest to the Earth on its rotation.  This combination of events made for a gigantic moon. It was huge and awesome.

Awe-inspiring almost.

APOD 3.8

APOD: 2011 March 16th (my freaking birthday.)
Sideways Galaxy NGC 3628

This picture is most interesting to think about conceptually. Putting this image into perspective is something that is very hard to do considering this, like millions of others, is the size of our galaxy, The Milky Way. Considering there are millions of galaxies in an almost limitless universe and inside those galaxies lies millions of stars and planets, space because something that is very hard to grasp.  he vast expanses of space don't compute in my brain. More scientifically, the bright reddish hues are a tell-tale sign of a star forming area. This galaxy is about 35 million light years away in the direction of the Leo constellation.

Observation 4

At approximately 9:00 pm on March 14th I went out and looked up towards the sky and saw a beautiful moon.  However, there was an even more interesting thing going on that night in particular. There was a ring around the moon! It was really cool looking. It interests me how the shape is naturally a perfect circle.

Observation 3

I went out in the morning at approximately 6:45 on Monday March the 14th (after the awful and dreaded Spring Forward) and could actually see the Summer Triangles in the east which was pretty interesting. I was not sure if that should be visible but it was confirmed by my astronomy teacher, Mr. Percival, later that day.

APOD 3.7

APOD 2011 February 27
Saturn's Hyperion: A Moon with Odd Craters
Hyperion is an extremely unique, some might say the most unique moon, that has ever been discovered. It is mathematically the most eccentric object that orbits another object. Robot Cassini spacecraft helped us gather more information on the object recently, including this picture.  Astronomers 600 years ago would have never thought anything like this could have possibly existed, which I find interesting.  Most planets are mostly spherical, however, it's objects like Hyperion that really get me questioning, "what's really out there?" There seems to be no natural governing this moon, so why should there be a natural order governing all other moons?

APOD 3.6

APOD 2011 February 24th
NGC 1999: South of Orion

Orion is by FAR my favorite constellation in the night sky. Not only is it readily available and easily spotted almost anytime in the night sky during the Winter, but it is also a beautiful constellation filled with easily recognizable stars.  It contains Betelguese, which due to its size, is the most interesting and fantastic natural occurence in the universe! Also, it's one of the few constellation that resembles what it is supposed to be. All of this combines to make a great night sky object. Now, they are throwing in this gem, NGC 1999. As you can see this is an extremely beautiful night sky object that is considered a blue reflecting nebula. Orion never ceases to amaze me.