APOD 2.1

Tonight is Halloween! So I decided to choose a picture that matches the mood for tonight. Below is a picture of the sun, however there are many different, exciting and maybe even spooky things that are happening. This picture could almost be used as the begging of a horror story. First is a plane that is flying through the clouds. This was purely by chance but still adds to the effect of the picture. Then the clouds and atmosphere tend to give a spooky mood. They are mysteriously drifting in front of the sun, the same kind of sky you would see in horror movies when the characters look up at the sky.  Next, there is also a partial solar eclipse happening at the top right corner of the sun where the moon is passing in front top corner of sun. This almost looks like a bite was taken out of the sun adding more to the effect. Next there are mysterious spots in the middle, of the sun right above the airplane. This is a current sunspot that is occurring called AR2192. This is one of the largest ever recorded and will last for a few more days. So while walking from house to house, take a look up, because the sky may have some tricks...or treats. 

Observation Post 5

We were waiting in line to go on a haunted trail ride and during the line I decided to look up and observe the stars. It was on 10-25-14 around 945 pm. The skies were fairly clear and there was only slight light pollution since we were in Oscar Scherer park. We observed Orion's belt. We looked at the constellation cygnus and also the constellation scutum. It was fun observing the stars with the family.

Observation Post 4

On October 18 around 10 pm I went to look up at the sky. There was no cloud coverage and there was minimal light pollution. I went to look for M11 which is from the constellation Scutum. M11 is amazing because it is a cluster of a few hundred stars. Alberio had a slight yellow and blue tinge to it when I tried looking at it. Mars had a red color. I also tried looking again for the Andromeda galaxy but couldn't find it.

Observation Post 3

On October 17 around 11 pm I went out to look at the stars. I saw Vega, Deneb and Altair which forms the summer triangle. It was slightly cloudy, there was not many lights on which was nice so I could see the stars better. Vega is in the constellation Lyra which means Harp and is part of the summer triangle which makes it easier to find. Deneb is is part of the constellation Cygnus which means Swan and is also part of the Summer triangle. Altair is part of the constellation Aquila which means Eagle. Altair is one of my favorite constellations besides Little bear.

APOD 1.8

Pictured below is a photo of Chongqing,China with what appears to be a Transformer shooting back into space, however its actually a lunar eclipse. This photo was taken a little over a week ago on October 8 2014.  This isn't what an actual lunar eclipse looks like. This photo is a collection of photos that were combined during a time interval. So looking at the smaller end of the tail, there is a dark red. This was the beginning of the eclipse and also is why the moon can sometimes be called the blood moon. Continuing along the tail the light gets less red and more yellow then white. This is because the moon is leaving the shadow and getting reflected upon once again.  The Yangtze river below in addition to the moon gives the city an essence of beautiful serenity.

Observation Post 2

I attended Mr. Percival's star gaze on 10-12-14. It was truly remarkable to see the stars in real life and to be able to see them through a really cool  telescope. I was there from 8 to 930 and we saw a variety of stars. The sky conditions were clear and then became slightly cloudy. We saw the coat hanger cluster which looked kinda like the coat hanger. My favorite thing we observed was Saturn with the rings, and the Andromeda Galaxy. Its neat to be able to see a galaxy that's been around before we existed, through a lens.

APOD 1.7

This is a photo of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). This device was launched on the Space shuttle Endeavor on May 16, 2011. It was created by the United States Department of Energy, and is currently being used by 56 other countries. This is a state of the art detector of different particles of energy. The AMS is currently attached to the International Space Station. It has been recording how often it has been struck by Positrons and electrons. This recording led to the discovery that there are more positrons emitted at upper levels than previously thought. The excess positrons are thought to be possibly from dark matter, but also possible that they are emitted from other sources such as pulsars. It would  be interesting to find out where these extra positrons are being produced and if it could be used for something later on.

Jeremiah Horrocks Biography

Jeremiah Horrocks was born in the year 1618, the month and day is not exactly known. Jeremiah’s father was James Horrocks, who was a watchmaker and his mother was Mary Aspinwall. Jeremiah grew up in a small village three miles south of Liverpool called Toxteth Park. Jeremiah attended college for three years at Emmanuel College in Cambridge. While at Emmanuel College, Jeremiah met a William Crabtree. They remained close friends and correspondents regarding astronomy up until the death of Horrocks. Jeremiah graduated Emmanuel College without a degree, but then taught himself astronomy. 

Jeremiah had a fascination with astronomy and put his life into it. His favorite astronomers were Tycho and Kepler. Consequently, Jeremiah wanted to expand on their observations. Horrocks was able to make observations of his own, correct existing observations, and make his own theories. He corrected some planetary constants used in equations. He was able to improve the lunar theory, studied the tides and also planetary motion.

Horrocks grew an interest in Kepler and his laws. After several years, Jeremiah was able to prove that Kepler’s laws were correct. Horrocks observed another theory by Kepler of celestial dynamics. Horrocks however didn’t completely agree with this theory and made his own. Horrocks believed along with Kepler that the sun moves the planets both by its rotation and by the emission of a quasi-magnetic attractive force, which becomes weaker with distance and attracts the planets. The specific shape of the planetary orbit is the result of a dynamic equilibrium between a pushing force and a central force. However Horrocks contrasts by saying, the planets orbit the sun in a falling orbital motion, much like how a pendulum bobs back and forth. Contradicting Kepler, Horrocks believes that the planets are always attracted to the sun and never repelled by it.

Horrocks also had a contrasting theory with Kepler regarding gravity. He believed that all the planets were also attracted to each other but since the Sun was the most massive, it had the most influence on gravitation. Horrocks also believed that comets follow an elliptical path around the sun.

Horrocks was able to fix some of the other calculations made by previous astronomers allowing him to get a glimpse of something never before viewed by any astronomer. He calculated that solar parallax was 14’’, which was considerably larger than Tycho’s 3’’ and smaller than Kepler’s 59’’. He then was able to calculate that Earth’s orbit was 60,000,000 miles. Using these new calculations, he made new calculations in the Rudolphine Tables, and made new calculations for velocities. Doing all these new calculations enabled Horrocks to predict the Transit of Venus. And the first Astronomer to do so. He looked at many different tables including those of Kepler, in which he found another error. After fixing the error he predicted that the Sun would appear going across the bottom of sun on December 4. Him and his friend William Crabtree both observed the transit of Venus and took observational notes. These notes helped Horrocks predict more values including the apparent diameter of Venus. They then went on to observe the Transit of Mercury.

Another important contribution to astronomy made by Horrocks is his lunar theory. Horrocks looked again at Kepler’s theory about the moon and that it goes around in an elliptical orbit, and that its inequalities are from the sun. He observed all the phases of the moon, just like Tycho. His most famous discovery about the lunar theory was regarding the second inequality of longitude, which he says is due to variances in eccentricity and unequal motion of thee apsides.   This is an illustration of Jeremiah making calculations on Kepler theories.   

 This is a photo of the sun, Venus is the black circle crossing in the upper right corner 

APOD 1.6

This is a picture of a rock. However this rock has a lot of mystery behind it.  This rock is located on mars and was discovered on the Surface of mars by the Opportunity rover in 2004. The Opportunity rover gave scientists an opportunity to observe a new mystery on mars. The real reason behind why this rock is perfectly spherical is not quite understood yet. However scientists speculate that this rock could be formed by Ancient Aliens (just kidding) its probably caused by frequent tumbling from water or wind. The rock could also have been formed by sprayed molten lava or by concretion. The black and white image within the picture was taken a few days later. This is another odd rock formation that scientists don't know how it formed. We have barely been able to scratch the surface of Mars, and there will be so much more to discover, however the more we discover, the more we will know about the planets that surround us.