APOD 3.2

This picture shows a Micro Moon layered on top of a Super Moon. The Micro Moon occured on January 15th and is the biggest full moon of 2014. The moon reached it's full moon phase just hours before it reached its lunar apogee (when the moon is most distant from the Earth in it's orbit.) The Super Moon behind the Micro Moon is from June 22nd when the moon was at perigee. The distance between apogee and perigee is 50,000 km. The next Micro Moon is projected to occur on March 5, 2015. I think it's really cool how they compared the Micro Moon and Super Moon by layering them because it helps show how small and big the moon gets.

APOD 3.1

This picture shows M83 Star Streams. It is the spiral galaxy M83. It is 12 million light years away and is located near the SE tip of the constellation Hydra. It is 40,000 light years across. The galaxy also goes by the Southern Pinwheel because of it's spiral arms,  and the Thousand-Ruby Galaxy because of the reddish star forming regions towards the outside of the galaxy. The stellar tidal stream, located toward the top of the galaxy, is debris from the gravitational disruption of a smaller, merging satellite galaxy. This stream was discovered in the 1990's. I picked this picture because the colors of the galaxy and surrounding stars interested me and I wanted to learn more about the galaxy.

Reflections on Planet Earth

This photo was taken by Michael Fossum on July 8, 2006. It is a self-portrait that Fossum took while Discovery space shuttle was docked at the International Space Station. Also seen in this picture is fellow astronaut Piers Sellers. You can see in the reflection in his helmet planet Earth in the background. I found this picture really cool because I used to want to be an astronaut when I was younger and I wanted to go in to space on a Space Shuttle. The 'selfie' taken by this astronaut shows how the Earth seems so little when you are up in space, and it makes Space travel seem so interesting and amazing.

Northern Lights Alaska

This is a thirty minute time lapse photo of the Northern Lights on December 7th. It was taken just outside of Aurora, Alaska. The lights span up to an altitude of 100 km. They stretch more than 500 km across the sky. These lights were caused by a moderate level geomagnetic storm and a high speed solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetosphere. I found it really cool that something like magnetic fields from the Sun can cause the pretty Northern Lights here on Earth.

Coldest Place on Earth

This picture shows Antarctica and the various record low temperatures around the continent. The record low temperature of -93.2 °C (-135.8 °F) occurred in August of 2010. This is about 25 °C  (45 °F) colder than the coldest it gets in any place humans live permanently. This record low was found by scientists when they were looking at climate data taken by Earth-orbiting satellites. The coldest locations were found near mountain peaks, although specifically in depressions near these peaks because denser, cold air settled in these depressions and was further cooled by the frozen ground. I was very shocked that it could get down to -135.8 °F on Earth, and also think it’s very interesting that while it is hot and Sunny in Florida in August, it is the middle of a very cold Winter in the coldest continent in the World. 

New Year's Crescent

This image taken in Quebec City, Canada, on December 30th shows Venus in its crescent phase. In the days to follow, Venus will grow larger in size, but into a thinner crescent as it sinks lower into the evening sky. Venus is heading towards inferior conjunction, which will take place on January 11th. I found this photo really interesting because Venus looked very much like the Moon, and I was surprised to learn that it was of Venus. I also found this picture to be very pretty and I like how the photo was taken right at Sunset. 

CubeSats

This picture shows three CubeSats that are orbiting Earth which were recently released from the International Space Station. Each CubeSat is about 10 cm on each side, and is roughly the size of a coffee mug. These devices are often created by university students and have missions such as collecting wide angle imagery of the Earth, testing orbital radio communications, monitoring Earth’s magnetic field, and exploring surrounding radiations of Earth. Some CubeSats will return into Earth’s atmosphere. I chose this picture because I was very amazed at how such small devices can be launched into Space and help scientists and students with their research. 

George Airy

          George Biddell Airy was born July 27, 1801 and died January 2, 1892. He made several contributions to not only astronomy but also mathematics. He was born in Alnwick, Northumberland, England and earned his early education in Hereford and then went to Colchester Grammar School before enrolling at Trinity College in 1819. He excelled at Trinity and was elected the scholar of Trinity in 1822. On October 1, 1824, Airy was elected fellow of Trinity and then in 1826, he became the Lucasian professor of mathematics.  In 1827, George Airy became the first person to successfully correct astigmatism in the human eye by using cylindrical eyeglass lens. In 1828 he was elected Plumian professor of Astronomy. He became director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1845 and completely reorganized and modernized the observatory, allowing for very precise observations. Later on in his life, Airy was blamed by other British astronomers for not discovering Neptune before German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle did using observations recorded by French astronomer Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier. This error by Airy caused poor relations between French and British Astronomers for a period of time. In 1854, Airy used a new method, which involved a pendulum and gravity, to discover the density of Earth. A year later, he proposed a theory involving isostatic equilibrium in mountain ranges. Airy also is known for contributing to studying and researching interference fringes, which is why the central spot of light in the diffraction pattern of a point light source is called the Airy disc. Throughout his life, Airy published several papers and memoirs about his research and life. George Airy was knighted in 1872 and died twenty years later in Greenwich, London. 

"Sir George Biddell Airy (British Astronomer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia                   Britannica, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.