Observations

11/6/10
I went out into my backyard and managed to find quite a few things!
There was some light pollution due to the street lamps out front, but overall the stargazing wasn't too bad.
Summer Triangle
Altair
Cepheus(?)
Sagittarius
Vega


11/15/10
I was at a friend's house on Siesta Key and we decided to go to the beach. There's more time for stargazing now that it gets dark earlier! I managed to see the northern cross in Cygnus and I found this by first locating the summer triangle and looking for Deneb. The summer triangle isn't that hard to spot so it's a great marker for locating other constellations in the sky! I also managed to spot Hercules and Aquila.

APOD 2.4

A Massive Star in NGC 6357

Astronomers haven't figured out why NGC 6357 is forming some of the most massive stars ever discovered. In the greater nebula, the intricate patterns are caused by complex interactions between interstellar winds, radiation pressures, magnetic fields, and gravity. The overall glow of the Nebula results from the emission of light from ionized hydrogen gas. The central part of NGC 6357 spans about 10 light years and lies about 8,000 light years away towards the constellation of Scorpion. 

Link to picture: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1011/ngc6357_hst_big.jpg

Great World Wide Star Count

Last Thursday, November 11th, I participated in the "Great World Wide Star Count" which is an attempt to measure the amount of light pollution on Earth. I was able to see up to third magnitude stars from my location at home. I then submitted these observations about Cygnus to their website.

APOD 2.3

The Iris Nebula

11/12/10

This picture shows clouds of interstellar gas and dust that have blossomed 1.300 light years away in the Constellation Cepheus known as the king. Cataloged as NGC 7023, it isn't the only nebula in the sky to evoke imagery of flowers. It's really awesome how you can see the different ranges of colors in so much detail! Infrared observation indicate that this nebula may contain complex carbon molecules known as PaHs. The Bright blue portion of the Iris Nebula is about  six-light-years across.

APOD 2.2

11/5/10

Night Lights

The Constellations that sprawl across this night sky are not of the skies of planet Earth, but a view from the International Space Station as it passed along the northern gulf of the United States on Oct. 29th. Docked in the foreground is a Russian Soyuz Spacecraft. Behind its extended solar panels, some 360 panels below, are the recognizable city lights of New Orleans! One can make out Houston, Mobile, and can trace the lights of of central US highway 155. November 2nd marked the first decade of continuous human presence in space on board the International Space Station.

.