APOD 4.2

This is a picture of the horizon obviously from France as you can see from the Eiffel Tower. It is very colorful  because on the opposite side of the sun it is raining. It is a regular rainbow but due to the location of the sun in the sky this is the effect. One cool thing about this is that due to vantage point every single person sees a different rainbow in the sky. The thunderstorms that caused the rainbow lasted for most of the day but unfortunately the rainbow only did for a small amount of time. It is a very visually appealing occurrence.

APOD 4.1

 Pictured above is the Horsehead nebula located in the constellation Orion. This is a molecular cloud that is obscuring the view and the color is absolutely amazing. It is a reflection nebula which is call IC 4592. It is made up of dust what is usually much darker but from the stars behind it there is currently a blue tint. Most of the light that is reflected here is from the star that is the eye of the horse. there is another reflection nebula up towards the right but it is not the same as the one featured in the picture.

Observation blogs: last hour

Last Monday I had little homework so I was able to spend a bit of time out on the porch looking up. I am now used to seeing things at my house and it doesn't take too much time to orient myself and identify a few stars. I had trouble naming the smaller more obscure first magnitude stars but overall I am doing better. I realize how much different it all is from starlab but in my opinion it is much better to look at the actual sky rather than a recreation. Hopefully next quarter I will be able to go to some of the stargazes out in myakka.

Observation Blogs

This past weekend I looked up for a while on Saturday night. I was at my house so it was not a transition of location so I was already acclimated to that sky from last time. I stayed out with my parents and sister for two hours while my dad was grilling. We turned off all of the lights inside and the only source of light was the flame from the grill. After a bit I was able to see a lot in the sky though still not as much as one can see in myakka. The major constellations are easily identified as well as some of the most notable stars. It was a good end to the quarter.

Observations

Last weekend I was able to spend a few hours out at night and look around. It was one of the first times that I was quickly able to orient myself and recognize more than just Orion in the night sky. It is easier than being in starlab because I have trouble recognizing the north inside of the globe as opposed to the outside. I did resort to my phone to look for more stars and constellations but I was able to do without it for a time. We ended up having a bonfire and staying out for a good part of the night. Although my neighborhood is not in myakka or anything like that it is still on the outskirts of the city and lots of stars became visible. It was a good night for a stargaze.

APOD 3.8

Pictured above is a comet that has recently flooded the news, the name PANSTARRS. It was excpected to be one of the brightest comets ever to pass by Earth and be visible to the naked eye. Astronomers were disappointed with the magnitude but it still was an amazing event to see. Today it is still faintly visible if you are located on the right spot on the Earth, mainly close to the poles. Soon it will not be visible then unless one uses a telescope or binoculars. The comet is receding from our solar system to continue its' venture.

Observations

Over spring break I was able to go up to New Jersey and see an entirely different sky. It seemed almost alien in comparison to the night sky here; much darker for my grandparents live in rural parts. I was able to spot Orion from the belt but other than that I had trouble finding everything else because I was disoriented in the different sky. With the app on my phone I was able to locate more and more stars and constellations and spent a few hours out at night with my family having dinner. Although I was not able to identify the features it was still a very good experience.