Observation 3.3: Astronomy Night

Astronomy Night was awesome. We saw a lot of stars. I personally assisted Captain Perseus in manipulating the large reflecting telescope we had set up. I helped spot Sirius, the dog star, as well as Jupiter.  I identified several constellations for myself, my peers, and visitors. I located Auriga, as well as it's star Capella along with the Kids. I saw Orion, and it's plentiful stars Rigel, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. I also saw Gemini with the twin stars Castor and Pollux, in addition to Taurus with it's star Aldebaran and the Pleadies and Hyadies star clusters.

APOD 3.8

Brace for impact!! Impending collision with the Moon in 5...4...3...2...No, just kidding. While the impact really was a jest, it certainly looks like that's a possibility. In this picture, the Moon seems abnormally large. Huge, in fact. Well, just as always, there's an explanation for that.  Well, sorta. It's called the Moon Illusion.

So what is the Moon Illusion? Honest to god, we have no idea. That's right, our world's top scientists don't have a clue what causes this. Countless explanations have been brought forth, but each and every one has failed. By every known scientific fact, the Moon should appear SMALLER when closer to the horizon, due to both increased distance and the atmospheric effects (Yes, the atmosphere should cause it to be smaller. Theoretically). So then why? If you know, please share. Not a soul in the world knows elsewise. And about the Parthenon? That's just there for show.

Observations 3.2

So last night I went to the Jazz Under the Stars event as Pine View, where I was able to listen to our award winning Jazz Band play while looking at the amazing Winter Sky. I watched as the constellation Orion appeared, along with Canis Majoris. I was able to distinguish all of the Winter sky's notable features, including the stars Aldebaran, Arkenar, Sirius, Castor, Capella, Pollux, Procyon, as well as the Pleiades star cluster. There were plenty of Constellations visible, in addition to the incredibly bright Supermoon! The last night the Moon was the closest it is going to be in orbit to the Earth in 18 years!! Brilliant, eh? Yup.

APOD 3.7

It must be Aliens. Or, just some NASA Astronauts in orbit in the Space Shuttle Discovery as it prepares to dock at the International Space Station. And it's just that. Captured in a combined series of Long Exposure photographs, the ISS and Discovery are shown moving rapidly across the sky, with the Moon and Jupiter. Actually, the photo exposures aren't that 'long', being only a mere 4 seconds, but compared to the frame speeds of normal photography, that's still considered long.

Discovery, Jupiter, the Moon, and the ISS.

The long streak across the sky is actually both the ISS and Discovery. Since they're about to dock, they are of course on the same Great Circle orbiting the Earth. Below, the very large bright spot is none other than the Moon. One might then ask, "Alright, but where's Jupiter?" Well, it's right below. See that bright speck on the horizon? Well, there aren't many celestial objects that are going to stand out when they're that close to the horizon, not with the Sun right around the corner.

APOD 3.6

Oh man. This one gets me every time. All throughout school, we learn how Earth isn't the biggest planet in the Solar System. We were taught that Jupiter and Saturn are atleast 10 times the size of Earth. Then we learned that Jupiter is dwarfed by the Sun, easily 100 times the size of Earth. Well now, within this video, is more learning. It's time to learn that our very own Sun, is NOTHING compared to some of the larger objects within out Solar System. Take a look.

Well? Shocked? Scared even? VY Canis Majoris is a monster. And it dosn't even take that much size to make the Sun look small. Rigel and Betelgeuse, and even Antares make the Sun seem like a tiny speck in space. Because it is!! Even after the stars, you were shown how huge the Universe is, filled with the countless Galaxys in which even behemoths like VY Canis Majoris are no more than meer pinpricks of light, indistinguishable from the rest of the Milky Way's glowing mass.