Apod 1.2, M6: The Butterfly Cluster

There is a reason M6 is called the butterfly cluster, this is because of the outline of the open cluster resembles a butterfly. This nebula spans about 20 light years across and  2000 light years distant from us (Earth.) In this cluster there is actually a constellation that we learned in our Astronomy class, it is Scorpius. However you might need a pair of binoculars to see the constellation, as it does get mixed with the hundreds of other stars here. This nebula primarily consists of bright blue stars, although as you can see the brightest is the light-orange colored star. Looking and using today's technology we figured out the age of M6, which is estimated to be about 100 million years old. Using this knowledge it can help us figure out the age of our universe, which could be trillions and trillions years old for all we know.

APOD 1.5

The Lagoon Nebula in Stars Dust and Gas

This astronomical nebula spans 100 light years across, while only being around 5000 light years distant from Earth. This nebula can actually be seen without a telescope! However you need to know where the constellation Sagittarius is, and you should be outside of the city if you want to experience the full affect which is without the lights from the city affecting your view from the cosmos.  The lagoon Nebula is also where millions of stars have formed, and are still forming. We have actually learned about the lagoon nebula in our Astronomy class, where we have to memorize the special M# according to the constellation. Having a greater view on what this M number is helps put things into perspective so i can view other astronomical wonders and have better knowledge on what it is.

- Stefan Jen

Friday, September 26, 2014

Galse sources Pierre Gassandi

Kadane, Matt. "Pierre Gassendi." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 3: 1450 to 1699. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 368-370. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

"Gassendi (Gassend), Pierre." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 5. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 284-290. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

Friday, September 19, 2014

IC 4603: Reflection Nebula in Ophiuchius

This picture is just beautiful to look at, almost resembling low-opacity clouds or almost like cigarrete smoke. However, this is not the case this is a picture the dust and mass amounts of carbon in them that are released when a star dies. The location of this picture is in the middle of the nebula IC 4603. The shining bright blue star you can see is part of the constellation Opiuchius and is named Antares. The blue light is actually very important in marking out the dust so you are able to see the other stars, making the picture just more fantatastic to look at.

 

Potentially Habitable Moons

     There are four moons in are solar system that may seem inhabitable. Of course you must have essential criteria for human life, which includes: Oxygen,sustainable temperature,water, etc. Recently in the Galileo mission to Jupiter had discovered that Europa's containing liquid water. The Cassini probe had even discovered water on Enceladus, which actually proves to the point of having a cool enough temperature for us to live on. Even on the planet moon titan it has a frozen surface, but below it just like any other frozen large body of water it has liquid underneath it. Looking at the picture has a whole we have discovered more inhabitable moons than planets, allowing for a more reliable source of life.

Living on another planet has always questioned astrobiologists as it might be a possible option for the future. This could solve the up and coming problem of overpopulation, where in biology there are exponential curves and they have to stop at one point. Which could be in our life time where our population HAS to drop in order to main stability. We are looking for multiple options but this seems to be the best to solve overpopulation, if we don't find a solution we could be looking a huge drop in our population.

REMNANTS OF SUPA NOVA PUPPY A!!! - Stefan

 Supernova Remnant Puppis A. 

This star's explosion was the biggest if not the biggest star explosion recorded by mankind. A massive star exploded throughout the galaxy around 7,000 light years away. This created a beautiful remnant of the star's explosion which is around 180 light years wide. The bright colors in Supernova remnant puppis A was caused by shocked gas and dust mingles. You wouldn't be able to see this unless you were present 3700 years ago with our scientific tools to allow us to view the galaxy. But, we have managed to get an x ray view of that portion of the exploded star in the galaxy.The x ray's vision allows us to view the supernova explosion's remnants which is just unreal, something you would think would have been photo shopped. However, this is the raw image of the remnants however, topeople's disbelief. The supernova's explosion had actually released more raw elements and compounds that are essential in the formation of stars and planets. Looking at the explosion at a whole, and analyzing the the substances released could further benefit our own planet into discovering our own origins.