Q2 Bio Sources

Nathaniel Bowditch

1. "Bowditch, Nathaniel." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 368-369. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
URL: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX2830900580&v=2.1&u=fl_sarhs&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=9a348778634ea694ea1c2a44b52392f5
2. O'Connor, J. J., and E. F. Robertson. "Nathaniel Bowditch." Bowditch Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
URL: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Bowditch.html
3. Nugent, Jim. "Nathaniel Bowditch." Nathaniel Bowditch. Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography, 5 Feb. 2005. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
URL: http://uudb.org/articles/nathanielbowditch.html
4. "Nathaniel Bowditch Facts." Nathaniel Bowditch Facts. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
URL: http://biography.yourdictionary.com/nathaniel-bowditch
5. "Nathaniel Bowditch." Nathaniel Bowditch. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
URL: http://www.nndb.com/people/425/000164930/
6. "Nathaniel Bowditch". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2014URL: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76106/Nathaniel-Bowditch
7. "Nathaniel Bowditch (1773 - 1838) - Find A Grave Memorial." Nathaniel Bowditch (1773 - 1838) - Find A Grave Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
URL: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1766

APOD 2.6

December 7 2014

Aurora Shimmer, Meteor Flash

This picture appealed to me because it is very mysterious and beautiful. It is these descriptions as it is a dark picture with faint lights in the background. This post shows the northern lights, or aurora borealis, over a place in Norway. The wintery setting makes the picture a lot better. The comments say that the lights appeared for thirty seconds. Towards the top left of the picture a streak of light can be seen. That streak of light belongs to a fireball meteor from the Geminid meteor shower. The comments say that the Geminid meteor shower passes by the stars in the Big Dipper, but originates from the constellation Gemini. The post finishes by stating there will be a lot more meteors that appear in the remainder of 2014. 

Observation Post 12/19

Observation Post

Week of 12/15

The majority of my observations were made at around 8:00 at night and at 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate to cold temperature. The sky on some days was clear while other days were cloudy. I did my observations at home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. On the days that were not cloudy I observed multiple things. I observed the Summer Triangle, which includes Altair, Vega, and Deneb, in the constellations of Aquila, Lyra, and Cygnus. I also observed the consellation of the Pegasus, the Winged Horse. I also observed multiple phases of the moon, including waning crescent, and new moon. 

Observation Post 12/12

Observation Post

Week of 12/8

The majority of my observations were made at around 8:00 at night and at 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate to cold temperature. The sky on some days was clear while other days were cloudy. I did my observations at home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. On the days that were not cloudy I observed multiple things. I observed the Summer Triangle, which includes Altair, Vega, and Deneb, in the constellations of Aquila, Lyra, and Cygnus. I also observed the consellation Orion, the Hunter. I was able to observe Orion due to its famous three star belt. I also observed multiple phases of the moon, including waxing crescent.

APOD 2.5

December 5 2014

Milky Way over Moon Valley

This picture appealed to me because it is a very beautiful and realistic picture. It shows a beautiful night sky filled with stars, and in an area where there is little to no obstacles that would prevent someone from observing the sky. It is taken in a desert known as the Chilean Atacama in Chile. Other valleys are shown, such as the Valle de la Luna. In the distance there are multiple villages that are shown, such as Socaire, Toconao, Calama, and San Pedro. This picture shows the four galaxies that can be seen from Earth, such as the Andromeda Galaxy. There is also the large and small Magellan Clouds that can be seen from the picture. 

Observation Post 12/5

Observation Post

Week of 12/1

The majority of my observations were made at around 8:00 at night and at 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate to cold temperature. The sky on some days was clear while other days were cloudy. I did my observations at home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. On the days that were not cloudy I observed multiple things. I observed the Summer Triangle, which includes Altair, Vega, and Deneb, in the constellations of Aquila, Lyra, and Cygnus. I also observed the consellations of the Pegasus, the Winged Horse and Orion, the Hunter. I also observed multiple phases of the moon, including waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, and full moon. 

APOD 2.4

November 17 2014

The Double Dust Disks of HD 95086

This picture appealed to me because it is unique compared to the others. This looks like a scene right out of Doctor Who, which is a particularly favorite show of mine. The picutre is of another star system. Astronomers are using infrared light to determine what other star systems look like. It states that the dust disk around the star system could be forming planets. Observations were made both by the Spitzer Telescope and the Herschel Space Observatory. These observations have determined that this star system contains two dust rings, one of the outside, and one of the inside near the parent star. The post ends with stating that HD 95086 is a blue star that is roughly sixty percent larger than our Sun, and is visible in the constellation of Carina, despite being 300 light years away. These observations might help astronomers to better understand how our Earth and solar system formed. 

Observation Post 11/21

Observation Post

Week of 11/17

The majority of my observations were made at around 8:00 at night and at 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate to cold temperature. The sky on some days was clear while other days were cloudy. I did my observations at home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. On the days that were not cloudy I observed multiple things. On some nights, the night was either a fifth or sixth magnitude sky. I was also able to distinguish the directions based upon the constellations. I also observed the Winged Horse, Pegasus, via the Great Square. I also observed the Summer Triangle, and was able to distinguish between the three constellations: Aquila, Lyra, and Cygnus. Finally I observed Antares, which I located relevant to the Summer Triangle. 

APOD 2.3

November 13 2014

Descent to a Comet

This picture appealed to me because it is something that I have already viewed. On September 19th, I posted a a blog post titled APOD 1.4 that contained the details of a spacecraft that was expected to land on a comet sometime in November. That time has come and the spacecraft has released the probe that will descend onto the comet. It is unguided and unpropelled, but it is still descending. The only problem the probe has occured is that its harpoon landing system did not engage. It is expected to conduct a 2.5 day science experiment sending back images frequently of the comet. The image that is shown here is from the probe roughly around three kilometers away from the comet. 

Observation Post 11/14

Observation Post

Week of 11/8

The majority of my observations were made at around 8:00 at night and at 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate to cold temperature. The sky on few days was clear while all other days were cloudy. I did my observations at home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. On the days that were not cloudy I observed multiple things. I observed the Summer Triangle and what I believe is Polaris and Arcturus with the Big and Little Dipper. I observed the constellation Orion, but no other winter constellations. I observed multiple phases of the moon including a waning gibbous, third quarter, and a waning crescent. 

Observation Post 11/7

Observation Post

Week of 11/1

The majority of my observations were made at around 8:00 at night and at 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate to cold temperature. The sky on some days was clear while other days were cloudy. I did my observations at home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. On the days that were not cloudy I observed multiple things. I observed the Summer Triangle and what I believe is Polaris and Arcturus with the Big and Little Dipper. I observed the constellation Orion, but no other winter constellations. I observed a waning gibbous, full, and waxing gibbous moon. I also observed a strange phenomenon with the moon. It was a foggy morning and the moon was a waxing gibbous, but very close to full. There was a circle of light around the moon that was a good sized ring. Towards the outside of this light ring I observed mutiple colors, mainly red and green, but a little blue was also observed. 

APOD 2.2

November 3 2014

In Green Company: Aurora over Norway

This picture appealed to me because it is realistic, beautiful and majestic. It's amazing seeing the mountain with the person on top who is cheering that they reached the top. It seems very realistic due to the city that appears in the background. The picture is also majestic due to the green lights that appear over the mountains. The post under the picture states that two days the sky was filled with clouds, but the third night appeared with all these lights. It says that many people cheered because of these lights. It states the mountain is in a town in the islands in Norway. It finishes by saying that the Sun has been producing a lot of these lights within a eleven year cycle, and this is at that cycle's peak. 

APOD 2.1

October 27 2014

Plane, Clouds, Moon, Spots, Sun

This picture appealed to me because it seemed familiar. I have seen the movie E.T. multiple times, and this seems somewhat like a scene directly from the movie. The familiarity of the scene to the picture is what drew me towards it. The post starts out with a question: what is that in front of the Sun? The answer is an airplane. The post continues to say that the Sun is covered by clouds in the sky, thus creating its hazy dark effect. The Sun is also covered by the Moon in the top right of it. A good-sized circular chunk is missing from the Sun's top right quarter. What I at first thought was balloons attached to the airplane are actually sun spots. AR 2192 is the name of these sun spots and it is supposedly one of the largest ever seen. The post then gave a timeline of the events as they disappeared. After a few seconds the plane, after a few minutes the clouds, after a few hours the Moon, and after a few days the sun spots. 

Observation Post 10/31

Observation Post

Weeks of 10/20 & 10/27

The majority of my observations were made at around 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate temperature. The sky on some days was clear while other days were cloudy. I did my observations at my home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. One weekend I was in Orlando and observed the sky, which was mostly clear, at different times from midnight to 2 am. In Orlando at this time I observed what I believe is the milky way galaxy, as it seemed like dust in the sky. I also observed numerous stars, but no recognizable constellations other than Scorpius and what I believe to be the Summer Triangle. On the other clear days, multiple observations were made. I observed the infamous Orion yet again, but no other winter constellations were recognizable. I also observed three different moon phases, which includes a waning gibbous, a waning crescent, and a waxing crescent. 

APOD 1.8

October 16 2014

Rosetta's Selfie

This picture appealed to me in that it seemed mysterious. It was different from all the picture in that it observed darker colors, but it was portrayed in a mysterious way, which appealed to me. This picture shows a selfie, or a picture of the Rosetta satellite taken by the Rosetta satellite. At the time this was taken, the satelite was over 450 million km from Earth, but only 16 km from a comet. Along the top the comet, with its double-lobed nucleus, can be seen emitting dust and other particles. Rosetta plan to land on the smaller nucleus of the comet. When the time comes in November, a small ship from Rosetta will be emitted and land on the comet. When it does this it will send pictures back of the comet, but for now this will most likely be the last picture before the ship lands on the comet. 

Observation Post 10/17

Observation Post

Week of 10/13

The majority of my observations were made at around 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate temperature. The sky on some days was clear while other days were cloudy. I did my observations at my home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. On the clear days, multiple observations were made. I observed several phases of the moon mainly focusing around the third quarter moon. I observed a waning gibbous moon, a thrid quarter moon on Wednesday, and I observed a waning crescent moon. I observed numerous stars from the winter set of constellations. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize any other than the infamous Orion. 

Q1 Biography: Johannes Hevelius

Johannes Hevelius

            Johannes Hevelius was born in 1611 and died in 1689, thus living for 88 years. During his life he accomplished many things, especially in the field of astronomy. His father was a prosperous merchant in Germany, thus, Hevelius was sent to school. He originally went to Leiden, then studied at Danzig Gymnasium, then a school at Gondeltsch, then back to Danzig Gymnasium, then back to Leiden. On his second time at Leiden, Hevelius studied jurisprudence. On his second time as Danzig Gymnasium, Hevelius studied under Peter Krueger. Krueger saw that Hevelius learned and understood mathematics and astronomy, thus starting Johannes Hevelius on the path to astronomy greatness. Hevelius also worked in the fields with instrument making and engraving. In 1635 he married Katharina Rebesche, and she helped a lot with Hevelius’ astronomical research and observations. Hevelius’ goal in his studies was to create a detailed star catalog, which was no easy thing to do in the 1600s.

In 1640, Hevelius built his first observatory, for astronomical purposes. Inside this observatory Hevelius developed several instruments. One of these instruments includes an experimental pendulum clock. Hevelius tasked a clockmaker, Wolfgang Günther, and an instrument make, unnamed, to develop his two pendulum clock prototypes. Günther worked to develop the prototypes for the clock and multiple other instruments for Hevelius. In 1659, Hevelius presented a small prototype to the Polish king, Johan Kasimir. Unfortunately, the observatory was burned to the ground in 1679.

In 1656, Hevelius calls his colleague, Christaan Huygens, a dear friend and a marvel to astronomy. Hevelius sent many if not all of his notes to Huygens. These notes include: Selenographia in 1647, Mercurius in sole vicus in 1662, Prodromus cometicus in 1665, Cometographia in 1668, and Machina Coelestis in 1673. A French astronomer, Ismael Bouillau, an English astronomer, Edmund Halley, and Christaan’s brother, Philips Huygens, all visited Hevelius throughout his years as an astronomer. In 1664 Johannes Hevelius became a member of the English Royal Society of Sciences. In 1666, Hevelius also became a member of the French Académie des Sciences. It was established then that Johannes Hevelius had established global recognition.

The work that Johannes Hevelius did to achieve his global fame was impressive. It was established that Hevelius had an eye for observations, and thus kept detailed maps of much of the sky. Hevelius carefully charted detailed patterns of the Moon, the phases of Mercury, sunspots, and multiple comets.

Johannes Hevelius’ most famous work was Selenographia, which was a complete map of the Moon. In this piece of work, Hevelius re-named many features, such as mountains and craters, on the moon. Many of these names are still in use today. The most astonishing part of this work was the drawing of the moon in its different stages of libration. This is how Selenographia ends, with a description of the mounted lunar globe. This description shows the representation of librational movements.

In 1663, Hevelius’ wife Katharina died, thus he then marries a sixteen year-old named Elisabeth Koopman. Like his first wife, Elisabeth helped Hevelius with his observations. Unfortunately in 1679, a fire consumed much of Hevelius’ instruments and his workshop. Most of his records were destroyed, but he managed to save his all-important star catalog.

In 1687, Hevelius creates his Firmamentum Sobiescianum. This is Hevelius’ star atlas. It contained many new stars and constellations. The constellations that Hevelius named and discovered include, Scutum, Lacerta, Vulpecula cum Anser, Canes Venatici, Leo Minor, Lynx, Cerberus, Mons Maenalus, and Triangulum Minus. This star chart catalogued more than 1500 stellar positions, and grew to expand the catalogue of Tycho Brahe.

Also in 1687, when Johannes Hevelius died, his wife, Elisabeth, made sure his remaining works did not go to waste. She made sure that his remaining works were printed.

Observation Post 10/10

Observation Post

Week of 10/6

The majority of my observations were made at around 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate temperature. The sky on some days was clear while other days were cloudy. I did my observations at my home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. On the clear days, multiple observations were made. I observed several phases of the moon mainly focusing around the full moon. A waxing and waning gibbous were also observed throughout the week. I observed what I believe to be Orion, but other than that no other recognizable constellations were seen. 

APOD 1.7

October 4 2014

Mars, Antares, Moon, and Saturn

This picture appealed to me because it is something that is visible by the naked eye and on Earth. This picture was taken at sunset when the sun is still radiating light, but only slightly. It states that Mars, Antares, the Moon, and Saturn are the brightest lights in the night sky. It states that Antaries is in Scorpius' heart, and that is because Antares is in the constellation Scorpius. A sailboat is included in the photo and it helps with the celestial view over the lake. It ends with that all the celestial objects are near the plane of the ecliptic. 

APOD 1.6

September 27 2014

A Launch and a Landing

This picture appealed to me in two main ways. The first was that it was interesting yet unique. The second was that it was something that can be seen from somewhere on earth and can be easily seen. This picture is taken from cape canaveral, on the Atlantic coast. Four pictures were combined to make this one picture. It consists of small star trails and the path of a Falcon 9 rocket. The picture contains the rocket separating itself during its first stage separation. Then it ignites and continues out into the atmosphere. It also shows the rocket's first stage separation coming back down to earth. It ignited and then lands just off the coast. 

Observation Post 10/3

Observation Post

Week of 9/29

The majority of my observations were made at around 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate temperature. The sky on some days was clear while other days were cloudy. I did my observations at my home, and on my way to school. On the days with the cloudy sky no observations could have been made. On the clear days, multiple observations were made. I observed several phases of the moon mainly focusing around the first quarter moon. Several stars were observed, but none that were recognizable as a constellation. 

Q1 Bio Sources

Johannes Hevelius

1.  "Hevelius, Johannes." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 6. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 360-364. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

URL: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX2830901986&v=2.1&u=fl_sarhs&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=d58e0aea63e69ad2cc5b23ebfc80b8ec

2. "Hevelius, Johannes (1611–1687)." Hevelius, Johannes (1611-1687). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

URL: http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/H/Hevelius.html

3. "Biography:Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687)." Bio: Johannes Hevelius. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

URL: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/bios/hevelius/

4. "Johannes Hevelius." Hevelius_Johannes Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

URL: http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Hevelius_Johannes.html

5. "Star Tales - Hevelius Presents His Constellations." Star Tales - Hevelius Presents His Constellations. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

URL: http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/hevelius.htm

6. "Johann Hevelius (1611-1687) - Artwis.com." Artwiscom. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

URL: http://www.artwis.com/articles/johann-hevelius-1611-1687/

7. "The Galileo Project." The Galileo Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

URL: http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/hevelius.html

Observation Post 9/26

Observation Post

Week of 9/22

The majority of my observations were made at around 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate temperature with a dark and cloudy sky. I did my observations at my home, and on my way to school. Due to the cloudy sky, there were a lot of stars that couldn't be observed. There were some stars that I could see, but I unfortunately couldn't see any that I recognize. I also observed a waxing crescent moon early on in the week. 

APOD 1.5

September 20 2014

Shoreline of the Universe

This picture appealed to me because it is beautiful, but it looks like something that can be seen from Earth. This feature appeals to me becuase it's always interesting to be able to see amazing things like this with the naked eye. This picture is of the Milky Way Galaxy. It looks like a bunch of waves, so it can be assumed there are a lot of stars and dust within the galaxy. The picture is taken in North Carolina, so it is able to be seen from Earth. Sagittarius and Scorpius can be seen towards the center of the picture. Mars, Saturn, and Alpha Librae also form a bright triangle within the picture. 

Observation Post 9/19

Observation Post

Week of 9/15

The majority of my observations were made at around 5:30 in the morning. They were done in a moderate temperature with a dark and clear sky. I did my observation at my home, and on my way to school. Earlier in the school year I observed Jupiter and Venus as they were close to each other. Other things that I observed were different stages of the moon. I recall seeing a full moon, a waning gibbous, a first quarter, a waxing crescent, and a waning crescent. I also observed several stars throughout the observations. Some were bright, thus having a higher magnitude, and some were dim, thus having a lower magitude. 

APOD 1.4

15 September 2014

62 Kilometers above Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko

This picture sparked my interest in two main ways. First, it seemed very impressive and beautiful in ways. Second, it seems dark and mysterious which is always an interesting subject to explore. There is a spacecraft, named Rosetta, currently in orbit of a comet. The comet's name is Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta is circling and taking pictures of this comet. It took ten years for Rosetta to reach this comet, and when it reached it, it took pictures of its double-lobed nucleus. On average, the comet is as dark as coal. The comet is about 4 km across with very low gravity. Eventually, Rosetta plans to release the probe that will be the first to land on a comet's nucleus. 

APOD 1.3

September 10 2014

Laniakea: Our Home Super-cluster of Galaxies

This picture sparked my interest due to the vibrant and unique blend of colors that are present in the picture. In the picture, one of the galaxy super-clusters, Laniakea is shown. This super-cluster houses many galaxies, including our home galaxy: The Milky Way. Neighboring galaxies and the entire Virgo cluster of galaxies is present within Laniakea. This is, however, a computer-generated drawing that has colors that correspond to different types of galaxies. Laniakea is outlined in orange with the Milky Way galaxy being the blue dot. This clearly shows that we are very tiny compared to the rest of the universe. 

APOD 1.1

August 28 2014

Messier 20 and 21

This picture sparked my interest simply because it was elegant and beautiful all while being simple. In the picture, the Trifid Nebulla is shown. In this Nebulla, the constellation Sagittarius is located. The aspects of the picture that sparked my interest are known as cosmic contrasts since there are bright and dark colors that contrast each other. The Trifid Nebulla is around 300,000 years old, which is surprisingly young. The picture also shows the star cluster Messier 21, which is near Messier 20. Although the two are near each other, they are nothing like each other and share no similarities. 

APOD 1.2

September 3

Cloud Clusters and Comet Siding Spring

This picture includes a comet that was discovered in 2013 by the name of Comet Siding Spring. It is on track to pass very close to Mars within the next six weeks. It will pass so close that it is in fact just over a third the distance that Earth is from the moon. This can cause a problem for the orbiters that are positioned around Mars. Controllers plan to avoid damage to the orbiters from the comet by positioning the orbiters on the other side of Mars from where the comet will pass. The picture also includes two globular star clusters and the Small Magellanic Cloud. The two globular star clusters are  47 Tucanae and NGC 263.