Observation Post 3/20

Observation Post

Week of 3/16

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 also observed the constellation of Pegasus, the Winged Horse. Another observed constellation was Orion, the hunter. I was able to delineate between Rigel and Betelgeuse. Using the location of Orion, and Orion's belt, I was able to locate what I belive was Capella, which is in the constellation of Auriga. I also observed multiple phases of the moon, including a waning gibbous, a third quarter, a waxing crescent, and a new moon. 

Q3 Biography: Alvan Graham Clark

Alvan Graham Clark

            Alvan Graham Clark was the son of Alvan Clark, thus making him Alvan Clark Senior, and Maria Pease Clark. The Clarks had another son, George Bassett, who was older than Alvan Junior. Alvan Senior was first a portrait painter and a calico engraver. He eventually grew into the interest of making telescopes. Alvan Junior's brother, George Bassett attempted to help Alvan Senior to make a reflecting telescope. George, who was an 1844 science student, attempted to cast and grind the telescope with Alvan Senior, but the two produced nothing solid. They then switched gears and attempted to create a refracting telescope. Eventually they were able to start a company that was producing and selling refracting telescopes. The company was named Alvan Clark and sons. 

            Alvan Clark Senior and George Bassett visited the Harvard College Observatory's refracting telescope. At the time this telescope was viewed to be one of the greatest refracting telescopes. The duo soon noticed problems with the glass of this telescope. Soon after the company was created they became known for fixing this issue on their own telescopes. They were known for large telescope with exceptional quality. Many people coveted these telescopes, or mainly the glass that the Clarks were so well known for. The Clarks produced the glass for numerous telescopes that are still in use today. Some of these telescopes are located at: the United States Naval Observatory, the Lick Observatory, the Yerkes Observatory, the Adler Planetarium, and several more. Thanks to the Clarks contribution towards the development of the telescope, America was very close to, if not equal to that of the greatness of the European telescopes. 

             Despite the original work for the company being done by Alvan Senior and George Bassett, Alvan Junior soon entered the business. Both Alvan Senior and Alvan Junior worked on the refinement and production of the lenses while George Bassett focused on the mechanical placement and construction of the lenses. When they completed a lens it was checked to make sure it was up to the company's standards. This was done by looking at either artificial or genuine stars. 

           Alvan Graham Clark, having the foundation for Astronomy laid for by his family's telescope company, accomplished many astronomical things within his lifetime. His main achievement was locating double stars, which are two stars that appear to be very close to each other. The main double star that he discovered was that of Sirius A and Sirius B. In 1844, a German astronomer predicted that Sirius was a double star due to its motion. This was later confirmed by Alvan Graham Clark. Sirius B is a small white dwarf star that accompanies Sirius A closely. Sirius B is a dim star with a magnitude of 8, whereas Sirius A is the brightest star in the night-time sky with a brightness of -1.5. 

           Alvan Graham Clark lived an accomplished life in the field of astronomy. His family's telescope company helped propel America into the greater production of telescopes. He also discovered around 14 double stars within his lifetime. After his father and brother's death, Alvan Junior continued on the family telescope business, and was even able to produce a forty in refracting telescope. Alvan Graham Clark died shortly after the opening of this telescope. At the time he was sixty-four years of age. He died on the ninth of June, 1897. 

APOD 3.7

February 28 2015
Moon-Venus-Mars Skyline

This picture appealed to me because it consists of a subject that I have previously observed and discussed. This picture shows the occurrence of the closeness of the Moon, Mars, and Venus. This occurred on February 20th and has been discussed multiple time through previous observation and APOD posts. The picture was taken over Quebec City while at night. Due to the mass amounts of lights coming from Quebec City not much else can be observed in the sky. The comments discuss the location of the occurrence and what actually occurred, which have all been previously discussed. 

Observation Post 3/6

Observation Post

Week of 3/2

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 also observed the constellation of Pegasus, the Winged Horse. Another observed constellation was Orion, the hunter. Using the location of Orion, and Orion's belt, I was able to locate what I belive was Eridanus, the river. Although there were few stars that indicated these, I was able to locate and observe what I believe are the locations of Lepus, the hare, and Columba, the dove. I also observed multiple phases of the moon, including a waxing gibbous, and a full moon. 

Planetary Nebula List

1.) Name: Ring Nebula
Constellation:Lyra
Size:1.2'
Distance:700 pc
Image:
2.) Name: Eskimo Nebula
Constellation:Gemini
Size:0.68 ly
Distance:900 pc
Image:

3.) Name: Cat's Eye Nebula
Constellation:Draco
Size:0.2 ly
Distance:1000 pc
Image: 

4.) Name: Dumbbell Nebula
Constellation:Vulpecula
Size:3 ly
Distance:417 pc
Image: 

5.) Name: Medusa Nebula
Constellation:Gemini
Size:4 ly
Distance:460 pc
Image: 

6.) Name: Helix Nebula
Constellation: Aquarius
Size:2.5 ly
Distance:219 pc
Image: 

7.) Name: Horsehead Nebula
Constellation: Orion
Size:2.5 ly
Distance:1500 ly
Image: 

8.) Name: Owl Nebula
Constellation:Ursa Major
Size:3.5 ly
Distance:621 pc
Image: 

9.) Name: Butterfly Nebula
Constellation:Ophiuchus
Size:2.7 ly
Distance:650 pc
Image: 

10.) Name: Lemon Slice Nebula
Constellation:Camelopardalis
Size:0.4 ly
Distance:4500 ly
Image: