APOD 4.1

     I was looking through the APODs when I saw this one. It is titled NGC 2403 in Camelopardalis. I picked this APOD because we learned about the constellation Camelopardalis in our astronomy class, and also because Mr. Percival says he makes fun of this constellation.. At the center of this picture is the island galaxy also known as NGC 2403.This is about 10,000 light-years away and about 50,000 light-years across.

Quarter 3 Observations

Recently I went to astronomy night. I stayed the whole time and observed many planets such as Jupiter, Mars, and Venus. I was also able to observe various constellations such as Orion, Canis Major, and Canis Minor. I learned the location of various stars such as Sirius and Canopus. I was also able to observe the Pleiades and many more objects of the night sky. 

     Over spring break I looked up and noticed that it was a waning crescent moon outside. I was also able to observe the constellation Orion and the star Sirius multiple times over the break.

APOD 3.8

     Imaging being able to see this just by looking out of your window. How cool will that be? In this picture the an aurora unfolded in the backyards of citizens in Vallentuna, Sweden. Auroras were sighted and photographed on the 17th and 18th of March, some could even be seen in the Midwestern U.S.! These Auroras occurred as a result of coronal mass ejections caused by solar activity. These coronal ejections struck earth's magnetosphere two days later and caused this view.

APOD 3.7

    I was recently looking at the APOD titled Cometary Globule CG4. This is a very faint globule in the southern sky positioned about 1,300 light years away. It is near the constellation Puppis and this nebula's tail is about 8 light year long with enough material in it to form several stars like the sun. It's amazing that something could appear so small but in reality be so big. Its still unknown how its form came into being but its  tail came from the remains of a Vela supernova.

Henry N. Russell Biography

Henry N. Russell Biography

            Henry Norris Russell is an astronomer from the nineteenth century who is known for developing the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. He was born in 1877 in New York. Russell later went on to study at Princeton and earned his doctorate in astronomy in 1899 at age 22.  In 1903 Russell raveled to Cambridge and worked with Arthur Robert Hinks at the Cambridge observatory.  He did research at the Carnegie Institution and was strongly influenced by astronomer George Darwin. He later returned to Princeton in 1905 and became an astronomy instructor and professor. He married Lucy May Cole in 1908 and ended up having four children with her.  Henry Norris Russell died in Princeton at the age of 79 in 1957.

            Henry Norris Russell was known as one of the most influential astronomers of his time. He helped create the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram which is a graph that shows the relationship between a star’s intrinsic brightness and spectral type. This was used to further a theory on how stars evolved. While he was working at the Cambridge University Observatory he developed one of the first photographic parallax programs to determine the distance to certain stars.  At Princeton Russell realized that the future of astronomy was in problem-oriented research.  When he was head of the research department he was free to use his math skills to search out and solve many astronomically related problems using large-scale observing programs.  At Princeton Russell was always doing research.  He spent most of his time doing research and shunned much of his academic and administrative duties. Therefore the school grew little in its staff and equipment.

            Russell’s research was mainly focused on planetary and stellar astronomy and astrophysics. He managed to develop an efficient method to analyze the orbits of binary stars. He was even able to come up with a way to calculate the masses and dimensions of eclipsing variable stars. He could even measure distances, motions, and masses of groups of binary stars. Russell wanted to confirm the theory of stellar evolution. With his diagram he was able to illustrate why this theory was viable and described what would be later known as Russell’s theory of stellar evolution. This theory was very popular until disproved by Arthur Stanley Eddington.

            After 1920 Russell focused mainly on researching the spectrum. He realized that the physical state of a star could be analyzed through its spectrum. He later went on to form networks of laboratories and observatory groups to work on analyzing line structures of complex spectra. Though this he became one of the most influential astronomers of his time.

Planetary Nebulae

The Ghost of Jupiter is in the Constellation Hydra. It is about 1.4 kilo-Light-years away and was discovered in 1785.


The Cat's Eye Nebula is in the constellation Draco, and is about 3.3  kilo-light years away. This Nebulae has a diameter of about .4 light years.


The Eskimo Nebula is about 2.9 kilo-Light Years away in the constellation Gemini. This nebula is about .68 light years across.


The Lemon Slice Nebula is about 4.5 kilo-light years away in the constellation Camelopardalis. It's radius is about .8 light years across.


The Little Ghost Nebula is found in the constellation Ophiuchus about 2 to 5 kilo-light years away. This nebula was discovered prior to 1800.


The Retina Nebula is about 2 kilo-light years away in the constellation Lupus. This nebula is found in the Southern Hemisphere and was discovered around 1888.


The Spiral Planetary Nebula is found in the constellation Musca and about 2 kilo-light years away. this Nebula is about 2 light years across.


The Stingray Nebula is the youngest known planetary nebula. It is located in the constellation Ara and is about 10 kilo-light years away. This nebula is small with a diameter of about .16 light years across.


The Ant Nebula is found in the constellation Norma about 8,000 light years away. It's shape resembles an ant and it is about 2 light years across.


The Spirograph Nebula is located in the constellation Lepus. It is about 1.3 kilo-light years away and has a diameter of about .3 light years.