Astronomy Picture of the Day

Pictured here is the Anemic Spiral Galaxy (NGC 4921). It is estimated to be out 310 million light years away. It is a member of the Coma Cluster of Galaxies and is called anemic because of its low surface brightness and low rate of star formation.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

This photo spans the California Nebula to the Pleidaes star cluster. The California Nebula (named for its shape) is 60 light years long and 1,500 lightyears away from Earth. The reddish color is caused by ionized hydrogen atoms from the star Xi Persei, the blue star to the right of the nebula. The Peliades

Astronomy Picture of the Day

The globular cluster M15 can be seen in the center of this photo. It is a grouping of 100,000 stars
and orbits the Milky Way. It is one of 170 globular clusters and is easily seen with only binoculars, as it has one of the densest concentrations of stars in the universe. This globular cluster is 35,000 light years away from the constellation Hercules.This picture spans 120 light years and was taken by the Hubble Telescope.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

 

Pictured here is the barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 1097. It is located 45 million lightyears away from Earth and can be found in the constellation Fornax. There is another small companion galaxy seen below the center of NGC 1097; it is located 40 million lightyears from its companion. The jets seen in the nucleus of the galaxy probably came from fossil star steams remaining from the destuction of a smaller galaxy in NGC 1097's past. 

Astronomy Picture of the Day

This picture shows both the Horsehead Nebula and the Orion Nebula. The Horsehead Nebula is shown in the left of the photo: a beautiful red glow. Alnitak, the easternmost star in Orion's Belt, is the brightest star left of the Horsehead. Alnitak is also the flame nebula. The Orion Nebula is the cluster of pink-purple gas in the top right. Immediately to the left of the Orion Nebula is the reflection nebula often called the Running Man.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Shown here is an aurora over Norway that seems to be in the shape of, what I think to be, a cobra. It is considered to be one of the most detailed auroras to date. The colors of the aurora are caused by high atmospheric content of oxygen and nitrogen that react with incoming electrons. Energetic flares on the sun also cause auroras. 

Astronomer's Biography

Sir John William Frederick Herschel was born an only child into a family of astronomers on March 7, 1792 in Buckinghamshire, England.  His father, Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel discovered Uranus before John William Frederick Herschel’s birth. He was first educated at public schools and then received tutoring from a Scottish mathematician. Herschel went on to attend Cambridge University at St. John’s College. While there he worked with Charles Babbage, a mathematician and inventor of the early computer, and George Peacock, another mathematician and theologian. Together they founded the Analytical Society of Cambridge which aimed to bring the more sophisticated methods of German calculus into England.

While working to become a lawyer, Herschel decided he was dissatisfied with his field of choice instead taught mathematics at Cambridge for one year and then left to assist his father with astronomical research. He worked with his father to construct telescopes and was inducted into the Royal Astronomical Society in 1820. Herschel also continued to work in mathematics and was awarded the Copley Medal from the Royal society in 1821 for his achievements in mathematics and the physics of light.

In order to further understand the gravitational force observed in the universe, Herschel set out to observe double stars and their movements. His accomplished father had a wealth of research and observations on various double stars that greatly aided Herschel’s endeavors. Herschel worked with James South to compile a catalog of research that earned them the Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society in 1824 and the Lalande Prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences in 1825.These accomplishments later merited his knighting in 1831.

Herschel was determined to complete his father's work, so he began planning a trip to the Southern Hemisphere in the 1830s. He set sail with his family to the Cape of Good Hope in November of 1833. The family settled on a Dutch farm slightly outside of Cape Town where the skies were extremely clear. These skies allowed for much more concise observation than that in England. Over the course of five years Herschel recorded the locations of 68,948 stars and catalogs of double stars and nebulae. He was able to make detailed observations of the Great Nebula within Orion, Magelannic Clouds, Halley's Comet, and Saturn's satellites. Herschel invented a device that measured solar radiation and was able to accurately record patterns of sun spots. Herschel returned to England in 1838 and was made a baronet.

Beginning in the 1840s, Herschel began working on his book Outlines of Astronomy, published in 1849. The text was intended for educated laymen and was very successful; it was translated into both Chinese and Arabic. During this time Herschel also wrote Results of Astronomical Observations, Made During the Years 1834–38 at the Cape of Good Hope which contained the catalogs and observations he made while in the south of the Africa. 

After publication, Herschel sought out public office and was made Master of the Mint in 1850. Eventually he became too stressed by his position of power and resigned in 1856. He continued working on obersavtions of nebulae and double stars until his death on May 11, 1871. 

Works Cited

"Herschel | Sir | John Frederick William | 1792-1871 | Astronomer." Herschel | Sir | John Frederick William | 1792-1871 | Astronomer. Navigational Aids for the History of Science, Technology, and Environment, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

"John Herschel." John Herschel. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

"Sir John Herschel, 1st Baronet (English Astronomer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Shown here is a hybrid eclipse of the sun that occurred in 2005. One half of this photo was taken about 2,200 kilometers west of the Galapagos Islands where the eclipse was seen as total. Near Panama, the other half of the photo was taken of the annular eclipse. Hybrid solar eclipses occur around once every 159 years and are among the rarest of solar eclipses.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Despite its extra-terrestrial appearance, pictured here is planet Earth. This is a geothermically active area of a group of small volcanoes in northeastern Iceland. The aurora borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights, can be spotted in the background. These lights are caused by geomagnetic storms. These geomagnetic storms are caused by high levels of solar activity.