APOD 4.1

Today I am writing about Island Universe NGC 5584. This is a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way, but it has several interesting features. Among these features are a recently exploded Type I Supernova and over 250 Cepheid Variable Stars. Other amazing facts about this galaxy is its size, which is over 50,000 light years, and its distance which is over 72 million light years away. Another interesting fact about this galaxy is that it was used as data for part of a recent study which helped to improve the accuracy of the Hubble constant, which states how fast the Universe is expanding. Even more amazing than this is that this study actually supports the theory of dark matter, which so far is the only theory that explains why the Universe is expanding even faster.

Astronomy Night

The first star that I saw was Sirius at about 8 PM shortly after the Sun set. The next 2 were Procyon and Canopus, which are both first magnitude stars and among the brightest in the sky. After it got dark we identified, Orion, Orion's Belt, Canis Major and Minor, the area where Monoceros should be, some stars that were part of Columbus and Lepus, The Big Dipper, Triangulum, Auriga, Hydra, Leo, Gemini, and a few others. We identified Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Rigel, Castor, Pollux, Sirius, Canopus, Capella, Aldebaron, and the Kids in Auriga. There was also one satellite that we saw that was visible for about 30 seconds. Through the telescopes we saw M42 in Orion and Saturn which was very detailed and the space between the planet and the rings was actually visible. Overall it was a very fun stargaze and we were able to identify a large number of celestial objects.

APOD 3.8

This is a picture of NGC 3628, which is an island universe. It is believed to be a spiral galaxy that is seen on its side. This image shows how thin these galaxies can be, especially when compared to their diameters. This is also an interesting picture because it is about 35 million light years away which is unbelievably far, but is seen in fairly high resolution, which is an astounding achievement. Overall this is an amazing image because it shows an entire galaxy in high resolution that is extremely far away and more than likely harbors some kind of life form due to the very large number of stars, and more than likely planets.

APOD 3.7

This is an image of Cassiopeia A, which is a supernova remnant that appeared about 300 years ago. In this picture, which is a composite of X-ray and visible light. It spans about 11,000 light years across, which is relatively small for a nebula, but it is rapidly expanding because it was recently formed. This image is even more astounding because you can actually see the light from the neutron star. This star is only a few miles across, which means it has very little surface area, but the fact that it can be seen from Earth means that it is extremely bright. Another interesting fact about this neutron star is that it is forming a super-fluid that is frictionless. Nothing on Earth could possibly compare to this material, but that fact that it exists in the Universe is astounding.