Reflection

Throughout this astronomy blog, I have learned a lot more than I originally could have hoped.  I have expressed it during some of the posts, but I cannot express my gratitude enough for this opportunity to expand my knowledge.  I had been interested in astronomy when I was younger, but it began to take a back seat in my life when I had to focus on my other studies and sports.  Having this project reinvigorated that love of astronomy and was really refreshing and calming, especially during finals week.  I learned about nebulae, constellations, and light pollution in a way that I most likely would not have figured out on my own.  I never really thought about astronomy anymore; I would see stars and comment about how beautiful it looked or something along those lines, but as I grew up, I forgot to show my appreciation for everything.  I am at a point in my life where my appreciation in the little things in life is beginning to flourish; I am beginning to recognize more things to be appreciative about and this was a perfectly timed project.  I was able to truly appreciate the night sky and enjoy every little aspect about it.  I remember one of the nights when I went out to my boyfriend's room, I got out of my car and ended up spending fifteen minutes outside watching the stars.  He actually came out because he was wondering why it was taking me so long and we ended up just standing outside looking up until another one of our friends came out and asked what we were doing.  He then stood outside looking at the stars with us as well! It is in these little moments that I am incredibly thankful for this project and Illinois College. I hope you guys have enjoyed my blog as much as I have! Happy holidays!

Crab Nebula

Although the pictures below make it kind of challenging for anyone, including me, to find the Crab Nebula within them, those are the pictures that Harvard MicroObservatory sent me.  It also does not take away from the fact that the Crab Nebula is pretty incredible.  It is a supernova nebula that was created from the death of a star and the gas that was released from it ().  It was first spotted by Chinese astronomers on July 4, 1054, which is a considerably long time ago ().  Although their technology was not as advanced as ours, they were still able to see this beautiful nebula because apparently, this nebula could be seen with the naked eye for almost 2 years due to its brightness (). In 1758, Charles Messier discovered this blob in the sky while looking for Halley's Comet and named it M1 ().  If you are ever able to see this nebula, which you can with a pair of binoculars if you know where to look, then you really are in for a treat.  It is a beautiful, blobby patch of gas that has continued to mesmerize astronomers.

Redd, Nola Taylor. "The Crab Nebula (M1): Facts, Discovery & Images | Space.com." Space.com. N.p., 
8 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.

Taken by Harvard MicroObservatory 11/30/15

Taken by Harvard MicroObsevatory 11/30/15

Rainy Days

So, my blog is coming to a close soon.  I only have a few more eligible days left where I can post a few more pictures and a few more researched paragraphs.  However, this is the weather that we receive.  I took the picture below a little while ago.  It's not star-filled like the other ones I have posted, which I am sorry about, but I still think it looks really pretty.  Like many of the other college students out there, my school has finals week this week.  I cannot stress enough how important it is just to take a little time off for yourselves and relax.  It is such a beautiful thing.  Coming home at night and looking up at the stars is one of the most relaxing things I have done this past week and it really is amazing how much it has calmed me down in the midst of all of this stress.  I am sorry for the lack of a beautiful, starry picture, but I think this is nice and beautiful as well in a different kind of way.

Taken by iPhone 6 plus camera 12/13/15 at 11 pm

Without Light Pollution

So, it is now that much closer to finals week.  Technically, it is less than a week from when finals begin.  That's a little stressful to think about, so as my break from homework, I decided to relax and take a drive.  Now, this is not that uncommon for me, but what I did notice was pretty extraordinary.

I'm from Southern California, which is all city.  In terms of light pollution and astronomy, we are one of the worst areas to view stars just because of the difficulty to see them.  I've been camping in the woods before, and the difference between the sky in the city versus the sky in a rural area.  I guess tonight I had forgotten about all of that until I drove about a mile out of Jacksonville and opened my sunroof.  I could see hundreds of stars, even though it's a little cloudy.  In comparison, as I was looking outside of Parker, I could see maybe five.  It was blissful and relaxing to see the sky so brilliant.  Just like I had mentioned in my last post, it made me and my stresses seem small in comparison.  I know it does not seem like much in the pictures, but it's honestly incredible and I recommend that everyone should see it.  It's really good for people to take a step back and notice what's going on around them, and tonight I was reminded of that.

Taken by iPhone 6 plus camera with flash about 1 mi outside of Jacksonville, IL 12/11/15
This is the telephone wire that I conveniently stopped under when I was trying to take a picture of the sky. 

Taken by iPhone 6 plus camera without flash about 1 mi outside of Jacksonville, IL 12/11/15
Although my camera was not able to capture the image, there were what appeared to be hundreds of stars right above me. 

Some Random Stars

So, I know the title of this post makes it seem somewhat obscure, but these were actually really cool.  I was looking up at the stars tonight, and I happened to stumble upon these six stars that form an "M" shape.  I don't know if it was the insane amount of mechanisms I had just done for Organic (they kind of remind me of a pentane, which I know sounds rather nerdy), but they were really interesting to me.  I pulled out my phone and drew them and then looked at my astronomy app, which also sounds pretty nerdy, to figure out what constellation they could be.  All of them make up part of the constellation Cassiopeia.  They are all stars, except for IC59, which is a nebula. Their names from the bottom left to the bottom right (moving like you would if you were comparing it to a pentane) are as follows: Caph, Schedir, Achird, Navi, IC59, Rukbah and Segin.

I know it's finals week and the stress is real, but it's manageable.  It all kind of comes down to the fact that I am still really amazed by the world and I am  incredibly grateful for where I am.  Tonight was such a refreshing night in the sense that I had an overwhelming appreciation for everything around me and that these stars made my stresses feel small in comparison.  It's amazing what things can happen when you show a little curiosity and willingness.

Drawn by iPhone 6 plus camera via snapchat on 12/9/15 at 10:00 pm

Taken by iPhone 6 plus camera via astronomy app on 12/9/15 at 10 pm
The stars pictured here are from the astronomy app on my phone. This picture is just to supplement my other picture. 

Pleiades

Pleiades is a star cluster also known as the Seven Sisters, and scientists believe that they are approximately 100 million years old ("The Pleiades"). It contains hundreds of stars, but due to our distance and light pollution, we are only able to see a handful of the stars that are actually present in this star cluster ("The Pleiades").

I know I did not know as much about astronomy as I do now. I am really thankful for this opportunity to expand my knowledge about the universe in a way that I had not thought about since I was a little kid.  You see the stars every night, but do not really take in the full understanding of what's out there.  I hope that I have encouraged you all to continue to expand your knowledge in any way you can.

"The Pleiades." The Pleiades. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.

Taken by Harvard MicroObservatory 11/29/15
Pleiades can be seen somewhat off center to the right. In this picture, it is hard to see it due to the filter used by Harvard MicroObservatory, but it is slightly more clustered than the other stars in this picture.

Orion Constellation

When I was in fifth grade, I went to Outdoor Science School as a weeklong excursion sponsored by my elementary school.  I was taught about geology, nature, astronomy and many other things, but astronomy has seemed to stick with me since then (probably because I had already had an interest in the stars but did not know what else I could do about it besides look up).  One of the first constellations we were taught about at Outdoor Science School was Orion's Belt, and later the rest of his body.  I have always been amazed at the fact that no matter what, to this day, I can still manage to find Orion's belt, which then leads me to see his head, bow, and legs, on a clear enough night.  Tonight was no exception.  When I look approximately 150 degrees southeast (thanks to the navigation from my phone's compass), I was able to spot Orion.  Although I was not able to get a good enough picture on my phone, I drew out the basic constellation that I was able to see, which is the image below.  His body is laying on its side with his arrow firing up and his belt the middle three stars.  After I saw his belt, the first star I was able to see due to its brightness, was his left foot (as seen in the top right corner of the picture).  I hope you guys continue to watch the stars and try to find Orion the next time you're looking up.

Drawn by Ashley Sholmire, 12/3/15
Seen at 150 degrees southeast