8-7-10

Solar maximum... a time of sunspots, solar flares, auroras, and the occasional life-impacting solar storm. Lovely, right?

What is solar maximum?
First of all, I'm not an expert. Just saying.

The Sun goes through 11 year cycles. Like I said above, there is increased sunspot activity, and the Sun is the most active at this time.

The last solar maximum happened when I was three... so this is the first one I'll be able to experience one and actually remember it! It will happen a whole bunch of other times in my lifetime, but... hooray for firsts!

I've been browsing YouTube for cool videos of the Sun... preferably with Star Wars music in the background. But I didn't find anything. And as my computer and I aren't good enough to make our own video, I'm going to present to you two videos: one is the actual video, the other is the music you should listen to. The music makes all the difference, as you'll see in a minute.

Link number one: Sun Activity
NOTE: You have to mute the music on this link. Unless you want to listen to it; it's just not dramatic enough...

Link number two- open this in a different tab: Star Wars- Duel of the Fates
Do NOT mute this one. Go back to the other video and watch it with this music.

...Cool, right? Kinda intimating. "Witness the power of this fully operational ball of plasma!"

And just to make things better, NASA expects this to be 30% to 50% stronger than our last one. See here. Yowch. Most expect it to be at the height of solar maximum by 2012. Hm. But just look at the Sun now. It's already pretty active, and some sunspots pose a threat for solar flares.

7-20-10

There was an earthquake.

First, let us clarify one thing: I am not giving away the exact location of this earthquake as this is a public post that anyone can read. I'm sure you can make an educated guess or look it up if you really wanted to.

For the record, I felt the earthquake.
For the record, President Obama did not.

See, an earthquake occurred recently on the East Coast of the United States. Earthquakes that you can actually feel are not common, but they're not... uncommon, especially around here. The East U.S. is in the middle of a continental tectonic plate aptly named the North American Plate. The rock in that area is old. Yes, very, very old. In addition, the rock around here makes seismic waves (earthquake waves, basically) travel better. The earthquake was a magnitude 3.6, and it traveled farther than you might expect.

Now, the burning question(s) I read/heard about:

1) Is this the beginning of DISASTER!!!!!!????
Answer: I can't be sure, but my instincts tell me no.

2) But... we're in the middle of a plate! Right?
Answer: Yeah... and the U.S Geological survey doesn't even know what fault caused the earthquake, so... who knows what's up with the rock?

3) Is it related to the capping of the oil well in the Gulf?
Answer: Lemme guess... you all read that on the Internet. The answer is no.

-----
Ah, the East Coast. We are awesome, but we're not exactly earthquake aware. This is what some people thought the early morning earthquake was:
-A big truck
-A dream
-A plane crash
-The dog...?
-A school explosion
-Underground explosion
-A helicopter
-Construction work

Yeah... what went through my mind? "It's not an earthquake."

-----The experience------
And now, I record my ~thrilling~ eyewitness account of this trembler.

I wake up on my side facing the window. I can't see over the window so I'm left staring at a wall. It's awfully puzzling. "Whoa, it's shaking... big truck... no, not big truck. Why is my bedframe shaking? I'm kicking it... no, I'm not. Earthquake? Naw. Earthquake? Naw. Dream."
I get up; my parents didn't feel the earthquake, so I went back to sleep.
Later that morning I am woken up and informed that it was an earthquake. I felt like a kid on Christmas.

Heh, so that's what happened. Nice to know our rocks are (mostly... hopefully) stress free.

7-16-10

Sigh, busy summer. How time flies. (or does it? Does it fly like an arrow or a hawk that just goes in circles? I'm referring to the model with the pizza-- excluding two slices. But you'd have to bend space yourself to do that, and I'm not quite sure if the pizza being a circle was representing what I think it was.)

Anyway, in case you didn't know, there was a solar eclipse a few days ago. It was in the south Pacific, so no one in the US saw it.

The south Pacific... is beautiful, really. Here are some pictures:

http://spaceweather.com/eclipses/gallery_11jul10_page3.htm?PHPSESSID=79vgjj5fv7ajq95ocq6ga8kgk1

Here's hoping that link works; if not let me know and I'll fix it. My personal favorite is the very first one. Isn't that amazing? Nice corona there.

Let's see... as far as satellite tracking goes... the International Space Station has been spotted twice. Both times it was seen with a magnitude below -2. Not bad. I really liked how it was red lower on the horizon because of all the atmosphere. Then you could watch it get bigger and brighter and then fade on the opposite horizon. Fascinating.

Currently unsure of what to do, as the bridge project was put off until I can find better working space; stepped on the Lego model at night; ow. Looking at Sloan Digital Sky Survey projects and contemplating... thinking... I shall have to choose one later.

I was awake for that earthquake we experienced this morning. I'm still gathering some information before I post about it, so I'll try to post as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!

6.27.20

Finally, another ISS sighting! And this time I was the first to spot it. Unfortunately, I mistook it for a plane at first.

Magnitude of -3. Just about as bright as Venus. This time I couldn't chase it up the street. I had to carefully job backwards along the edge of my yard to watch it poke in and out of clouds and trees. It was going really fast. I was able to watch it about two minutes total.

6-22-10

It's not what it seems! No, I did not abandon this blog for a simpler, lazier summer lifestyle. I simply got preoccupied... sleeping a lot. I did manage to clean my room.

Haven't brought the telescope out yet this summer, but we did manage to spot a satellite. Magnitude .9; north west I think.

Next project: During the school year we had to build a bridge out of balsa wood and glue that could support a brick. Well, my partner and I did so, but I wasn't too pleased with the outcome. I mean, it held the brick. But I figured I'd go to the craft store and get some good glue and balsa wood and try again! It's going to be an I-beam, but if I have spare wood I may attempt some other designs. Pictures, blue print, notes, etc. will all be posted.

5-31-10

11:10 last night marked the first attempt to find the mysterious US Air Force space plane X-37B. We finally got a satellite tracker for my Mom's ipod, which was actually really helpful.

On May 30th it had a dim magnitude of 3.5. You were supposed to be able to see it in the west... but the maximum elevation was only 34 degrees.

My Dad thought he saw something, but we lost it.

Then my Dad saw something else, but it was closer to the east. We think it was another satellite. It was extremely dim.

5-1-10

Hi, everyone. Thanks for reading. I should probably mention that I won't be posting again until the summer. School keeps me really busy. See ya in June~

3-30-10

This post is gonna be random blathering, mostly.
...But I do enjoy a good ramble. For example, one time in Spanish class I made sure all my sentences centered around Ents from Lord of the Rings. A few minutes later I was reminiscing about the time I had soft ice cream in New York.

Anyway, enough rambling about stuff not astronomy-related. I'm biased, but few things are more interesting to talk about than astronomy. Anything else I can think of that is equally interesting has to do with global warming, Star Wars, or the watershed. So... I'll stick with something science-y. Even though global warming and the watershed are very scientific. And Star Wars in sci fi.

On global warming: Seriously, we're in very deep fodder. Act now! Stop carbon emissions! Don't leave every light in your house on when you go on vacation! (Who does that, anyway?)

On the watershed/saving water: Um... save every drop! Don't dump chemicals down the drain. Treasure the Chesapeake. 'Nough said?

On Star Wars: Vote Boba Fett for Mr. Star Wars 2010! And for your information, the Clone Wars series on Cartoon Network is very... childish. The ratings haven't been very high, anyway. And I'm still trying to figure out why no one liked The Phantom Menace! Sure, Jar Jar kinda blew it, but... really.

Right now I'm working on a research paper on time travel. It's sooo fun; I don't even have this much fun writing stories.

Yeah; I did just say that. Oh, I'm also writing this, trying to figure out why my glasses keep sliding down my nose, and humming the song "Blue" by Eiffel 65. It's techo. It's about a blue guy. It's awesome.

Through all my research, I haven't seen a single theory that suggests that to go back (or forward) in time, you could hop out of time and reenter in another point in time. I suppose that's kiiiinda what it's like with a black hole. Really? I dunno, people always use the phrase 'travel through time.' Suppose you were to hop out of the universe, where there is... um, no time, and then hop back in at some other point in time? You probably couldn't control where you were going to end up, though. And with the Law of Conservation of Energy, you can't really leave the universe.

There's my idea. Thought I'd put it out there. It has major flaws and all, but it's something to think about.

3-19-10

Just came inside! It's chilly out. Especially if you're wearing flip flops; I don't recommend it.

Anyway... the sky was so clear! Well, to the south it was cloudy but we couldn't see that anyway because of street lights and trees. But the Orion constellation was brilliant. I could see a lot of the stars in it; as well as a ton of others you don't see on any given night.

First we saw Capella and Sirius; 'cause they were the telescope's calibration stars. Then we did went to the Moon- and it was so cool. 'Lil crescent; lots of craters. I got a picture with my cellphone camera, and with a regular one. The pic from my cell is to the right.

After that we went to Mars (lil red-ish like dot) and Saturn (really clear; we saw rings and everything). Granted, at first tree branches were blocking it at first but we waited a while and went back to it. All good.

Next stop? (cue the dramatic music) The Great Orion Nebula! One of my favorites! And we saw a hazy, weird-shaped cloud-like thing (Aren't I good with the descriptions?) but we also saw some stars in it and around it, which were a bonus.

And we moved on to Betelgeuse. If I were a star, I think she/he/it would be my role model. Maybe we could be BFFLS! :D Always loved that star.

Sombrero Galaxy was too low to see; our house was where it should have been.

I got my hopes up for the Andromeda Galaxy just 'cause I love it so much, so while the telescope was using its talented motors to whir itself into position, we were crossing our fingers. Too bad. It was right in a group of tress; really close to the horizon.

Then we went back to Jupiter, Mars, the Moon, etc.

We saw some double cluster... I didn't see a thing. I think our calibration was a tiny bit off. The compass is weird.

Lastly, we came across the Pleiades (spelling?). Lotsa stars. I never really liked the Pleiades. But it's not really a matter of liking or un-liking, considering they are just stars.

Overall, it was very spiffy. *sage nod*

3-19-10

Short post.
Spring starts tomorrow.

I'm really tired and sore from gym class (I've just started running again :D), but I really want to go out with my telescope. It's clear and warm outside. And there's a crescent moon, which is really pretty. And if the camera cooperates, I'll try to take some pictures and post them here!

...That is, if my Dad will let me. But he likes astronomy too! I remember one time I kept insisting we look for a black hole 'cause it was in the telescope's GPS-- didn't see a thing, after an entire hour. I think it was basically impossible. Then there was the time we stared at some blur for about 30 minutes and we were trying to figure out if it was the Sombrero Galaxy... or whatever it's called; I just know it by that. But when we tried to change the lens we lost it.
The best was the Andromeda galaxy. Yes, it was probably below zero at the time. Yes, it was really, really late. But it was amazing! Just a little blob kinda like a galaxy.

Maybe I could do it by myself- pretty simple, you just make sure the compass is correct and then you find some stars to calibrate on (That's the hard part; we have so many trees in our yard and on our horizon) and then you can begin searching through the tree branches for whatever astronomical object your heart desires. As long as it's in the GPS. Oh, and it's gotta be above the horizon. And trees or lights can't be in your way. Guh)

...That's why I love New York. It's almost always clear and you have the entire northern sky. So many stars- and the milky way. And a sea breeze, and waves crashing, and a the lights of Connecticut across the way (Long Island Sound, peoples)-- ooh, one time we saw cars and buildings and stuff through the telescope there. It was so cool. But most of all, I love it there 'cause we're usually there during the Pleiades's Meteor Shower. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Anywho. As soon as it get's dark enough I'll try and drink and energy drink or something. And look up a few star charts, and see if my Dad's up for it. If not, I'll probably shrug and haul the telescope out by myself. XD

(a few minutes later) YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! THANK YOU, MOST AWESOMEST FATHER IN THE WORLD! WE'RE GOING OUT WITH THE TELESCOPE!

3-9-10

Not much to say today... over the weekend I'll try to say something about time travel or whatever. Tonight as my family and I were driving home there was a pretty clear sky, so I pointed out everything to my sisters while I listened to Simon and Garfunkel. Weird, I know.

That leads me to the Ipod conundrum... my sister says I was playing it too loud, but when I took my headphones out I couldn't hear any music coming out. Either my hearing is really bad or hers is just good. Does hearing change when you're young? O_o I don't even listen to it that loud. Promise.

...And somehow, that leads me to talk about planetarium shows. I've been to three of them... I think. Can't really remember the third. So I'll skip to the 2nd one. It was at the National Air and Space Museum when I went with my astronomy camp. And- (cue the screaming fangirls) LIAM NEESON NARRATED! Imagine sitting in this dome-place learning about the cosmos with Liam Neeson's voice surround sound... yeah. It was awesome. XD

The third one I went to was last summer in New York. Some old, historical rich dude had a planetarium on his uber-huge place so when we went there, we saw the show. It covered some of Earth's weather, and there was a very realistic (in my opinion) simulation of a storm in the Midwest US. Thunder and lightning and wind and rain. It freaked me out a little bit. But it was very memorable.

3-8-10

So, I'll start off with a few link.

http://spaceweather.com/
Spaceweather.com is fun and extremely helpful-it's got lots of stuff pertaining to the Sun, astronomical events, etc.

And... I thought I'd share a story about auroras that I wrote. It is a myth-and yes, it is a fanfic written for the Chronicles of Narnia.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Chronicles of Narnia, nor do I own auroras.

Peter Pevensie was well educated, and had nothing against science. At time, he even enjoyed it.

Everything about Narnia was mired in mystery. It was like a different world, yet in their world. Peter had accepted that science could not explain it. Susan, on the other hand, was always trying to make sense of it. She shielded her inquiries from the Narnians, but not from Peter. Peter was always able to persuade her that science could not and would not explain it.

This led to quarrels and plenty of food for thought. Susan wasn't exactly the best at science, but she was old enough to want to solve things logically.

Most of the questions posed the pair would never be answered. Questions like, "Does Santa exist in the real world?"

One time, Lucy overheard them passing questions back and forth. "You just have to believe! It's magic!" She exclaimed.

As much as they would love to be content with that, they couldn't. Susan and Peter kept debating anything that came to mind. It was always a waste of air; for five minutes they would debate and eventually fall silent.

One time, Susan came up with a question she was positive they could answer. "Does Narnia have auroras, Pete?" She asked him earnestly.

Frankly, Peter was surprised. It was a strange question for his sister to ask. "What is that, again?"

"The Northern Lights!" She said, exasperated. "We saw them on holiday with mum a few years ago, remember?"

"I remember," he said bleakly. "Why would Narnia have them?"

Susan rolled her eyes. "I don't know. But it would be interesting to find out."

"At least we'll be able to figure this one out," Peter grinned. "Just keep your eyes peeled."

Weeks passed. Not a trace of the lights were found in the sky. Susan and Peter moved on to much more productive things- such as ruling Narnia.

As Lucy got ready for bed, something in the window caught her attention. Poking her head out into the cool night air, she called for Susan.

"The aurora!" Susan said, awestruck.

"You've seen them before?"

"We all did; once. You were too young to remember." Susan quickly filled her in. "Peter, Edmund, come quick!"

Edmund stomped in, closely followed by Peter. "What is it?"

They all leaned out the window to watch in amazement as ribbons of green and purple frolicked across the sky in a beautiful, erratic dance. "It's beautiful," Lucy breathed.

"I've never seen them here before," Edmund frowned.

"That's because they didn't come when the White Witch was here." Mr. Tumnus appeared in the doorway, respectfully bowing to the young Kings and Queens.

"Why is that?" Susan asked.

"They are the spirits of all those who fought for freedom from the White Witch. While we were under her rule, they didn't dance. Who would dance for the 'Queen' of Narnia?" He scoffed. "Then you saved
us, they celebrate."

Susan looked puzzled. "That's not how it happens… back in London."

Lucy looked at her, and then laughed. "No, silly! This is Narnia!"

Not my best work, but I'm proud of it. :D

On Friday (3.5.10.) my Dad and I saw the International Space Station. We tried to set up the telescope ten minutes early, but it's so hard to calibrate with all the trees in our yard. It was easy to see with the naked eye- I'd say a little smaller than a plane and a little brighter than your average star... though few stars are average, I think. It about 2 minutes to get across the sky-slow enough so that when it disappeared behind trees I could chase it up the street.

Sometimes I'll notice a little blob of haze below Orion's Belt...
that couldn't be the Orion Nebula, could it? But it's always there on a good night. What else could it be?

Up next: The Sun, dark matter, and my bea-uti-ful telescope!