Essays on Astrophysics

ASSIGNMENT 2: ASTRONOMICAL IMAGES

For each Micro Observatory Robotic Telescope Network observation:

position: RA= 13h 24.9m Dec= -7 degrees 28 minutes located in constellation: Libra Distance= 600 million km (33 light minutes) at closest to the Earth Field of view: Normal Exposure time: 15.00 sec. Filter: Grey (ND4)

Hour Angle: -1h 40.4m

Comment on quality of observation: Micro Observatory is run by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Question: Why are some of the targets listed as “not up tonight”? Micro Observatory Robotic Telescope Network observation: Target name: Jupiter Type of object: Planet position: RA= 13h 27.3m Dec= -7 degrees 39 minutes located in constellation: Libra Distance= ...

Once, mankind believed that the Earth is the center of the solar system, and the entire universe as well. Though tempting as it seems, this narcissistic view was perceived due to the observable motions of the visible heavenly bodies in the sky. However, as mankind learns to invent more powerful tools to understand the cosmos, they learn not just the fact that the sun is the center of the solar system, but also the place of the Earth in the universe. In fact, the view of our place in the universe gradually changed as science and technology cemented over ...

Introduction

Our galaxy, the star system of our solar system, is called the Milky Way. The Milky Way is a grand cluster of stars visible in the sky as a bright band of fog. In the ancient Greek, the word "galaktikos" means "milk", "milky", so the Milky Way and stellar systems similar to it are called galaxies. In our galaxy, there are more than 200 billion stars of very different luminosity and color ("The Milky Way Galaxy - 200 billion stars", 2016). The Solar neighborhood is the volume of the galaxy, where we can observe and study the stars of ...