NASA APOD E-portfolio Assignment

Astronomy 1040-section 15
Laura England

1. September 1, 2014-Airglow Ripples over Tibet

I chose this picture because the colors in the sky over the mountains interested me. I love being in the
mountains and this picture related with me. This is a night sky picture showing airglow. The pattern in the sky
is caused by gravity waves of alternating pressure. This is not the same as auroras, but caused by
chemiluminescence which is the production of light in a chemical reaction. The sky will not become completely
dark due to this.

2. September 5, 2014-A Sagittarius Starscape

I chose this picture due to the colors and concentrated areas of light. This is a photo of the Sagittarius spiral
arm and the Milky Way Galaxy. In this photo, there are star clusters and nebulae. These star clusters have
been observed by astronomers since the 18th century.

3. September 9, 2014-An Aurora Cupcake with a Milky Way Topping

I chose this photo because it is on my bucket list to one day experience an aurora in person. This photo was
taken in Ostersund, Sweden and shows double auroral ovals. Higher in the sky, the central band of the Milky
Way galaxy is shown. During auroras, the sun ejects ionized particles into space and when they reach earth,
the magnetic field interacts with them and they become auroras.

4. September 11, 2014-Zodiacal Light before Dawn

I chose this picture because I would like to learn more about identifying the stars in the Northern Hemisphere
sky. This photo was taken in Chiles Atacama desert showing Zodical light which is sunlight shining through
scattered dust along solar systems ecliptic plane. Orion is in right of the picture and the California Nebula is in
the left.

5. September 15, 2014-62 Kilometers above Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko

I chose this picture because I had never seen a comet this close up before and it really interested me. This
picture is taken by a robotic spacecraft and shows how black the nucleus of this comet is. This comet is 4
kilometers in length and has a very low gravity.

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6. September 16, 2014- Milky Way above Atacama Salt Lagoon
I chose this picture because it was an awe inspiring photo of our Milky Way Galaxy over a reflecting
pool. This photo was taken in Salar de Atacama salt flat in northern Chile. On the left part of the photo,
the large and small magallanic cloud galaxies are identified. Running diagonally in the sky is an arm of
the Milky Way galaxy.

7. September 21, 2014-Saturn at Equinox

Before taking this class, I had never thought about what makes up Saturns rings. Now that I know that
Saturns rings are made up of gas, the uniform shape of the rings amaze me and are very interesting to
me. Therefore, I chose this photo. Before August of 2009, no one knew what Saturn would look like if
its ring plane pointed at the sun. Every 15 years during equinox, Saturns rings would appear and
disappear. A spacecraft, Cassini, orbited Saturn and was able to snap a series of photos to show the
rings during equinox.

8. September 23, 2014-Aurora and Volcanic Light Pillar

The landscape beauty in this photo is what caught my attention. I also am interested in learning more
about constellation identification. This photo is not capturing a sunset, but the colors in the sky come
from a volcanic eruption taken in Iceland. On the top left of the photo, the aurora is also captured. Star
constellations are also identified in the photo along with the aurora and colors from the eruption.

9. September 30, 2014-A Full Circle Rainbow over Australia

This photo caught my attention due to my curiosity about how the photographer was able to capture a
rainbow in a full circle. From the ground, only part of the rainbow is typically seen, but from the air, the
360 degree view of the rainbow is more commonly seen. This photo was taken near Perth, Australia
during a sunset and a rain storm.

10. October 1, 2014- The Butterfly Nebula from Hubble

I chose this photo because the shape of the nebula seemed extremely unique and like something I
have never seen. This nebula was recorded by Hubble Space Telescope in 2009. The wingspan of this
nebula covers 2 light years. The different colors shown represent various types of ionized gases.

11. October 6, 2014-Space Station Detector Finds Unexplained Positron Excess

I chose this photo due to the caption regarding space station finding unexplained positron excess. As I
have learned in this class, there is a tremendous amount of unexplained parts of our universe.
Onboard the International Space Station, there is an Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer that is recording the
frequency of it being struck by high energy electrons and positrons. Astronomers think that dark
matter may be involved.

12. October 11, 2014-Eclipse at Moonrise

This photo struck my attention because at first, I thought it was a comet that had been photographed. I was
curious how this could happen with so much light pollution. This photo is actually a time lapsed photo over
Chongging, China of a lunar eclipse. The moon trail becomes bright and broader as the moon becomes higher
in the sky.

13. October 12, 2014-The Helix Nebula from Blanco and Hubble
I chose this photo because it reminded my of an eye and I have noticed the repetition of certain shapes
and formations with occur in the universe. For example, the similarity of the shape of spiral galaxies
and the shape of hurricanes. This a planetary nebula or a helix nebula. These nebulas are important to
study because they give us clues about how stars like the sun end their lives through certain events
like a supernova. The Hubble Space Telescope captured this photo. This planetary nebula is the closet

to earth which is about 700 light years away from the Aquarius constellation. This planetary nebula
spans about 3 light years.

14. October 17, 2014-Messier 6 and Comet Siding Spring

I chose this photo because I would like to learn a bit more about comets and how they work. Near the
top of the starry photo is the Comet Sliding Spring tailing through space. On October 19th, this comet
came incredibly close to the planet mars and was only 139,500 kilometers away. That distance is 10
times closer than the closest comet flyby Earth had experiences. This close of a fly by could affect the
atmosphere.

15. October 19-Comet McNaught Over New Zealand

I chose this photo because I was amazed at how many different features of space were captured in this
photo. On the left of the photo, you can see a band of the Milky Way Galaxy. Towards the bottom right
of the photo, comet McNaught is captured, which is perhaps the most photogenic comet of modern
times. The comet moved through the Northern Hemisphere and then the Southern hemisphere when
this photo was captured. Towards the left of the comet, a meteor streak is also captured.

16. October 21, 2014-Mimas: Small Moon with a Big Crater

I chose this photo because of the remarkable amount of craters that covers this moons surface. This is Mimas,
a moon of Saturn. This moon is mostly made up of water ice and rock. Some refer to it as a large dirty
snowball. An analysis of this moon suggests that there may be liquid water ocean in the interior. The largest
crater seen in the photo on Mimas is named Herschel and is 130 kilometers wide. This photo was taken by a
robot spacecraft named Cassini which is now in orbit around Saturn.

17. October 26, 2014-Too Close to a Black Hole

I have always been curious about black holes and amazed how little we actually know about them
besides that gravity is so great that all that enters it will be destroyed into energy. This photo sparked
my interest and was a different view than I have seen before. This is a computer generated photo of
what you would see as you approached a black hole. The gravity within a black hole is so great that
light does not exist and is actually bent inward. Black holes are said to be an area of the densest state
of matter. They are thought to be the center of globular clusters, galaxies and quasars.

18. October 31, 2014- Milky Way over Devils Tower

I chose this photo because I have never seen a photo capture the amount of the Milky Way band as
this photo does. The band stretches in an arc across the sky. This photo was taken near the geologic
wonder, Devils Tower, which is in Wyoming. Also seen in the sky are globular clusters and green
airglow.

19. November 3, 2014-In Green Company: Aurora over Norway

This is most likely my favorite photo of this assignment. The experience that this photo captures is an
experience I live for! This photo of an aurora was captured on the summit of Austnesfjorden fjord on
the Lofoten islands in Norway. The sun has been producing many auroras like this one due to
maximum surface activity during its 11-year magnetic cycle.

20. November 4, 2014 -Moon and Earth from Chang'e 5-T1

I chose this photo because I feel it is unusual to see a view of earth from this perspective. Most photos
show earth larger with the moon in the background. This is a photo taken from Change 5-T1 mission
when the spacecraft was closer to the moon than earth. The earth is usually described as a big blue
marble, yet in this photo it is more like a small blue marble. This photo also provides a different view of
the moon than we see from Earth. The moon is more dark and gray.

21. November 11, 2014 -Orion in Gas, Dust, and Stars

I chose this photo because I had never seen a view or image of the constellation Orion like this before.
Typically when we look at Orion in the night sky, we see three stars in a row, but Orion is much more
complex. This photo captures the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The complex is made up of a dark
nebula, star clusters, dust, and gases. The three bright stars seen on the left are the stars which make
up the well known Orion constellation. Below the 3rd star in the belt towards the bottom is the Flame
Nebula which is glowing hydrogen gas mixed with brown dust. On the top right in a cloud of gas which
is giving birth to an open cluster of stars. The Orion constellation is about 1,500 light years away and
spans 75 light years across.

22. November 13, 2014-Descent to a Comet

As I mentioned above, I am interested in learning more about comets and this photo spiked my
interest. On November 12, 2014, the first landing on a comet took place on the comet C67/P
Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This comet is about 500 kilometers from planet Earth. The lander Philae,
which is part of the Rosetta mission, will be on the comet for 2.5 days collecting data.

23. November 20, 2014 -LDN 988: Dark Nebula in Cygnus

I chose this photo because I am interested in learning more about why stars are more dense in some
spots more than others. This photo shows the star fields of northern Cygnus and the dark nebula LDN
988 which in near the center of this photo. Stars are forming in this nebula which is part of the larger
molecular cloud which is along the same plane as the Milky Way galaxy.

24. November 18, 2014-Star Formation in the Tadpole Nebula

It is hard to believe that this photo is real with the sharpness of colors and details captured. I chose this photo
due to the shear amazement it made me feel. This is a photo of the Tadpole nebula which is about 12,000 light
years away in the constellation Auriga. This nebula which is 100 light years across is shaped by open clusters

and stellar winds. This photo was taken by NASAs Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite in
infrared light.

25. November 23, 2014-Tornado and Rainbow Over Kansas

I chose this photo because I grew up with a Dad who is a storm chaser and I am very knowledgable
about tornados and have even done some tornado chasing. This photo mixes two things which
society view with opposite emotions. Tornados evoke negativity while rainbows evoke positivity. This
photo was captured in 2004 by storm chaser, Eric Nguyen, in Kansas. To form a rainbow, sunlight
reflects off of raindrops and acts as a prism.

26. November 28, 2014-Portrait of NGC 281

As I have learned in this class, nebulas come in lots of various colors, shapes, and sizes. I chose this
photo because it was a new shape I had not yet seen. This is the nebula NGC 281 which includes the
open cluster IC 1590. That open cluster is what creates the glow of this cosmic cloud. This nebula is
also called the Pacman Nebula due to its shape. The hot open star clusters create energetic winds and
radiation. This is about 10,000 light years away, spans 80 light years, and is found in the constellation
Cassiopeia.