Astronomy: Observing Heaven and Above

A celestial map from the 17th century, by the ...
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Astronomy is the study of objects in outer space. It should not be confused with astrology. Often people tend to get confused between astronomy and astrology. But these two are different even if there are some common connections. Astrology does use the concept of the movements of celestial bodies for its astrological calculations.
Astronomy runs back into ancient times, as a science studied by prehistoric people. The Egyptian monuments are one such relic that identifies the advancements made during that time in astronomy. Indians, Greeks, and Babylonians were the pioneers in astronomy. A lot of inventions and discoveries in astronomy can be found in all these countries.

During those times, the sky at night was extensively studied from astronomical observatories. In the modern era, the telescope has been one instrument that has helped the cause of astronomy. What was observed using naked eyes is now observed using telescopes.

By the twentieth century, astronomy evolved to become a subject with theoretical and observational applications. Observational astronomy is the foundation of theoretical astronomy. What was observed was brought to the table and analyzed using laws of physics in the Universe.

More than professional astronomers, amateurs contribute to the growth of astronomy. Some of the things that are happening in the sky can’t always be monitored by professional observatories on Earth. This is where amateurs pitch in.

Another version of astronomy called radio astronomy deals with the studying of wavelengths. Radio waves are studied for their frequency, amplitude and a lot of other properties. Radio waves coming from space are captured and studied by physicists. The space has a lot of magnetic flux that could cause the discharge of radio waves. The resultant radio waves act as a basis to understand the source of the radiation and in general the event that is happening in some part of the Universe.

Recently, 2009 was declared as the year of astronomy. The International Astronomical Union is stepping up efforts to improve the field of astronomy.

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The Mysterious Black Hole

The supermassive black holes are all that rema...
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Hollywood movies have have been made about the black holes that exist in the universe. Star Trek has taken us to the event horizon and back again. Black Holes are the subject of science fiction. Carl Sagan presented them as an entrance to another world where societies in the galaxy use them as a transit system. The stories created around these mysterious areas in our world and worlds beyond are only limited by our own imaginations. The facts that are known about black holes are as fascinating as the fiction presented to us.

Science presents us with the facts about black holes determined by years of study. Massive stars ten to fifteen times the size of the sun that have reached the endpoint of their existence are the perfect candidates to become a black hole. The types of black holes identified include the Stellar which is formed from a star, the Super-massive which are identified as those black holes at the center of a galaxy and the Miniature which are capable of evaporation. Steven Hawking’s study of black holes in the 1970s indicated that particles and light are created and destroyed during the evolutionary process of the black hole. This process creates a glow at the area of the event horizon. Over a very long period of time the mass of the black hole eventually evaporates.

The creation of a black hole is a result of the death of a massive star. The process is a result of a mass thousands of miles in diameter shrinking to just a few miles in diameter. At the pull of gravity the dense form of the star disappears inside itself. Nothing escapes at this point, not even light. The event horizon of the black hole is an area of no return. Identification of black holes are made by observing gaseous matter from nearby stars that enter the event horizon and forever become a part of the black hole.

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The Breakdown on Solar Flares

A Solar Flare, image taken by the TRACE satell...
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In the world of astronomy a lot of words get thrown around. There are many words, terms, and happenings that we are all unfamiliar about. One such term is solar flare. It’s a word that you have heard a million times over but might not actually know what it is. Well, a solar flare is a larger explosion that occurs in the suns atmosphere. This explosion is so powerful it can release up to 6 x 10 joules of energy. When referring to the same type of happenings, but when it happens to a star it’s called a stellar flare.

The interesting thing about solar flares is that they can affect every single layer of the atmosphere. They can, when in the midst of a solar flare, heat plasma can rise to well over ten million degrees. The flares will occur in the regions that are active around the sunspots where the intense magnetic field that can penetrate through the photosphere and get to the solar interior. These flares are given their powered the release of magnetic energy that is stored in the corona. This release can be sudden. There can be a coronal mass injections.

X-Rays and radition that are released by solar flares have a direct effect on the Earth and it’s ionosphere. One of the ways we can see the effects of these solar flares is that they can disrupt long range radio communications. These direct radio emissions at decimetric wavelengths will disturb the radars and other devices operating these frequencies. Flares were first observed by Richard Christopher Carrington and also by Richard Hodgson although these observations were done independent of each other. Solar flares were also observed by observing a variety of other stars. Solar flares are some of the most fascinating occurrences in the solar system and scientists and astronomers will continue to research them for years to come.

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The International Year of Astronomy

Galileo Galilei. Portrait in crayon by Leoni.
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Astronomers world wide celebrated the 400th anniversary of the very first observations made using a telescope, by Galileo Galilei, by declaring 2009 to be an International Year of Astronomy. Organized by the International Union of Astronomy (the IUA), this event was intended to educate the citizens of earth about the fantastic cultural contributions that the science of astronomy has made over the last four centuries.

Collaborative committees comprised of professional and amateur astronomers were formed to manage most of the IUA events, called “sidewalk astronomy events,” which took place at planetariums and public Observatories across the globe. Individuals could also contribute privately, assessing for themselves where the need was greatest. However, the most successful element of the IYA was probably the eleven so called, “Cornerstone projects.”

One of these projects, called “Dark Skies Awareness,” was to measure, and to provide education about, light pollution. This project was broken up into three separate programs (GLOBE at night, the Great World Wide Star Count, and How Many Stars) that all did essentially the same thing, though at different times during the year. These programs provided people first hand experience dealing with light pollution through “star hunts” or “star counts.”

A year later, in 2010, it seems clear that all the effort that was expended to create fun and accessible projects has not been wasted. Knowing that the science of astronomy is one of the few sciences that amateurs can make a significant contribution to has inspired some ambitious amateurs to make important advances in astrophotography. Perhaps because of this new interest and these amateur contributions some fantastic new websites about the science of astronomy, such as such as this one, show that the public’s interest has been peaked.

It looks like the International Year of Astronomy was a resounding success.

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The Universe Around Us

NOAA solar flare 2005-09-07
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As we wake in the morning, we know we have to get up and get moving because the sun has come out. It has signaled us that the day has begun. The sun keeps us warm and guides us through our day. But what happens when the sun’s day is done? We are bathed in the warm glow of the moonlight. Sometimes hidden, sometimes visible, what is all around the moonlight, is our solar system, busily keeping its rhythm within the universe. The science of Astronomy is the study of the stars and planets. This is a fascinating study. Just think, there are millions, maybe even trillions of stars and planets in the sky, just waiting for us to glance up and recognize them.

Our sky becomes the solar system’s playground at night, from the supernovas, stars that are much larger than the sun which run out of fuel and explode in the sky, to the solar flares, the release of magnetic energy that has built up in the atmosphere. At any given time our solar system can be a veritable fireworks display. But there are those times, the times astronomers the world over wait weeks, months, sometimes even years for, when we get to witness amazing occurences in our world, such as solar eclipses,lunar eclipses, planets moving around, even an asteroid or two flying through the air.

As all of these natural occurrences are flying around us, we too, have a responsibility to our solar system. The excessive use of electricity and artificial light has created “light pollution”, which is, according to the McGraw Hill Science Technical Dictionary, “the alteration of the natural quantity of light in the night environment due to the introduction of artificial light.” Astronomers warn us that we need to be careful, so that this carnival of a light show will be visible for generations to come.

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