Robert Kirshner Sources

https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~rkirshner/kirshner_bio.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/opinion/the-universe-dark-energy-and-us.html?_r=0

Robert Kirshner Biography

Thomas Pring

DE Astronomy, 2

Mr. Percival

5/20/13

Robert P. Kirshner

            Robert Kirshner is the college professor of Astronomy at Harvard College, in the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He began as a Harvard graduate in 1970, then moved on to receive his Ph.D. in Astronomy at California Technical Institute. His post-doctorate was earned at the University of Michigan, where he worked for 9 years at the Kitt Peak Naitonal Observatory. He then returned to Harvard to serve as the Chairman of the Astronomy Department from 1990-7. Both the master of a fraternity (Quincy House), he also was the head of the Optical and Infared Division of the CfA (Center for Astrophysics) from 1997-2003.

            Mr. Kirshner is the proud author of well over 200 research papers, all on subjects he has devoted much of his studies to. These subjects range from the discovery of Dark Energy, to Supernovae, and the Large-scale Structure of the Cosmos. He has even published papers on the subject of using Supernovae to measure the expansion of the universe. He has written books that are used as core curriculum text books in Harvard’s Undergraduate class: Science A-35. One of these books is “The Energetic Universe”.

            His book “The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Cosmos” has been awarded the AAP Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Physics and Astronomy, and was a finalist in 2003 for the Aventis Prize. This book has been translated into 4+ different languages, further emphasizing its impact on the scientific world, showing its importance worldwide. 

APOD 4.1

April 6th 2013

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130406.html

At twilight the earth is shown in this picture taken June 2001, as a smooth transition from day to night. This picture was taken from the international space station, and shows this clear transition. The red reflection is the light reflecting off of the earth's lowest layer, the troposphere. It was taken from an altitude of 211 nautical miles.

Stages of Star

Interstellar Gas:

Interstellar Gas:



Protostar: (center in infrared)

POD 3.4

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130209.html

The Great Meteor Procession of 1913

This picture depicts the event that happened on Febuary 9th 1913. A procession of Meteors seen easily in the Toronto Canada area streaked along the sky, only visible to about 1,000 people (who have reported the sighting). It is believed that this was caused by a large meteor which grazed the Earth's atmosphere and broke up. The pieces then next encountered Earth, and burned up in the atmosphere on their way down to their believed landing sight in the Atlantic Ocean.

APOD 3.3

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130205.html

Shadow at Point Lake

This picture depicts the Mars rover Curiosity's shadow, taken by its camera facing the opposite direction of the sun. The rover landed in the Gale Crater in August, and has been tirelessly searching for signs of ancient water ever since. It has discovered dried stream-beds so far, and will continue to search for years to come within the crater.

APOD 3.2

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130210.html

Asteroids in the Distance

This picture depicts asteroids outside of out planet in the asteroid belt. The summary states that asteroids striking the earth are a common occurrence  So common, it happens daily! The asteroids that enter the atmosphere daily however are so small, that they burn up almost instantly when they enter the atmosphere. The larger the asteroid  the rarer it is for it to enter our atmosphere. Should a large asteroid about 1 km in diameter strike the earth, it wouldn't be the impact that would cause global problems, but the dust clouds that would rise and affect the climate of the entire planet.

APOD 3.1

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Infrared Orion from WISE

This picture depicts a close-up view of the Orion Nebula seen through an infrared lens from the WISE observatory. The Orion Nebula is actually visible to the naked eye, but is incredibly small and unnoticeable unless you know exactly where and what to look for. It's located in the bottom star of Orion's belt, and appears to be a reddish yellow. The lighting effect seen in the picture is caused by dust filaments floating in space in front of the stars in the Trapezium system which give off the light. Apparently, this nebula will disperse in 10,000 years or so.

Lunar Atlas (Labeled)

APOD 2.4

December 22nd 2012

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121222.html

This picture depicts Saturn, while it is in front of the sun from perspective of the Cassini telescope, which took the picture on October 17th, during its 174th orbit. the greenish color of the rings is because the color was filtered to give a false-color view.

APOD 2.3

December 29th 2012

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121229.html

This picture depicts the runaway star Zeta Ophiuchi, and its arching interstellar bow shock wave. Z.O. is about 20 times as large as our sun, and is believed to have started as a star in a binary star system, but after its partner star went supernova, it was sent off at extreme speeds into space. It is now traveling at 24 km/s towards the left of the picture. The red and white wave leading the star is its shock wave, or stellar wind.

APOD 2.2

January 10th 2013

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130110.html

This picture depicts the Orion Bullets, which are ionized iron atoms that are larger than Pluto's orbit around our sun. They were created from the explosion of a star creation. Their yellow colored cones are of the nebula's shock-heated hydrogen gas, that the bullets led out and away form the nebula itself. They are up to 1/5th of a light-year long. The bullets themselves are traveling hundreds of kilometers per second!

APOD 2.1

January 14th 2013

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

This picture is a celestial still life, depicting a large number of stars intensified by the dusty nebula. The stars themselves do not have that wide of a light radius, but because they are shining through the dusty nebula, the particles in the nebula shine, like a beam of light when you shine a flashlight through a dust cloud. This nebula is estimated to only be 2,400 light-years away!

Biography Sources

http://www.optcorp.com/edu/articleDetailEDU.aspx?aid=1005

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/learning/biographies/williamparsons,3rdearlofrosse(1800-1867).aspx

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/510159/William-Parsons-3rd-earl-of-Rosse

William Parsons Biography

Thomas Pring

DE Astronomy, 2

Mr. Percival

1/10/2013

William Parsons

            William Parsons was on born June 17^th, 1800 in York England. He was also known by the title of Earl Rosse the Third, as he was the eldest son of Earl Rosse the Second, of Birr Castle near Parsonstown, King’s County in Ireland. He got his education at Trinity College in Dublin, and Oxford University’s Magdalen College. He graduated with first-class honors in Mathematics in 1822. He took over for this father as Earl in 1841 at the age of 41.

            He decided that he wanted to follow the recent uprising in interest of the stars, and designed a 72 inch diameter mirror reflecting telescope. A telescope of this size would be the largest reflecting telescope in the world during this time period. He began by spending 5 years working on a suitable alloy for a half scale test model of the mirror. He finally chose a mixture of 1 part tin and 2 parts copper. The greater amount of copper made the mirror less brittle and added stability with the weight it had to support.  However, the copper also allowed for more surface cracks during the cooling process, and gave it a less white color.

            The first mirror measured 36 inches in diameter, and was created by soldering 16 thin plates of the alloy to a brass framework. This mirror had imperfections, but worked well enough that he believed he could cast a solid 36 inch mirror. This mirror was a success, and prompted his work on his goal, the 72 inch diameter mirror. He began working on it in 1842, and finished 3 years later in 1845. The final disk weighed a grand total of 4 tons.

            The 72 inch disk was mounted at Birr Castle estate in Ireland, to a 54 foot mounting tube. It was used to observe nebulae, but could only be used when England’s cloudy whether permitted (which isn't often at all). These telescopes allowed him to make observations on what he thought were nebulae, but were mostly actually galaxies. He made the drawing of the spiral galaxy (M51), which is considered a classic work of mid-19^th century astronomy. He named the Crab Nebula, and also made detailed observations of the Orion Nebula. Unfortunately, his telescope was dismantled in 1908, and was not reconstructed until 1917, when the 100 inch diameter mirror was created and mounted in California (the now largest reflecting telescope in the world).