observation

This week I went out each night and observed the stars in the sky and the moon. I observed from the location of Sarasota, FL. I noticed the moon went through its phases. I noticed Cassiopeia towards the northeast area on October 29 and I also noticed that there was no moon on Halloween this year. Over the week I pointed out many of the constellations such as Scutum, Summer Triangle, Ophiuchus, and much more. I find that stargazing is becoming much easier with practice and repetition and I look forward to mastering the elements of the sky.

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This picture caught my eye due to its clarity in the picture and the perfect circular shape. The colors that creep in to the sky slowly fade the longer you look at the picture. This picture shows the little planet going into its shadow after the sunlight fades away. This "little planet" is also known as planet Earth. At the top right above the western horizon, the sky is shown with the nice warm colors of the sun setting. The shadow that has a slight blue tint to it shows itself into the atmosphere and you can see it sightly rising in the eastern horizon all the way at the bottom of the picture. The Belt of Venus is also shown as the light red glow right above Earth's shadow.

Observations from the week of 10/12-10/18

This week I went out each night and observed the night sky. Every night I would go outside between 7-7:30 every night from Sarasota, FL. I saw multiple constellations including sagittarius, scorpius, scutum, hercules, and the summer triangle. It was difficult to go out some nights and observe due to weather conditions, however I still saw quite a bit. I watched the moon go through its phases and saw most of the constellations we have learned. It was hard to find some such as scutum and vulpecula, however I found most of them.

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See that ball of light trailed by a mist of green? That my friends is the Comet Siding Spring. it looks like it was quite close to colliding with the open cluster Messier 6, but they are actually 2,000 light years away. On October 19th the comet is expected to pass within 139,500 kilometers of Mars. Which is 10 times closer than any other comet fly by of earth! This is actually one third of the earth to moon distance.

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The combination of colors in this bubble nebula is amazing. However do not let the pretty colors and the bubbly nature fool you. The center of the bubble is an O star. Because of their high temperatures the luminosities of main sequence O stars range from 10,000 times the sun to around 1,000,000 times, giants from 100,000 times the sun to over 1,000,000, and supergiants from about 200,000 times the sun to several million times! This nebula in particular lies 11,000 ligth years away from the constellation  Cassiopeia. 

Brahmagupta

Brahmagupta was a Hindu astronomer and a phenomenal mathematician. He was born in Rajasthan, India roughly around 598 AD and passed away in 668 AD. Brahmagupta was one of the most prominent astronomers to come from India.  Not only was he a great triumph in India, but he was a major influence in the Byzantine astronomy world as well. He was best known for his work in the Ujjain astronomical observatory. This observatory was known to be in the top ten centers for research in the astronomical and mathematical field in India. When he worked in this laboratory, he found multiple concepts involving complex mathematical formulas and intricate theories. He also observed the motion of all the plants. He continued to build on his observations and began to write books.

Brahmagupta is most known for his mathematical rules with zero, his theorem, and the interpolation formula. Aside from the mathematician side of Brahmagupta, he is famous for his observations and concepts in space. In fact, he wrote two very significant books that discussed all things astronomy such as mean longitudes of plants, lunar eclipses, the moon’s shadows and crescents, planetary motion, and problems of time. These books go by the name of  “Brāhmasphutasiddhānta” and “Khandakhādyaka”. In addition to these works, he also wrote four other books about astronomy and mathematics. On the math side, Brahmagupta found more details about Pythagorean triples, rules of zero, and multiple trigonometry formulas.

In mathematical terms, Brahmagupta found the interpolation formula. He also found the values of the sin, which is used mostly in trigonometry. Brahmaputa’s theorem states that if a quadrilateral has perpendicular diagonals, then the perpendicular diagonal that corresponds to that side will always bisect the opposite side. This theorem is currently used mostly in geometry and he is often underrated for this theorem. His knowledge of the systems of numbers was far out of the average person’s reach. In addition to all of this, he also gave rules of arithmetic to correspond with his rules of zero.

From an astronomical point of view, Brahmagupta contributed a lot to the field of astronomy. In his book he argues against the concept of the moon being farther from the earth than the sun. His book describes a situation in which the moon is above the sun. He questioned how the power and luminosity of the moon would be created from the longitude of the moon. As a result of his observations, Brahmagupta was able to find the method for finding the standard motion of the planets. He also discovered the parallax of longitude and latitude.

In addition to proving this, he also proved that the brightness is enhanced in the same orientation of the sun. Through the use of these two ideas he explained that as a result of the moon being closer to the earth than the sun, the part of the moon that is visible relies on the correlation of the moon and the sun. Just the slightest change in position from either the moon or the sun can make a vast difference.

In all, Brahmagupta is recognized as one of the greatest astronomers of the world today. Through his observations and conclusions he came to, he was able to contribute to the astronomy field and mathematical field as well. His work has had a massive impact on other astronomers all over the world.

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This celestial object looks like a delicate butterfly. But it is far from serene. What resemble dainty butterfly wings are actually roiling cauldrons of gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The gas is tearing across space at more than 600,000 miles an hour! This was once a dying star that was once about five times the mass of the Sun.