Observation: September 12

On September 12, it was a clear night and there was good visibility. At roughly 8:00 p.m., EDT, the full moon was clearly visible about 20 degrees above the horizon. The moon had a light tan tint and seemed to be slightly low in the sky at the time. The next morning, the moon set at about 4:00 - 5:00 a.m.

APOD 1.3

Seen above is the galaxy NGC-3521. This is a special galaxy because of its unique spirals. Currently, pink stars and young blue stars are forming in NGC. It is surprising that this galaxy is commonly overlooked because of its beautiful assortment of colors.

APOD 1.2

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1109/j102915_vlt_1452.jpg

This photo is particularly interesting because it shows a rare exception when stars form. This star has extremely low levels of heavy elements which is very unusual for stars of it's size and brightness.

APOD 1.1

Seen above in this picture is the Perseid Meteor Shower. Astronaut Ron Garan took this picture aboard the International Space Station. He preferred to describe this picture as "What a shooting star looks like from space." Personally, I agree with this statement. This provides a unique view of a shooting star that not very many people get to see. This picture is so alluring because we also get to see a view of the Earth that not many pictures show. It shows the exosphere that is also surrounded by a greenish halo. This is truly an awesome picture.