Iridium Flare

Lat night I went out to look for an iridium flare. I looked on heavensabove.com and found that I would be able to see one at 10:53. It was at an altitude of 37 degrees with an azimuth of 69 degrees. I never knew what an iridium flare was until this class and I have tried see a few before but for some reason haven't been able to see any. So last night I was really excited when I actually saw one. It was a very cool sight to see. It's weird to think that iridium flares happen so often and I have never seen one or even heard of one.

Sunset

I have seen quite a few sunsets throughout the semester but the ones that i have seen are when I was driving so i couldn't take any pictures. These pictures are from this past summer when I was on a vacation in the upper peninsula. It was at a place called sunset point and it was a gorgeous sight to see, definitely one of the best sunsets I have ever seen.

Sunrise

On my way to south Carolina I saw a beautiful sunrise. I was in the car so the pictures don't do it justice but it was very beautiful. I believe it was around 7 in the morning and the sun was rising in the east.

First Quarter Moon

Today at 4:00pm I noticed a first quarter moon lingering in the sky. I like seeing the moon during the day.

The skies of South Carolina

The past few days I have been in Hilton Head Island South Carolina. It is absolutely beautiful here and the skies have been beautiful as well. The past 3 nights the skies have been clear and it's warm so I can actually stay outside and look at the sky.
On April 4th around 9:30pm we were walking around harbor town. I showed my family how to find the north star by using the big dipper. I showed them Mars. I also showed them sirius, cassiopeia, and many other constellations as well. While we were looking at the sky I saw a shooting star. It went by so fast it was a lot different than a satellite but it was a wonderful site to see.
Tonight, April 5th my mom, my brothers girlfriend, and I walked down to the beach to look at the sky. We tried to see an iridium flare at 8:33pm at an azimuth of 143 degrees and an altitude of 63 degrees. We were unsuccessful in finding it so i will have to look another time. We did see 2 satellites. We saw GPS 2-05 rocket1 at 8:37 at an azimuth of 358 degrees and an altitude of 76 degrees. I have never seen a satellite before and nether had my mom or my brothers girlfriend. It looks like a moving star in the sky. It was really cool to see, we were on the beach yelling at each other look there it is there it is! It was pretty funny. We also saw the satellite Coronas F rocket. We saw this one at 8:46pm in the East at an altitude of 75 degrees. This one looked to be moving faster than the other satellite we saw.
The last thing we saw was Saturn. It was in the east between Leo and Virgo. When I looked at it through the binoculars I could faintly see the rings. It was really beautiful and exciting to see.
Overall it has been a very successful trip especially in my astronomy adventures

Full Moon

Last night on my way home from work around 9:00pm I was on I-96going towards Holland. I looked out the drivers side window to see the city of Grand Rapids all lit up with a beautiful full moon over the city. I wish I could have stopped to take a picture because it was an amazing site to see.

First quarter moon

It is 11:23 and I just walked outside to see how the stars were looking tonight and I noticed a beautiful first quarter moon. The moon was in the south west at an altitude of about 70 degrees. The sky was very clear tonight so I also saw a great deal of constellations. It was a beautiful night to star gaze now it just needs to warm up!!!

Waxing Crescent Moon

Tonight I was leaving the library around 8:30pm on the Allendale campus and I saw a waxing crescent moon in the south west at an altitude of about 60 degrees. It was very beautiful! :)

Florida

While I was in Florida I saw a lot of great things in the sky. While I was there I saw various constellations. I also saw Mars. I went with Stephanie and we were showing off our astronomy skills, it was a lot of fun! Mars was beautiful. It had an orange red glow around it. It was really cool to see and show the people we were with as well

Beautiful moons!

On monday night (March 1st) I looked out my window before I went to bed and saw a beautiful full moon. I was in at home in Rockford and I wasn't able to get the azimuth or altitude. It was kind of hard to tell what the altitue was looking out of my bedroom window but if I had to guess I would say it was about 45-50 degrees.

Last night I was coming home from work and noticed the moon again lighting up the sky. This moon was not full however it was a waning gibbous with the left side of the moon lit up. I arrived home around 12:30am and the moon was at an azimuth of about 130 degrees and an altitude of 50 degrees.

The moon on both of these nights was very beautiful. I am headed off to Florida on Saturday and I plan on doing some skywatching and making some posts while I am there.

Wednesday February 3rd

On Wednesday February 3rd I was on my way home from work at 12:30 I noticed how beautiful the sky was as I was leaving. There were stars everywhere glowing brightly for all to see. It took me about 30 minutes to get home, but when I got home I pulled out my star and planet locator and went outside to view the stars. By the time I started viewing it was 1:15am eastern standard time. So I had to look at my star and planet locator at 12:30am in order to find the constellations I wanted to see. I truly was beautiful and there are not really words to describe it. The constellation that stood out right away was the big dipper, which then led me to the north star. I looked at the "pointers" and found the north star beaming brightly in the sky. The big dipper was at an azimuth of about 45 and an altitude of about 60. I also saw the constellation cancer which was at an azimuth of about 200 and an altitude of approximately 80. I had never seen cancer before actually knowing what it was so it was pretty cool when I found it and could actually see the constellation fit together. The same thing occurred with the constellation Leo. Leo was at an azimuth of 160 and an altitude of 80. One interesting thing about Leo that I had never seen before was the bright star Regulus. I was slightly overwhelmed by the brightness of this star. It stood out like a sore thumb. Another thing that was particularly interesting was the moon. I didn't notice the moon when I left work or on my drive home It wasn't until I got home and looked around that I noticed the moon glowing in the south east. Unfortunately it was behind some trees so I couldn't see it as well as i would've liked. However from what I could see it was not quite a full moon yet not a half moon either. There was a little more then half of the moon that could be seen. I was surprised once I saw the moon at how many stars could be seen. The moon was pretty bright but since it was at a low altitude it's brightness didn't overpower most of the stars. It was a beautiful night to witness the sky and I wish I could have looked longer but unfortunately it was extremely cold and I had to get up for class at 8:30am so it was time for me to go to bed.