Observation Project #1

Due to the fact of the inversion and new moon I could not see any stars or the moon, so I decided to do a internet project. I really did try to go out a few times and even looked up on the internet to see what phase the moon was in.... It will be hard to see until next week! The project I chose was to look up different space missions to each of the planets, our sun, and an asteroid. After looking at the assignment paper again, I wonder why our moon was not included, I know there have been a few mission there.

I was surprised to learn about how many space crafts we have sent up and for whatever reason they were unsuccessful. How frustrating is it to spend millions of dollars and years working on something only to have it break and be destroyed within seconds of taking orbit?? Never the less NASA has continued to build and have successful missions. All of my info can be found at a NASA web site detailing all of past, present and future missions. On a side note NASA takes advantage of using different missions to visit multiple planets, moons, and whatever they can that is why some have the same info.

The Sun: I was surprised to learn how many missions included gathering info about the sun. We can not obviously send anything to the sun with out it getting destroyed, so when ever they can get close to it they try to collect data. Thats is what they did on the Genesis Mission (2001-08) It collected solar winds from the sun to study. After collecting everything it returned to earth and landed in the Utah desert. Which I thought was cool because I live in Utah. Now the solar winds are being studied and learning tons from it.



Pretty much all the other missions to other planets have been to collect different samples of the atomosphere, dirt, air, and this and that. Or to map out as much of the landscape as possible. That is cool in all but I don't really want to blog about each mission to each planet... and study for my test and this. I will share my favorite mission of the whole project.

Voyager 2: It was lunched in 1977, before I was born CRAZY. I has been traveling all those years and is still going collecting data! WOW that is pretty dang awesome to have a machine built in 1977 that is still going strong..... But it did find some cool things about Neptune, like 3 new rings and 6 new moons. I hope any of you reading click on the links on the page to learn more about this and the other missions. I could not write everything about all the missions, so I just wrote about some highlights and things I thought were cool!


Next Project: I am leaning towards writing about a sunset or sunrise... I have beef with both of those things. And because I have YET to see the moon in like a month.....

Astronomy recap!!

I decided it would be awesome to do a blog for my final project. I have to start my blog now to give an accurate account of everything I am learning! Here is a brief re cap of my first 3 classes!

Class 1: This was my very first college class in 9 year, I was nervous so I showed up 15 minutes early! To my surprise there were some other people already there including a male professor and 3 other students talking computers. Thinking this is class before mine I just grab a seat in the back and wait. I thought this because my professor is FEMALE and these people are talking about computers. But at last the class starts to fill and I begin to panic because I must be in the wrong class!! But I was not because I saw other people with Astronomy books so I wait it and learn that the real teacher is away at a conference and will be back next class. WHEW. I do learn stuff or remember terms and learn that Pluto is no longer a classical planet and that we have now have dwarf planets. I knew about Pluto but not so much about the new planets, but that is OK.



Class 2: Our REAL teacher shows up and starts to pile on all this work!!?! I don't think I was prepared for all the work that was going to be required of me.... She actually wants me to read these chapters and take notes on what I read so I can make a 100 on the quizzes we have!?!? I did read, take notes, and make an 100! I don't think it would be so hard if my 2 year old son wanted me to do homework. But we are starting to get more into Astronomy and learning that ancient people used the stars and sun to tell time and to navigate. And that the Earth is not the center of the universe. I think I might have know that.



Class 3: I did all my homework and reading!! Which was crazy because that chapter talks about the history and the Fathers of Astronomy. I am pretty amazed at all the discoveries and ideas made, with the lack of technology they had. Galileo is probably the one that we are most familiar with. He in fact did not invent the telescope but made one and used it for looking at the stars and planets and not for navigation. If you are feeling inspired you can go buy a Galileo Scope HERE!! I think i might buy one because my husband said I could! So that is a "brief" over view of my first 3 classes. I have an observation project due on Wednesday and I will blog about my feelings towards that then.