Strawberry Sun

I selected the photograph from this link:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130829.html

I selected this image because of the striking color of the sun. We hardly ever get to see the sun as a different color than the usual blinding yellow. I think that this strawberry-colored hue is a really beautiful contrast to the orange sky and dark outline of the trees. This picture was photographed on August 22nd in Strawberry, CA. The smoke plumes from the fires near this village are visible from space. The smoke particles suspended in the atmosphere here dim the sun and scatter blue light, strongly coloring the sky.

Observation

Date: 22 September, 2013
Time: 8:00 - 9:00 PM
Place: Home (Sarasota)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Instruments Used: Naked eye
Planets:
Bright Stars: Vega, Altair, Polaris
Constellations Noted: Aquarius, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Orion, Ophiuchus, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor
Binary Stars: Arcturus
Deep Sky Objects:
Other: Milky Way?

It was nice being able to recognize the constellations learned in class and see their placement in the sky around my home. I can't wait until I am able to recognize even more constellations.

WR 134 Ring Nebula

I selected the photograph from this link:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120621.html

The main reason that I selected this image of the WR 134 Ring Nebula is because of the brilliant colors. I find it fascinating how colorful and beautiful space can be, especially in nebulas. I also like the dusting of stars in this photograph. This field of view of the picture spans roughly the size of the moon within the boundaries of the constellation Cygnus. I also find interesting the glowing arcs and clouds of matter that this nebula contains. According to this site the frame of this image is roughly 50 light years across. The Wolf-Rayet star WR 134 is the brightest star in the center of the frame. These Wolf-Rayet stars burn through their fuel emit powerful winds and sheds their outer envelopes. They end this final phase of star evolution with a supernova explosion.