APOD 2.6

This picture of the Orion launch was made Astronomy Picture of the Day on December 6. Destined two orbit the Earth twice and then splash in the Pacific, the rocket launched Friday at 7:05 AM. The Orion spacecraft travelled farther than any other spacecraft designed for manned usage since the Apollo missions, traveling 15 times farther than the orbit of the International Space Station. The module reached speeds of up to 20,000 miles an hour and temperatures up to 4000 degrees during its re-entry into Earth orbit.

APOD 2.5

This picture of the 'seahorse of the Large Magellanic cloud was made Astronomy Picture of the Day on November 30, 2014. The 'seahorse' in the picture is a curious smoke pillar in the Large Magellanic cloud roughly 20 lightyears long. In the photo, newly-formed star cluster NGC 2074 can be seen right off the center of the seahorse. These newly-formed stars will actually erode the pillars over time.

APOD 2.4

This picture of the Crab Nebula was made Astronomy Picture of the day on November 21, 2014. Also known as M11 and present in the constellation Scutum, the Crab Nebula is actually a remnant of a supernova. Recorded in 1054 by astronomers around the globe, the supernova that created the Crab Nebula was said to be brighter than the full moon, and lasted for upwards of 3 weeks in the sky. The Crab Nebula is roughly 12 lightyears wide and is another 6000 from the constellation, Taurus.

APOD 2.3

This picture of the Cat's Eye Nebula was made Astronomy Picture of the Day on November 9, 2014. A planetary nebula located 3000 lightyears from Earth, the nebula is going into its final phases as a galaxy. Regular convulsions by the nebula's central star create the halo effect, foreshadowing, possibly, the future of our own star.

APOD 2.2

This picture of an aurora over Norway was made Astronomy Picture of the Day on November 3, 2014. Taken at the summit of the Austnesfjorden Fjord in early March, at a peak of solar activity. Solar flares and general solar activity caused a series of beautiful auroral patterns in the sky, such as this one in Norway.

APOD 2.1

This picture of a spectre in the Eastern Veil was made Astronomy Picture of the Day on October 30, 2014. This is a closeup of the Veil Nebula, a remnant of a supernova. Located in Cygnus, the Veil Nebula covers about 3 degrees of the sky. The Veil Nebula is about 1400 lightyears away from Earth, and is about 3 lightyears long.

Stargaze 10/12

I attended the stargaze on October 12 for 1.5 hours, observing patterns in the sky, as well as taking telescopic observations of such celestial bodies as Saturn and M13.