AstronomyCast Neutron Star

A neutron star is a stellar remnant that can be formed by the gravitational collapse that occurs from one of the several types of supernova events. Neutron stars are composed entirely of neutrons. They contain no electrons and therefore do not have an overall positive charge. They do, however, contain seas of electrons that flow  over and around the crushed together neutrons. Neutron stars are generally very hot and generally have a mass between 1.35 and 2 solar masses. The first neutron star was discovered by Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky in 1934, and many have been discovered since.

APOD 2.8

Believe it or not, this is an image of Earth using a special process. It was created from a 12 frame mosaic used to construct a spherical panorama. This type of stereographic projection is used to map the image pixels is centered directly below the camera and is known as the  little planet projection. If you look closely, you can see a portion of the constellation of Orion just to the right of the center of Earth. You can also see the fading tail of the comet Lovejoy stretching near the south celestial pole.

AstronomyCast Galaxy

A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an intersellar medium of gas and dust, and dark matter. Galaxies contain various amounts of star remnants, star clusters, and types of interstellar clouds. There are several different types of galaxies including elliptical galaxies, spiral galaxies, ring galaxies, dwarf galaxies, starburst galaxies, and other morphologies. The galaxy in which we live is named the Milky Way galaxy and it is a disc shaped spiral galaxy. It is 100,000 to 200,000  light years in diameter and holds about 200-400 billion stars. It is estimated to be 13.2 billion years old.

AstronomyCast Io

One of Jupiter's moons, Io, is the site of extreme conditions. It is the most geologically active object in the solar system. Io is the fourth largest moon in the solar system and it has over 400 active volcanoes. The extensive geological activity is caused by the result of tidal heating from friction generated from within Io's interior as it is pulled between Jupiter and the other Galilean moons. Some of the volcanoes and mountains on Io are even taller than Earth's Mt. Everest. Unlike many other moons, Io consists of silicate rock surrounding a molten iron or molten iron sulfide core. Io is just one of the thousands of satellites in our solar system and it holds many interesting information.

Heinrich Wilhelm Matthaus Olbers Biography

Heinrich Olbers was born on October 11, 1758. He was born in Arbergren, Germany, near Bremen. He is most famous for being a physician and an astronomer. He studied to become a physician at Gottinger, which is a university in Lower Saxony, Germany. He graduated in 1780, and he began to practice medicine in Bremen, Germany. He is perhaps more famous for his fascination with astronomy and contributions made towards the field. He turned the second level of his home into an observatory with which he was able to make several contributions. He made several discoveries of asteroids, including Pallas and Vesta. Olbers also theorized about the formation of the asteroid belt. As the term "asteroid" had not been coined during his lifetime, he as well as some others astronomers thought that they were planets or parts of planets. Olbers predicted that the area in which these asteroids were being found was once a planet and that the asteroids were its remnants. Olbers also discovered a comet which is named after him (13P/Olbers). Olbers' most famous contribution to astronomy is his paradox. It states that the darkness of the night sky conflicts with the  assumption of an infinite and eternal static universe. If the universe is static and populated by an infinite number of stars, any sight line from Earth must end at the surface of a star, so the night should be completely bright. Other notable accomplishments were his acceptance into the Royal Swedish Academy of the Sciences, and he also partook in the baptizing of Napoleon the Second of France. Heinrich Olbers died on March 2, 1840, at the age of 81.

AstronomyCast Tunguska Event

The Tunguska Event is one of the most fascinating events in the history of meteorite or comet impacts with the Earth. The actual occurrence is still under debate. Scientists do not even know for certain what happened. The general belief is that the meteorite or comet burst before it even made impact with the Earth in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is also believed that the object burst approximately five to ten kilometers from the surface of the Earth, however the size of the object itself is still under debate. The power of the blast is estimated to be between five to thirty megatons of TNT. Although not much is certain about the cause of the event, Leonid Kulik, Yevgeny Krinov, Kirill Florensky, Nikolai Vladimirovich Vasiliev, and Wilhelm Fast are some of the most famous scientists who have researched it. 

APOD 2.7

This is an image of a full sky aurora above Norway. Auroras do not usually reach below 60 kilometers. This is much higher than any building, muntain, or airplane path. The colors of the auroras are cause by the striking of the electrons and protons into molecules high in the sky. Usually auroras appear as circles surrounding the Earth's poles, but this one is a wide angle horizontally compressed. 

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Wilhelm_Matth%C3%A4us_Olbers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers'_paradox
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0836516.html
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Heinrich_Wilhelm_Matthias_Olbers
http://www.answers.com/topic/olbers-s-paradox

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