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B33 The Horsehead Nebula |
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Written by Michelle Stone
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Tuesday, 13 January 2009 16:25 |
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During the winter months, the constellation of Orion hangs high in the southern sky and is visible from even within most cities. Orion is rich with nebulae an they are big. One of the most famous is the Horsehead Nebula. It lies 1500 light years away and as such is relatively close to us in astronomical terms I took this photograph several years ago with a C14 and an SBIG 7 camera. The Horse is a dark nebula. There is no starlight to make it visible. Nor does it emit light. If it were not for the massive ionized hydrogen cloud behind it which does emit light in the red spectrum, we would not see this object. The hydrogen is ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionus. The shape of the Horsehead was first recognized on photographic plates at the Harvard College Observatory by Williamina Fleming in 1888. Williamina's accomplishments and work were not recognize in her day. Astronomy was only for men. Women were hired to do all the grunt work. I believe that the Horsehead looks more like a complete horse. Can't you see the horse's tail? |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 January 2009 16:40 |
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Plettstone Weather Update |
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Written by Michelle Stone
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Tuesday, 13 January 2009 16:17 |
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Thanks to a grateful donation from an anonymous fan, Plettstone now has an active weather station. I've been spending the past couple of weeks improving its reporting capabilities. We now have an active presentation right here on the Plettstone website and on Weather Underground. Weather Underground is maintaining historical graphs and you might want to check it out at: http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KCAMARIP6 Here on the Plettstone site, just click on the weather icon or the webcam image on the right side of the home page to get to our current weather status. Please note that the weather icon is not always correct as far as cloud status is concerned..... the cloud icon is based on regional data services. Make sure to check out the webcam image for that particular data. Comments are always welcome. You can send them to litebkt at plettstone dot com. Michelle |
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Moon, Venus, and Jupiter line up |
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Written by Michelle Stone
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Wednesday, 03 December 2008 20:29 |
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On December 1, 2008 we were given a fairly rare treat. I had been watching the progression of the Moon, Jupiter and Venus over several days. And on Monday night the formed a tight triangle in the southwest sky. In this photo by local photographer, Brent Gilstrap, Jupiter is the dimmest of the three and Venus is the brightest star like object. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 January 2009 16:41 |
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Star Party at Plettstone August 2008 |
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Written by Michelle Stone
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Friday, 29 August 2008 00:00 |
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We had great fun at our August 2008 star party. Several amateur astronomers came from Sacramento and the bay area. We had a wonderful BBQ with burgers and sausages as well as salads and deserts furnished by the attendees. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 January 2009 16:42 |
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The Telegraph Fire |
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Written by Michelle Stone
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Monday, 28 July 2008 19:59 |
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TheTelegraph fire started north of Mariposa on Friday July 25. Paul and I drove into town for lunch about 2:30 PM and noticed billowing smoke above the hill to the east of our home as we left home. By the time we had finished our meal and started to head back, the smoke had spiraled upward forming what looked like a mushroom cloud. I don't rip off photos from other sites and stupid me... no camera. But here's a link to a picture similar to what we saw. Scroll to the bottom of the page. The fire quickly spread to fill a triangle bounded by Highway 48, Highway 140 and the Merced River in just a few hours. Every time an update was distributed, the fire had grown significantly. I have taken some photos during the past few days chronicling some of the events in the area. Other submissions by people in the area are notated. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 January 2009 16:53 |
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