Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Physics20 Midterm

 

It is currently 9:42 AM and I am cramming for my 3 PM Physics20 midterm. Physics20 is an intro astronomy course that focuses on the formation of planets, stars, and the growth of the universe. I was just reading about the formation of stars and came across these two beautiful pictures. These pictures depict the two different star clusters: Open and Globular. The one on the left is an open cluster and consists of thousands of loosely packed stars. All the stars in the cluster were formed at the same time. In the picture to the right, a globular cluster is a dense ball of up to a million or more stars bound together by gravity. 

Truly astounding. Images and the new information I learn about this class really blows my mind and inspires me. I feel pretty good about today's exam!

Here are a few nebula photos that are just stellar:

Lagoon Nebula

The Eagle Nebula

The Horsehead Nebula