Welcome
to my web site. I live in the UK and my main interest in astronomy
is the solar System and the Moon. I've been interested in
astronomy since I was 12 year's old. This site has many
astronomical images which I have taken over many year's.
Images include Jupiter, The Moon, artificial satellites
and Aurora or Northern Lights.
On
the right is a brief description of satellites and
phenomena and below is a list of useful web sites
including my images page.
Artificial
satellites-
these are man made satellites like the Space
Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS for
short), Iridium satellites and weather
satellites. They normally orbit the Earth in a
West to Easterly direction or in a polar (North
to South/South to North) direction roughly every
90 minutes.
Iridium
satellites-
communication satellites, each satellite has
three silver-coated Teflon antennae, they act
like giant mirrors, reflecting the Sun's rays
down to the ground. An observer in the right
place at the right time can see this reflection
as the satellite passes over, as a flash much
brighter then Venus and lasting only a few
seconds.
Aurora
- is a natural display of light in the sky that
can be seen with the unaided eye only at night.
An auroral display in the Northern Hemisphere is
called the aurora borealis, or the Northern
lights. A similar phenomenon in the Southern
Hemisphere is called the aurora australis or
Southern lights. Auroras are the most visible
effect of the sun's activity on the earth's
atmosphere.
Auroral
displays are associated with the solar wind, a
continuous flow of electrically charged particles
from the sun. When these particles reach the
earth's magnetic field, some are trapped by the
field. Many of the trapped particles travel
toward the earth's magnetic poles. When they
strike atoms and molecules in the atmosphere,
energy is released. Some of this energy appears
in the form of an aurora.
astronomy
is the solar System and the Moon. I've been interested in
astronomy since I was 12 year's old. This site has many
astronomical images which I have taken over many year's.
Images include Jupiter, The Moon, artificial satellites
and Aurora or Northern Lights.
Artificial
satellites -
these are man made satellites like the Space
Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS for
short), Iridium satellites and weather
satellites. They normally orbit the Earth in a
West to Easterly direction or in a polar (North
to South/South to North) direction roughly every
90 minutes.