Star+Party+082710

Star Party at the EIU Observatory - Aug. 27, 2010









Since Venus has an orbit inside that of Earth, it appears to go through phases similar to the Moon.
 * Venus -** Photo Credit Erling Norday

Jupiter as seen with its four largest moons - Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede. First seen by Galileo in 1610, this led to our understanding that just as moons orbit Jupiter, so Earth orbits the Sun rather than the Sun orbiting Earth - as was once believed.
 * Jupiter** - Photo Credit Edsport, AstroClassified

At a distance of more than 2,000 light years from Earth, the Ring Nebula represents the blown away outer layers of a dying star. That distance also means that we are seeing it as it appeared more then 2,000 years ago and not as it is today. It took light traveling at a speed of 186,282 miles per second more than 2,000 years just to reach our eyes on Earth. Wow!
 * The Ring Nebula** - Photo Credit, the Hubble Space Telescope