Hubble's Greatest Hits

On Friday, April 24th, the Hubble Telescope turned 25 years old.  For the past 25 years, the telescope has been taking amazing images of outer space that truly pique the curiosity.  Click on the following link and look at the 50 images selected by National Geographic as the best images ever created by the Hubble Telescope.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150316-50-great-images-from-the-hubble-space-telescope/

Star Power 

Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 looks through the Horsehead Nebula in a uniquely detailed infrared image. A classic target of astronomy, the nebula normally appears dark against a bright background, but Hubble penetrates the shroud of interstellar dust and gas.

While I love all the pictures of Earth and other planets, the Horsehead Nebula picture is definitely my favorite.  When looking at this image, I can truly imagine stars and other galaxies coming into existence.  Plus I love how it looks like the Nebula is waving at the Hubble Telescope.

Look at all of the images and pick your favorite.  Write a brief comment about why you chose the image that you did.  There are tons of other images out there, so if you find another Hubble Telescope image that you like better, please include the URL of where you found it.  You do not need to comment on anyone else's post, but you may comment on the National Geographic website if you would like to.

Look who turns 45

Earth Day has its roots in the 1970's--at the height of hippies and flower-child culture, modern day environmentalism had its birth.

Thousands of people jam a quadrangle at Independence Mall in Philadelphia during Earth Day activities in 1970.

This Tuesday, April 22, Earth Day celebrates its 45th birthday.  As part of the Earth Day festivities, there was a giant Global Citizen celebration yesterday in Washington D.C.  Artists including Fallout Boy, Usher, Mary J. Blidge, and help raise public awareness about environmentalism.  Check out the video below.

I am going to give you some options in your blog assignment for this week.  Pick the one that interests you the most.

A.  Write about the the history of Earth Day.  How did it get started?  Why?  Who was the president?  There are many available sources, so at the end of your post paste a copy of the URL where you found your information.  Here are two available sources:

http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement

http://www2.epa.gov/earthday

B.  Write about how Earth Day has changed.  A lot can change in 45 years including public opinion.  How is Earth Day today different than Earth Day 1970?  What progress has been made?  What changes have been made in the areas of land, water, air and species?  Again, please paste a copy of the URL where you found your research at the end of your post.  Here is one available source:

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/45-years-earth-day-how-environmentalism-has-evolved-n343886

C.  Finally, what can you do?  You are just a high school kid.  Can you make a difference?  How can you get involved in the Earth Day movement?  Is it possible for one student or even one school to make a difference in our global environment?  Here are a couple of places where you can look.  Please paste the URL where you find your ideas at the end of your post.

http://www2.epa.gov/earthday/earth-day-events

http://www.visitmchenrycounty.com/events_details.cfm?eventer=1407