APOD 3.8

In the constellation Corvus, two galaxies are colliding with each other. The bright colors seen are due to the large amounts of hydrogen, which causes a reddish pink coloration. During the collision, the gas clouds that make up much of these galaxies are smashed together, and compressed by the immense gravitational forces at work. This causes the birth of millions of stars, which will be trapped together in massive star clusters.

Pulsars/Neutron Stars

Pulsar

Neutron Star

Pulsars are neutron stars that appear to "pulse" in the eyes of radiation detecting equipment.. A neutron star is one of the possible ends to a stars life. They have a large mass compressed into a very small area, making them incredibly dense. Neutron stars are formed after a large star goes supernova, and its core collapses into a dense neutron star. After the star has fully collapsed, the neutron star can remain as a supernova remnant, become an isolated object, or be pulled into becoming a binary system. Neutron stars form intensely strong magnetic poles, and massive amounts of radiation are emitted from these poles. If the star is rotating with the poles pointed at earth, it is called a pulsar. The "pulsing" of the star is due to the star's rotation. However, not all pulsars act in the same way. Cooling neutron stars can act as pulsars by emitting x-rays at the naturally hotter magnetic poles. Some pulsars are created in a binary system, where the neutron star siphons off material from a nearby star, that is then heated until it too emits x-rays. The magnetic spheres of neutron stars are so powerful that they can cause the stars to emit x-rays, again causing a pulsar.

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/pulsars.html

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/pulsars.html

APOD 3.7

NGC 133 is a reflection nebula that lies near the constellation Perseus. The defining characteristic of the nebula is it's bluish hue, as caused by the reflection of starlight. This particular cloud is on the edge of a large star-forming molecular cloud. Many of the stars in the cloud are very young, with hundreds of them being less than a million years old. This particular area seems to be very similar to the one that our own sun formed in 4.3 billion years ago.

Karl Swarzschild

Karl Shwarzschild was born in 1873 in Frankfurt, Germany. Very early in his life he showed a remarkable intellect and passion for astronomy, having his first scientific paper on the orbit of celestial bodies published when he was just 16 years old. Shwarzschild went on to study at several colleges, attaining his doctorate at the University of Munich. After spending three years at the Von Kuffner Observatory, he would return to the University of Munich to become a Privatdozent. During this time he made several important discoveries, most of which stemmed from his habilitation thesis. The most important of these discoveries, was the epiphany that the spectral type of a star was related directly to it's color. His influence could also be seen with telescope construction and design, as he pioneered the use of coarse grating on telescope lenses in order to better separate double stars. Shwarzschild spent many years at an observatory in Göttingen before accepting the position of director of the Astrophysical Observatory in Potsdam, at the time the most prestigious job for an astronomer in Germany. His influence could also be seen with telescope construction and design, as he pioneered the use of coarse grating on telescope lenses in order to better separate double stars. With the outbreak of World War I, Shwarzschild enrolled in the military, and spent time in Belgium, France, and Russia, in which he wrote three papers. Two of the papers he wrote pertained to Einsteins theory of relativity, and formulated the exact solution to the famous equation. Einstein personally replied, and praised Shwarzschild for his ability to solve the equation so simplistically. His third paper, which proved the Stark effect in Planck's quantum theory, was unfortunately timed, as another astronomer independently and simultaneously came to prove the same theory. However, Russia would herald the end of his life, as he caught an autoimmune disease called pemphigus while stationed there. At the time, no cure existed for the disease, and Shwarzschild drew his last in March, 1916. His effects on the scientific community were profound, and extended beyond astronomy. Shwarzschild was a renaissance man of sorts, and developed papers considering geometry, aerodynamics, and other aspects of physics and mathematics. His impact is so great that he is often referred to as the greatest German astronomer of his century.

Astronomer biography sources

http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Schwarzschild.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/528632/Karl-Schwarzschild