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Independence Day with the Cosmos
After a beautiful display of Independence Day fireworks next to the nearly full moon, I headed over to the UNH Observatory to see what I could discover--although the intense light of the moon made it difficult to see certain objects. Firstly, I noted some of my favorite summer constellations: Casseopia; Ursa Major, faithfully pointing to Polaris; Lyra, Cygnus, and Aquila, and their respective alpha stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair.
Then through the telescope, I observed M57, the Ring Nebula (also known as the "soggy Cheerio"), one of my favorite objects. I also saw M27, the Dumbbell Nebula; M13, the great globular cluster in Hercules; and M81 and M82, which are next-door neighbors in Ursa Major. Finally, I saw M51, the extravagant Whirlpool Galaxy near the star Alkaid at the end of the handle of the Big Dipper.
Additionally, I looked at other various objects, like the double star Albireo, noting how the main star was yellow and the other star was blue. With the naked eye, I could see Mizar and its companion Alcor. Plus, I saw two satellites, one Japanese and the other Russian. The Japanese satellite I actually saw through the telescope while I was viewing M81. The Russian satellite, identified as Cosmos 2421, I watched pass overhead outside the observatory.
I did some research on Cosmos 2421. It was launched by the Russians in June of 2006, and the mission lasted for about twenty months. It was one of the last in a series of Cosmos satellites. The satellite was designed for military reconnaissance and guidance, and it has an orbital period of 93 minutes. However, the satellite allegedly experienced some trouble with one of its solar panels which would not open and the mission seemed destined for failure. In February 2008, the satellite experienced a breakup simply because it was old. Over time, more than 400 pieces were found, nearly 300 of which are still in orbit, along with the main craft.
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