Why Study Space?

Although we no longer have to study space for the reasons we used to, like navigation or timekeeping, it is still necessary to expand our knowledge on the endless information beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Even if we no longer treat the Sun as a god, we still need to study it because of its occasional solar flares that reach Earth.  Thanks to Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, we aren't as negatively affected by the flares that produce high energy particles and radiation.  When one of these geomagnetic storms occur, electric transformers and power stations can be blown out.  The Sun still presents Earth with different situations and thus has to be monitored. http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/sftheory/spaceweather.htm
The Sun's flares are not the only potential danger that awaits us in space, but many asteroids and space rocks present humans with another reason to study space.  Astronauts say that there are 4,700 potentially dangerous space rocks that can come close enough to Earth to pose a concern, and possibly cause damage on a regional or global scale.  Space rocks in orbits that overlap Earth's have to be closely tracked. http://www.space.com/15734-dangerous-asteroid-census-nasa-telescope.html
Potentially dangerous situations are not the only source of reasons to continue the study of space.  Earth is rapidly increasing in population and resources are steadily decreasing.  The exploration of other planets and the search for water and potential life is an exciting and important cause.  If one day there could be life on a planet other than Earth, the result would be revolutionary.  Space holds the source of many problems but also potential for greatness, and the exploration of the endless boundaries must continue.

What do you want to know?

One topic that I really wanted to expand my knowledge on throughout the semester of Astronomy was the life and death of stars.  Given that they're such large scale objects, I'd imagine that something drastic has to happen..

How long does a star live before it dies?

What is the process of the formation of a star?

How long does the light  from a star shine for?

Where is the biggest star located and what is its name?

Why does a star die?

Messier Object M101

An interesting Deep Sky Object, located in Virgo, is the M104 Galaxy.  Because of its dark dust lane that surrounds the galaxy's disk, it is commonly referred to as a sombrero galaxy.  It is possible to see the galaxy through a pair of binoculars, but with its 50 million light-year distance from Earth, it's best seen through a 4-inch or larger telescope.  The intriguing shape of this galaxy caught my eye and was the first one of this sort that I've seen.

This image was taken by Todd Boroson: http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0583.html