Full Version: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
I could not figure this one out, until I read it! It was too good to be true! Still, it looks like a harvest moon, which is an autumn phenomena! Il est magnifique.
QUOTE(SAMURAI-X @ Jun 27 2006, 05:40 AM) [snapback]1247663[/snapback]
I was just wondering if you could find a close up picture of the north star
It's related to three stars.
This is from infrared, to near ultraviolet.
North Star
shun, do you happen to have a scope of any sort?
Launch of Galileo on STS-34 Atlantis
Credit: NASA
STS-34 Atlantis, carrying the Galileo spacecraft and its Inertial Upper Stage booster, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 18, 1989. Liftoff occurred at 12:53 P.M. EDT. Space Shuttle Atlantis was commanded by Donald E. Williams and piloted by Michael J. McCulley; mission specialists were Shannon W. Lucid, Franklin W. Chang-Diaz, and Ellen S. Baker.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA'is Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.
Credit: NASA
STS-34 Atlantis, carrying the Galileo spacecraft and its Inertial Upper Stage booster, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 18, 1989. Liftoff occurred at 12:53 P.M. EDT. Space Shuttle Atlantis was commanded by Donald E. Williams and piloted by Michael J. McCulley; mission specialists were Shannon W. Lucid, Franklin W. Chang-Diaz, and Ellen S. Baker.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA'is Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 June 30
The Antennae
Credit & Copyright: Daniel Verschatse (Antilhue Observatory)
Explanation: Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly constellation Corvus, two large galaxies have collided. But stars in the two galaxies - NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 - don't collide in the course of the ponderous, billion year or so long event. Instead, their large clouds of molecular gas and dust do, triggering furious episodes of star formation. Spanning about 500 thousand light-years, this stunning view reveals new star clusters and matter flung far from the scene of the accident by gravitational tidal forces. Of course, the visual appearance of the far-flung arcing structures gives the galaxy pair its popular name - The Antennae. Recorded in this deep image of the region at the tip of the upper arc is a tidal dwarf galaxy NGC 4038S, formed in the cosmic debris.
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 June 30
The Antennae
Credit & Copyright: Daniel Verschatse (Antilhue Observatory)
Explanation: Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly constellation Corvus, two large galaxies have collided. But stars in the two galaxies - NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 - don't collide in the course of the ponderous, billion year or so long event. Instead, their large clouds of molecular gas and dust do, triggering furious episodes of star formation. Spanning about 500 thousand light-years, this stunning view reveals new star clusters and matter flung far from the scene of the accident by gravitational tidal forces. Of course, the visual appearance of the far-flung arcing structures gives the galaxy pair its popular name - The Antennae. Recorded in this deep image of the region at the tip of the upper arc is a tidal dwarf galaxy NGC 4038S, formed in the cosmic debris.
QUOTE(frogfish @ Jun 30 2006, 11:06 AM) [snapback]1252731[/snapback]
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 June 30
That is
. And, that's all that i have to say about that.
A false-color Spitzer picture of galaxy NGC 4725.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This peculiar galaxy is thought to have only one spiral arm. Most spiral galaxies have two or more arms. Astronomers refer to NGC 4725 as a ringed barred spiral galaxy because a prominent ring of stars encircles a bar of stars at its center (the bar is seen here as a horizontal ridge with faint red features). Our own Milky Way galaxy sports multiple arms and a proportionally smaller bar and ring.
In this false-color Spitzer picture, the galaxy's arm is highlighted in red, while its center and outlying halo are blue. Red represents warm dust clouds illuminated by newborn stars, while blue indicates older, cooler stellar populations. The red spokes seen projecting outward from the arm are clumps of stellar matter that may have been pushed together by instable magnetic fields.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 1
Wind from a Black Hole
Illustration Credit: M. Weiss (CXC), NASA
Explanation: Binary star system GRO J1655-40 consists of a relatively normal star about twice as massive as the Sun co-orbiting with a black hole of about seven solar masses. This striking artist's vision of the exotic binary system helps visualize matter drawn from the normal star by gravity and swirling toward the black hole. But it also includes a wind of material escaping from the black hole's accretion disk. In fact, astronomers now argue that Chandra Observatory x-ray data indicate a high-speed wind is being driven from this system's disk by magnetic forces. Internal magnetic fields also help drive material in the swirling disk into the black hole itself. If you had x-ray eyes as good as Chandra's, you could find GRO J1655-40 about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.
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2006 July 1
Wind from a Black Hole
Illustration Credit: M. Weiss (CXC), NASA
Explanation: Binary star system GRO J1655-40 consists of a relatively normal star about twice as massive as the Sun co-orbiting with a black hole of about seven solar masses. This striking artist's vision of the exotic binary system helps visualize matter drawn from the normal star by gravity and swirling toward the black hole. But it also includes a wind of material escaping from the black hole's accretion disk. In fact, astronomers now argue that Chandra Observatory x-ray data indicate a high-speed wind is being driven from this system's disk by magnetic forces. Internal magnetic fields also help drive material in the swirling disk into the black hole itself. If you had x-ray eyes as good as Chandra's, you could find GRO J1655-40 about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.
NASA
Doesn’t look like much, does it? Ah, but like so much in astronomy, appearances can be very deceiving.
The picture is from the Spitzer Space Telescope, an orbiting observatory sensitive to infrared light. Astronomers pointed this formidable instrument into a region of the sky in the constellation Draco, where there is a minimum of stars, galaxies, and dust to obscure any distant objects. The fact that you see so many objects in the image is a testament to how sensitive Spitzer is.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 2
Tornado and Rainbow Over Kansas
Credit & Copyright: Eric Nguyen (Oklahoma U.), www.mesoscale.ws
Explanation: The scene might have been considered serene if it weren't for the tornado. Last June in Kansas, storm chaser Eric Nguyen photographed this budding twister in a different light -- the light of a rainbow. Pictured above, a white tornado cloud descends from a dark storm cloud. The Sun, peeking through a clear patch of sky to the left, illuminates some buildings in the foreground. Sunlight reflects off raindrops to form a rainbow. By coincidence, the tornado appears to end right over the rainbow. Streaks in the image are hail being swept about by the high swirling winds. Over 1,000 tornadoes, the most violent type of storm known, occur on Earth every year, many in tornado alley. If you see a tornado while driving, do not try to outrun it -- park your car safely, go to a storm cellar, or crouch under steps in a basement.
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2006 July 2
Tornado and Rainbow Over Kansas
Credit & Copyright: Eric Nguyen (Oklahoma U.), www.mesoscale.ws
Explanation: The scene might have been considered serene if it weren't for the tornado. Last June in Kansas, storm chaser Eric Nguyen photographed this budding twister in a different light -- the light of a rainbow. Pictured above, a white tornado cloud descends from a dark storm cloud. The Sun, peeking through a clear patch of sky to the left, illuminates some buildings in the foreground. Sunlight reflects off raindrops to form a rainbow. By coincidence, the tornado appears to end right over the rainbow. Streaks in the image are hail being swept about by the high swirling winds. Over 1,000 tornadoes, the most violent type of storm known, occur on Earth every year, many in tornado alley. If you see a tornado while driving, do not try to outrun it -- park your car safely, go to a storm cellar, or crouch under steps in a basement.
CLICK HERE FOR IMAGE
Credit: NASA
This is the first direct image of a star other than the Sun. Called Alpha Orionis, or Betelgeuse, the star is a red super giant, a Sun-like star nearing the end of its life.
The Hubble picture reveals a huge ultraviolet atmosphere with a mysterious hot spot on the stellar behemoth's surface. The enormous bright spot, more than 10 times the diameter of Earth, is at least 2,000 degrees Kelvin hotter than the star's surface.
Edit; changed to clickable link, image is oversize
Credit: NASA
This is the first direct image of a star other than the Sun. Called Alpha Orionis, or Betelgeuse, the star is a red super giant, a Sun-like star nearing the end of its life.
The Hubble picture reveals a huge ultraviolet atmosphere with a mysterious hot spot on the stellar behemoth's surface. The enormous bright spot, more than 10 times the diameter of Earth, is at least 2,000 degrees Kelvin hotter than the star's surface.
Edit; changed to clickable link, image is oversize
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 3
The View toward Husband Hill on Mars
Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASA
Explanation: This Martian vista is only part of one of the greatest panoramic views of Mars that has ever attempted. The expansive mosaic is helping to keep the robotic Spirit rover busy over the energy draining winter in the southern hemisphere of Mars. During the winter, Spirit is constrained to stay on the side of McCool Hill in order to keep its solar panels pointed toward the Sun. The panorama has so far involved over 800 exposures, very little digital compression, and will take over a month to complete. The view shown is toward Husband Hill, a hill that Spirit climbed last year. A careful inspection of the above image shows tracks crossing from the center to the right.
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2006 July 3
The View toward Husband Hill on Mars
Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASA
Explanation: This Martian vista is only part of one of the greatest panoramic views of Mars that has ever attempted. The expansive mosaic is helping to keep the robotic Spirit rover busy over the energy draining winter in the southern hemisphere of Mars. During the winter, Spirit is constrained to stay on the side of McCool Hill in order to keep its solar panels pointed toward the Sun. The panorama has so far involved over 800 exposures, very little digital compression, and will take over a month to complete. The view shown is toward Husband Hill, a hill that Spirit climbed last year. A careful inspection of the above image shows tracks crossing from the center to the right.
Thanks MagikMang. 
CREDIT: NASA
(Left and center) Mercury, much like the Moon, presents two totally different faces, one battered (and thus older) and one smoother (and thus younger) (Mariner 10).
(Right, top) Caloris Basin was undoubtedly produced from a tremendous impact. A circular mountain range surrounding the wrinkled terrain at left defines the basin¹s main rim (Mariner 10).
(Right, bottom) Photomosaic of Mercury¹s southern hemisphere (Mariner 10).
CREDIT: NASA
(Left and center) Mercury, much like the Moon, presents two totally different faces, one battered (and thus older) and one smoother (and thus younger) (Mariner 10).
(Right, top) Caloris Basin was undoubtedly produced from a tremendous impact. A circular mountain range surrounding the wrinkled terrain at left defines the basin¹s main rim (Mariner 10).
(Right, bottom) Photomosaic of Mercury¹s southern hemisphere (Mariner 10).
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 3
Elliptical Galaxy Centaurus A from CFHT
Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight, CFHT
Explanation: Why is peculiar galaxy Centaurus A so dusty? Dramatic dust lanes that run across the galaxy's center mark Cen A. These dust lanes are so thick they almost completely obscure the galaxy's center in visible light. This is particularly unusual as Cen A's red stars and round shape are characteristic of a giant elliptical galaxy, a galaxy type usually low in dark dust. Cen A, also known as NGC 5128, is also unusual compared to an average elliptical galaxy because it contains a higher proportion of young blue stars and is a very strong source of radio emission. Evidence indicates that Cen A is likely the result of the collision of two normal galaxies. During the collision, many young stars were formed, but details of the creation of Cen A's unusual dust belts are still being researched. Cen A lies only 13 million light years away, making it the closest active galaxy. Cen A, pictured above, spans 60,000 light years and can be seen with binoculars toward the constellation of Centaurus.
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2006 July 3
Elliptical Galaxy Centaurus A from CFHT
Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight, CFHT
Explanation: Why is peculiar galaxy Centaurus A so dusty? Dramatic dust lanes that run across the galaxy's center mark Cen A. These dust lanes are so thick they almost completely obscure the galaxy's center in visible light. This is particularly unusual as Cen A's red stars and round shape are characteristic of a giant elliptical galaxy, a galaxy type usually low in dark dust. Cen A, also known as NGC 5128, is also unusual compared to an average elliptical galaxy because it contains a higher proportion of young blue stars and is a very strong source of radio emission. Evidence indicates that Cen A is likely the result of the collision of two normal galaxies. During the collision, many young stars were formed, but details of the creation of Cen A's unusual dust belts are still being researched. Cen A lies only 13 million light years away, making it the closest active galaxy. Cen A, pictured above, spans 60,000 light years and can be seen with binoculars toward the constellation of Centaurus.
CREDIT: NASA
Captured by Spitzer's infrared eyes, the majestic image resembles the iconic "Pillars of Creation" picture taken of the Eagle Nebula in visible light by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 1995. Both views feature star-forming clouds of cool gas and dust that have been sculpted into pillars by radiation and winds from hot, massive stars.
This region is dominated by a single massive star, whose location outside the pictured area is "pointed out" by the finger-like pillars. The pillars themselves are colossal, together resembling a mountain range. They are more than 10 times the size of those in the Eagle Nebula.
The largest of the pillars observed by Spitzer entombs hundreds of never-before-seen embryonic stars, and the second largest contains dozens.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 5
Spiral Galaxy NGC 2403 from Subaru
Credit & Copyright: Suprime-Cam, Subaru Telescope, NAOJ
Explanation: Sprawling spiral arms dotted with bright red emission nebulas highlight this new and detailed image of nearby spiral galaxy NGC 2403. Also visible in the photogenic spiral galaxy are blue open clusters, dark dust lanes, and a bright but relatively small central nucleus. NGC 2403 is located just beyond the Local Group of Galaxies, at a relatively close 10 million light years away toward the constellation of the Giraffe (Camelopardalis). NGC 2403 has a designated Hubble type of Sc. In 2004, NGC 2403 was home to one of the brightest supernovas of modern times. The above image, the highest resolution complete image of NGC 2403 ever completed, was taken by the Japan's 8.3-meter Subaru telescope located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA.
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2006 July 5
Spiral Galaxy NGC 2403 from Subaru
Credit & Copyright: Suprime-Cam, Subaru Telescope, NAOJ
Explanation: Sprawling spiral arms dotted with bright red emission nebulas highlight this new and detailed image of nearby spiral galaxy NGC 2403. Also visible in the photogenic spiral galaxy are blue open clusters, dark dust lanes, and a bright but relatively small central nucleus. NGC 2403 is located just beyond the Local Group of Galaxies, at a relatively close 10 million light years away toward the constellation of the Giraffe (Camelopardalis). NGC 2403 has a designated Hubble type of Sc. In 2004, NGC 2403 was home to one of the brightest supernovas of modern times. The above image, the highest resolution complete image of NGC 2403 ever completed, was taken by the Japan's 8.3-meter Subaru telescope located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA.
Spitzer Sets Sights on Galactic Collision
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has set its infrared sight on a major galactic collision and witnessed not death, but a teeming nest of life.
Credit: NASA
This false-color image composite from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals hidden populations of newborn stars at the heart of the colliding "Antennae" galaxies. These two galaxies, known individually as NGC 4038 and 4039, are located around 68 million light-years away and have been merging together for about the last 800 million years. + Click for larger image. Image coutesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA/NOAO/AURA.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has set its infrared sight on a major galactic collision and witnessed not death, but a teeming nest of life.
Credit: NASA
This false-color image composite from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals hidden populations of newborn stars at the heart of the colliding "Antennae" galaxies. These two galaxies, known individually as NGC 4038 and 4039, are located around 68 million light-years away and have been merging together for about the last 800 million years. + Click for larger image. Image coutesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA/NOAO/AURA.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 6
NGC 6888: A Tricolor Starfield
Credit & Copyright: Don Goldman
Explanation: NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a cosmic bubble about 25 light-years across, blown by winds from its central, bright, massive star. Near the center of this intriguing widefield view of interstellar gas clouds and rich star fields of the constellation Cygnus, NGC 6888 is about 5,000 light-years away. The three color composite image was created by stacking exposures through narrow band filters that transmit the light from atoms in the clouds. Hydrogen is shown as green, sulfur as red, and oxygen as blue. NGC 6888's central star is classified as a Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136) and is shedding its outer envelope in a strong stellar wind, ejecting the equivalent of our Sun's mass every 10,000 years. Burning fuel at a prodigious rate and near the end of its stellar life, this star should ultimately go out with a bang in a spectacular supernova explosion.
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2006 July 6
NGC 6888: A Tricolor Starfield
Credit & Copyright: Don Goldman
Explanation: NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a cosmic bubble about 25 light-years across, blown by winds from its central, bright, massive star. Near the center of this intriguing widefield view of interstellar gas clouds and rich star fields of the constellation Cygnus, NGC 6888 is about 5,000 light-years away. The three color composite image was created by stacking exposures through narrow band filters that transmit the light from atoms in the clouds. Hydrogen is shown as green, sulfur as red, and oxygen as blue. NGC 6888's central star is classified as a Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136) and is shedding its outer envelope in a strong stellar wind, ejecting the equivalent of our Sun's mass every 10,000 years. Burning fuel at a prodigious rate and near the end of its stellar life, this star should ultimately go out with a bang in a spectacular supernova explosion.
Credit: NASA/AURA/STSCI
Cygnus Loop nebula is a blast wave expanding from a supernova. Crashing into a dense interstellar cloud has heated the gas to a glow.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 7
Bright Galaxy M81
Credit & Copyright: Giovanni Benintende
Explanation: Big and beautiful spiral galaxy M81 lies in the northern constellation Ursa Major. One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky, M81 is also home to the second brightest supernova seen in modern times. This superbly detailed view reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms, and sweeping cosmic dust lanes with a scale comparable to the Milky Way. Hinting at a disorderly past, a remarkable dust lane actually runs straight through the disk, below and right of the galactic center, contrary to M81's other prominent spiral features. The errant dust lane may be the lingering result of a close encounter between M81 and its smaller companion galaxy, M82. Scrutiny of variable stars in M81 (aka NGC 3031) has yielded one of the best determined distances for an external galaxy -- 11.8 million light-years.
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2006 July 7
Bright Galaxy M81
Credit & Copyright: Giovanni Benintende
Explanation: Big and beautiful spiral galaxy M81 lies in the northern constellation Ursa Major. One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky, M81 is also home to the second brightest supernova seen in modern times. This superbly detailed view reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms, and sweeping cosmic dust lanes with a scale comparable to the Milky Way. Hinting at a disorderly past, a remarkable dust lane actually runs straight through the disk, below and right of the galactic center, contrary to M81's other prominent spiral features. The errant dust lane may be the lingering result of a close encounter between M81 and its smaller companion galaxy, M82. Scrutiny of variable stars in M81 (aka NGC 3031) has yielded one of the best determined distances for an external galaxy -- 11.8 million light-years.
Protoplanetary Disks Around Newly Formed Stars
CREDIT: NASA
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered the strongest evidence yet that many stars form planetary systems. Before the Hubble discovery, protoplanetary disks have been confirmed around only four stars: Beta Pictoris, Alpha Lyrae, Alpha Piscis Austrini, and Epsilon Eridani.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 8
Discovery in Motion
Image Credit: Dimitri Gerondidakis, NASA
Explanation: On July 4th, the space shuttle orbiter Discovery rocketed into space on mission STS-121. Now docked with the International Space Station, Discovery orbits planet Earth at about 27 thousand kilometers per hour. But in this dramatic sunset view taken in May, Discovery is approaching the service structures at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B at the blinding speed of (less than) 2 kilometers per hour. Of course, the orbiter, booster rockets, and external fuel tank ride on one of NASA's workhorse crawler transporters. Built for the Apollo program to carry the giant Saturn V rocket, the crawler transporters have seen four decades of service.
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 8
Discovery in Motion
Image Credit: Dimitri Gerondidakis, NASA
Explanation: On July 4th, the space shuttle orbiter Discovery rocketed into space on mission STS-121. Now docked with the International Space Station, Discovery orbits planet Earth at about 27 thousand kilometers per hour. But in this dramatic sunset view taken in May, Discovery is approaching the service structures at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B at the blinding speed of (less than) 2 kilometers per hour. Of course, the orbiter, booster rockets, and external fuel tank ride on one of NASA's workhorse crawler transporters. Built for the Apollo program to carry the giant Saturn V rocket, the crawler transporters have seen four decades of service.
I like stars and planets but I dont understand them much they are fun to look at though.
Explore more...read. Waspie's goal also applies here...If I can get someone to take an interest in astronomy...Its all worth it.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 9
The Eskimo Nebula from Hubble
Credit: Andrew Fruchter (STScI) et al., WFPC2, HST, NASA
Explanation: In 1787, astronomer William Herschel discovered the Eskimo Nebula. From the ground, NGC 2392 resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood. In 2000, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged the Eskimo Nebula. From space, the nebula displays gas clouds so complex they are not fully understood. The Eskimo Nebula is clearly a planetary nebula, and the gas seen above composed the outer layers of a Sun-like star only 10,000 years ago. The inner filaments visible above are being ejected by strong wind of particles from the central star. The outer disk contains unusual light-year long orange filaments.
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2006 July 9
The Eskimo Nebula from Hubble
Credit: Andrew Fruchter (STScI) et al., WFPC2, HST, NASA
Explanation: In 1787, astronomer William Herschel discovered the Eskimo Nebula. From the ground, NGC 2392 resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood. In 2000, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged the Eskimo Nebula. From space, the nebula displays gas clouds so complex they are not fully understood. The Eskimo Nebula is clearly a planetary nebula, and the gas seen above composed the outer layers of a Sun-like star only 10,000 years ago. The inner filaments visible above are being ejected by strong wind of particles from the central star. The outer disk contains unusual light-year long orange filaments.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 10
Dark Sun Sizzling
Credit: TRACE Project, Stanford-Lockheed Institute for Space Research, NASA
Explanation: Is this our Sun? Yes. Even on a normal day, our Sun is sizzling ball of seething hot gas. Unpredictably, regions of strong and tangled magnetic fields arise, causing sunspots and bright active regions. The Sun's surface bubbles as hot hydrogen gas streams along looping magnetic fields. These active regions channel gas along magnetic loops, usually falling back but sometimes escaping into the solar corona or out into space as the solar wind. Pictured above is our Sun in three colors of ultraviolet light. Since only active regions emit significant amounts of energetic ultraviolet light, most of the Sun appears dark. The colorful portions glow spectacularly, pinpointing the Sun's hottest and most violent regions. Although the Sun is constantly changing, the rate of visible light it emits has been relatively stable over the past five billion years, allowing life to emerge on Earth.
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2006 July 10
Dark Sun Sizzling
Credit: TRACE Project, Stanford-Lockheed Institute for Space Research, NASA
Explanation: Is this our Sun? Yes. Even on a normal day, our Sun is sizzling ball of seething hot gas. Unpredictably, regions of strong and tangled magnetic fields arise, causing sunspots and bright active regions. The Sun's surface bubbles as hot hydrogen gas streams along looping magnetic fields. These active regions channel gas along magnetic loops, usually falling back but sometimes escaping into the solar corona or out into space as the solar wind. Pictured above is our Sun in three colors of ultraviolet light. Since only active regions emit significant amounts of energetic ultraviolet light, most of the Sun appears dark. The colorful portions glow spectacularly, pinpointing the Sun's hottest and most violent regions. Although the Sun is constantly changing, the rate of visible light it emits has been relatively stable over the past five billion years, allowing life to emerge on Earth.
Credit: NASA/AURA/STSCI
The barred spiral galaxy NGC 1512 is seen in the southern constellation of Horologium.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 11
Crescent Rhea Occults Crescent Saturn
Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA
Explanation: Soft hues, partially lit orbs, a thin trace of the ring, and slight shadows highlight this understated view of the majestic surroundings of the giant planet Saturn. Looking nearly back toward the Sun, the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn captured crescent phases of Saturn and its moon Rhea in color a few months ago. As striking as the above image is, it is but a single frame from a recently released 60-frame silent movie where Rhea can be seen gliding in front of its parent world. Since Cassini was nearly in the plane of Saturn's rings, the normally impressive rings are visible here only as a thin line across the image center. Cassini has now passed the official half-way mark of its mission around Saturn, but is well situated to complete another two years investigating this complex and surprising system.
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2006 July 11
Crescent Rhea Occults Crescent Saturn
Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA
Explanation: Soft hues, partially lit orbs, a thin trace of the ring, and slight shadows highlight this understated view of the majestic surroundings of the giant planet Saturn. Looking nearly back toward the Sun, the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn captured crescent phases of Saturn and its moon Rhea in color a few months ago. As striking as the above image is, it is but a single frame from a recently released 60-frame silent movie where Rhea can be seen gliding in front of its parent world. Since Cassini was nearly in the plane of Saturn's rings, the normally impressive rings are visible here only as a thin line across the image center. Cassini has now passed the official half-way mark of its mission around Saturn, but is well situated to complete another two years investigating this complex and surprising system.
Blast off!!!
"Heron and shuttle launch at Kennedy Space Center"
Photo credit: NASA
"Heron and shuttle launch at Kennedy Space Center"
Photo credit: NASA
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 12
A Manhattan Sunset
Credit & Copyright: Neil deGrasse Tyson (AMNH)
Explanation: Today, if it is clear, Manhattan will flood dramatically with sunlight just as the Sun sets precisely on the centerline of every street. Usually, the tall buildings that line the gridded streets of New York City's tallest borough will hide the setting Sun. This effect makes Manhattan a type of modern Stonehenge, although only aligned to about 30 degrees east of north. Were Manhattan's road grid perfectly aligned to east and west, today's effect would occur on the Vernal and Autumnal Equinox, March 21 and September 21, the only two days that the Sun rises and sets due east and west. If today's sunset is hidden by clouds do not despair -- the same thing happens every May 28 and July 12. On none of these occasions, however, should you ever look directly at the Sun.
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2006 July 12
A Manhattan Sunset
Credit & Copyright: Neil deGrasse Tyson (AMNH)
Explanation: Today, if it is clear, Manhattan will flood dramatically with sunlight just as the Sun sets precisely on the centerline of every street. Usually, the tall buildings that line the gridded streets of New York City's tallest borough will hide the setting Sun. This effect makes Manhattan a type of modern Stonehenge, although only aligned to about 30 degrees east of north. Were Manhattan's road grid perfectly aligned to east and west, today's effect would occur on the Vernal and Autumnal Equinox, March 21 and September 21, the only two days that the Sun rises and sets due east and west. If today's sunset is hidden by clouds do not despair -- the same thing happens every May 28 and July 12. On none of these occasions, however, should you ever look directly at the Sun.
Photo
Description: The F-15B ACTIVE (NASA 836 on the viewer's right) and the F-15A chase plane (NASA 837) are shown preparing for in-flight during a July 1996 research flight.
ACTIVE employs thrust-vectoring of engine exhaust and an advanced control system to develop technology to improve cruise and maneuvering capabilities of future aircraft at both subsonic and supersonic speeds. The ACTIVE F-15B (Serial #71-0290) incorporates engine exhaust nozzles developed by Pratt and Whitney which can vector up to 20 degrees in both pitch and yaw, along with close-coupled canards ahead of the wings, to improve performance and maneuvering ability.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 13
A Space Shuttle Climbs to Orbit
Credit: STS-121 Crew, NASA
Explanation: You are going into space. New small cameras allow anyone with a web browser to virtually ride along with the space shuttle, at times from numerous angles, as it launches into Earth orbit. Small cameras mounted on the tall thin solid rocket boosters have captured last week's launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery from a unique perspective and in fascinating detail. The above movie picks up just before the space shuttle separated from the thin boosters. The tiles on the bottom of the shuttle are clearly visible. As the movie progresses, the shuttle Discovery and its brown external fuel tank break away from the boosters and continue onward and upward. The new cameras not only make cool movies -- they help NASA monitor details of its shuttle launches better, with the promise of making future rocket launches safer and more efficient.
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 13
A Space Shuttle Climbs to Orbit
Credit: STS-121 Crew, NASA
Explanation: You are going into space. New small cameras allow anyone with a web browser to virtually ride along with the space shuttle, at times from numerous angles, as it launches into Earth orbit. Small cameras mounted on the tall thin solid rocket boosters have captured last week's launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery from a unique perspective and in fascinating detail. The above movie picks up just before the space shuttle separated from the thin boosters. The tiles on the bottom of the shuttle are clearly visible. As the movie progresses, the shuttle Discovery and its brown external fuel tank break away from the boosters and continue onward and upward. The new cameras not only make cool movies -- they help NASA monitor details of its shuttle launches better, with the promise of making future rocket launches safer and more efficient.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 14
The Colorful Clouds of Rho Ophiuchi
Credit & Copyright: Jim Misti and Steve Mazlin, (acquisition), Robert Gendler (processing)
Explanation: This stunning mosiac of the sky around bright stars Antares (Alpha Scorpii) and Rho Ophiuchi reveals spectacular colors in a cosmic starscape. Near the top, Rho Ophiuchi and nearby stars are immersed in blue reflection nebulae - dust clouds that shine primarily by reflected starlight. Cool supergiant star Antares (lower left) is itself shedding the material that reflects the evolved star's yellowish hue. Characteristic of star forming regions, the telltale red emission from hydrogen gas also permeates the view along with dark, obscuring dust clouds seen in silhouette against the background stars and brighter nebulosities. About 500 light-years away, the Rho Ophiuchi star clouds, are well in front of the nearby globular star cluster M4, visible just below and right of center. The wide view spans about 6 degrees on the sky.
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This is one of my all-time fav pics...It was taken by an amateur astronomer.
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 14
The Colorful Clouds of Rho Ophiuchi
Credit & Copyright: Jim Misti and Steve Mazlin, (acquisition), Robert Gendler (processing)
Explanation: This stunning mosiac of the sky around bright stars Antares (Alpha Scorpii) and Rho Ophiuchi reveals spectacular colors in a cosmic starscape. Near the top, Rho Ophiuchi and nearby stars are immersed in blue reflection nebulae - dust clouds that shine primarily by reflected starlight. Cool supergiant star Antares (lower left) is itself shedding the material that reflects the evolved star's yellowish hue. Characteristic of star forming regions, the telltale red emission from hydrogen gas also permeates the view along with dark, obscuring dust clouds seen in silhouette against the background stars and brighter nebulosities. About 500 light-years away, the Rho Ophiuchi star clouds, are well in front of the nearby globular star cluster M4, visible just below and right of center. The wide view spans about 6 degrees on the sky.
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This is one of my all-time fav pics...It was taken by an amateur astronomer.
CREDIT: Andrew S. Wilson (University of Maryland); Patrick L. Shopbell (Caltech); Chris Simpson (Subaru Telescope); Thaisa Storchi-Bergmann and F. K. B. Barbosa (UFRGS, Brazil); and Martin J. Ward (University of Leicester, UK), WFPC2, HST, NASA
-Seyfert-type spiral galaxy in Circinus. The galaxy lies 13 million light-years away in the southern constellation Circinus.
The galaxy is designated a type 2 Seyfert, a class of mostly spiral galaxies that have compact centers and are believed to contain massive black holes. Seyfert galaxies are themselves part of a larger class of objects called Active Galactic Nuclei or AGN. AGN have the ability to remove gas from the centers of their galaxies by blowing it out into space at phenomenal speeds. Astronomers studying the Circinus galaxy are seeing evidence of a powerful AGN at the center of this galaxy.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 15
Reflecting Merope
Credit: Hubble Heritage Team, George H. Herbig & Theodore Simon (IfA, U. Hawaii), NASA
Explanation: In the well known Pleiades star cluster, starlight is slowly destroying this wandering cloud of gas and dust. The star Merope lies just off the upper left edge of this picture from the Hubble Space Telescope. In the past 100,000 years, part of the cloud has by chance moved so close to this star - only 3,500 times the Earth-Sun distance - that the starlight itself is having a very dramatic effect. Pressure of the star's light significantly repels the dust in the reflection nebula, and smaller dust particles are repelled more strongly. As a result, parts of the dust cloud have become stratified, pointing toward Merope. The closest particles are the most massive and the least affected by the radiation pressure. A longer-term result will be the general destruction of the dust by the energetic starlight
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 15
Reflecting Merope
Credit: Hubble Heritage Team, George H. Herbig & Theodore Simon (IfA, U. Hawaii), NASA
Explanation: In the well known Pleiades star cluster, starlight is slowly destroying this wandering cloud of gas and dust. The star Merope lies just off the upper left edge of this picture from the Hubble Space Telescope. In the past 100,000 years, part of the cloud has by chance moved so close to this star - only 3,500 times the Earth-Sun distance - that the starlight itself is having a very dramatic effect. Pressure of the star's light significantly repels the dust in the reflection nebula, and smaller dust particles are repelled more strongly. As a result, parts of the dust cloud have become stratified, pointing toward Merope. The closest particles are the most massive and the least affected by the radiation pressure. A longer-term result will be the general destruction of the dust by the energetic starlight
Source: NASA/ESA/AURA/Caltech.
The Pleiades (also known as M45 or the Seven Sisters) is an open cluster in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest to the Earth of all open clusters, probably the best known and certainly the most striking to the naked eye.
Source: Harvard
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 16
The Galactic Center in Infrared
Credit: 2MASS Project, UMass, IPAC/Caltech, NSF, NASA
Explanation: The center of our Galaxy is a busy place. In visible light, much of the Galactic Center is obscured by opaque dust. In infrared light, however, dust glows more and obscures less, allowing nearly one million stars to be recorded in the above photograph. The Galactic Center itself appears on the right and is located about 30,000 light years away towards the constellation of Sagittarius. The Galactic Plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, the plane in which the Sun orbits, is identifiable by the dark diagonal dust lane. The absorbing dust grains are created in the atmospheres of cool red-giant stars and grow in molecular clouds. The region directly surrounding the Galactic Center glows brightly in radio and high-energy radiation, and is thought to house a large black hole.
Tomorrow's picture: news from venus
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 16
The Galactic Center in Infrared
Credit: 2MASS Project, UMass, IPAC/Caltech, NSF, NASA
Explanation: The center of our Galaxy is a busy place. In visible light, much of the Galactic Center is obscured by opaque dust. In infrared light, however, dust glows more and obscures less, allowing nearly one million stars to be recorded in the above photograph. The Galactic Center itself appears on the right and is located about 30,000 light years away towards the constellation of Sagittarius. The Galactic Plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, the plane in which the Sun orbits, is identifiable by the dark diagonal dust lane. The absorbing dust grains are created in the atmospheres of cool red-giant stars and grow in molecular clouds. The region directly surrounding the Galactic Center glows brightly in radio and high-energy radiation, and is thought to house a large black hole.
Tomorrow's picture: news from venus
Credit: NASA
Globular cluster - (sometimes known more simply as a globular) is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galaxy core as a satellite. Globular clusters are very tightly bound by gravity, which gives them their spherical shape, and relatively high stellar density towards their core. Globular clusters contain considerably more stars than the less dense galactic, or open clusters.
Globular clusters are fairly numerous; there are about 150 currently known globular clusters in the Milky Way (with perhaps 10–20 more undiscovered), and larger galaxies such as Andromeda tend to have more (Andromeda may have as many as 500). Some giant elliptical galaxies, such as M87, may have as many as 10,000 globular clusters. These globular clusters orbit the galaxy out to large radii, 100 kiloparsecs or more.
These last two, I have enjoyed seeing. The old red stars have their light scattered by all the dust they themselves generate. I do not know the average size of dust particles (silicates and carbonaceous compounds) unleashed by red giant atmospheres, and one might mistakenly think offhand they were sizeable, but they surely must be small.
My thinking is they are small, and prodigious. Thus, the great amount of extinction we see in the central part of the night sky, the Milky Way. (Thank goodness we have a pleasant name to it, and not some modern name based on what simple telescopes see!)
As for the image of the globular cluster, the explanation mentions the large number found in old elliptical galaxies. My guess is that the collision and merger action that initiates an elliptical's formation, kicks off the last great hoorah for star production.
The large stars come and go within 20 million years, the next largest within 200 million years, and the residual "visible" cluster residents are F and G class stars, and possibly mostly F types- larger due to the intense shocks brought on by the merger events. And clusters due to the large scale collapse that apparently occur in them, as well.
My thinking is they are small, and prodigious. Thus, the great amount of extinction we see in the central part of the night sky, the Milky Way. (Thank goodness we have a pleasant name to it, and not some modern name based on what simple telescopes see!)
As for the image of the globular cluster, the explanation mentions the large number found in old elliptical galaxies. My guess is that the collision and merger action that initiates an elliptical's formation, kicks off the last great hoorah for star production.
The large stars come and go within 20 million years, the next largest within 200 million years, and the residual "visible" cluster residents are F and G class stars, and possibly mostly F types- larger due to the intense shocks brought on by the merger events. And clusters due to the large scale collapse that apparently occur in them, as well.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 17
Venus Express Arrives at Venus
Credit: ESA/MPS, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany
Explanation: Humanity now has a spacecraft orbiting Venus. The robotic Venus Express spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency in 2005 November arrived at Venus in 2006 April. Venus Express is now orbiting Earth's sister planet and returning pictures. Pictured above is a false-color, time-lapse movie in ultraviolet light captured by the Venus Express spacecraft as it flew over Venus' northern hemisphere in late May. Venus Express is scheduled to orbit Venus for three years and collect data that might help in answering questions that include why Venus continually generates hurricane-force winds, why Venus became so hot in the past, and if there is any current volcanic activity on Venus. It is hoped that a better understanding of Venus's hot and inhospitable climate will help humanity better understand Earth's climate as well.
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 17
Venus Express Arrives at Venus
Credit: ESA/MPS, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany
Explanation: Humanity now has a spacecraft orbiting Venus. The robotic Venus Express spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency in 2005 November arrived at Venus in 2006 April. Venus Express is now orbiting Earth's sister planet and returning pictures. Pictured above is a false-color, time-lapse movie in ultraviolet light captured by the Venus Express spacecraft as it flew over Venus' northern hemisphere in late May. Venus Express is scheduled to orbit Venus for three years and collect data that might help in answering questions that include why Venus continually generates hurricane-force winds, why Venus became so hot in the past, and if there is any current volcanic activity on Venus. It is hoped that a better understanding of Venus's hot and inhospitable climate will help humanity better understand Earth's climate as well.
The profoundness of the Universe, you like them huh? Words cannot describe the beauty.
Credit: European Space Agency, NASA and Robert A.E. Fosbury (European Space Agency/Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility, Germany
- Mega starbirth cluster is biggest, brightest and hottest ever seen (artist's impression)
This illustration shows an artist's impression of the so-called Lynx arc, a newly identified distant super-cluster that contains a million blue-white stars twice as hot as similar stars in our Milky Way galaxy. The Lynx arc is one million times brighter than the well-known Orion Nebula, a nearby prototypical 'starbirth' region visible with small telescopes. The stars in the Lynx arc are more than twice as hot as the Orion Nebula's central stars, with surface temperatures up to 80 000°C. Though there are much bigger and brighter star-forming regions than the Orion Nebula in our local Universe, none are as bright as the Lynx arc, nor do they contain such large numbers of hot stars. The stars are so hot that a very large fraction of their light is emitted in the ultraviolet that makes the gas glow with the green and red colours illustrated here.
Credit: European Space Agency, NASA and Robert A.E. Fosbury (European Space Agency/Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility, Germany
- Mega starbirth cluster is biggest, brightest and hottest ever seen (artist's impression)
This illustration shows an artist's impression of the so-called Lynx arc, a newly identified distant super-cluster that contains a million blue-white stars twice as hot as similar stars in our Milky Way galaxy. The Lynx arc is one million times brighter than the well-known Orion Nebula, a nearby prototypical 'starbirth' region visible with small telescopes. The stars in the Lynx arc are more than twice as hot as the Orion Nebula's central stars, with surface temperatures up to 80 000°C. Though there are much bigger and brighter star-forming regions than the Orion Nebula in our local Universe, none are as bright as the Lynx arc, nor do they contain such large numbers of hot stars. The stars are so hot that a very large fraction of their light is emitted in the ultraviolet that makes the gas glow with the green and red colours illustrated here.
Yes, Kak. But it looks a bit dangerous! The Second Act is when they blow up and spread
metals everywhere...you know, gold and silver, and iron.
The old thread about colliding galaxies mentioned the collision of gasses and dust, that does seem to occur. That was a response by Frogfish mentioning that stars don't collide in those encounters. Fair enough.
I bit my tongue not to interject, but here I go. Globular clusters also collide, at least in the Milky Way. And, they really do not experience star's closing on a near-encounter.
Except once in a blue moon.
Globular clusters probably formed very early, when galaxies were first developing. That much is standard thinking. Except for a collision or merger between galaxies, how could an old globular cluster generate what appear to be new, somewhat massive blue stars?
Internal collisions between stars that were still main sequence dwarf yellow stars?
Could stars like our sun merge?
First of all, you need some infrared to peer through any dust. In the M22 Globular Cluster, that Kak mentioned, we see a monotone effect. That is because it is two-toned, red for infrared, and orange for visible light. Here, they were looking for really old stars, like white dwarfs. So they used a redder spectrum, but not too red- orange. The infrared is probably reddish, and just older stars, too.
Here are just five images that show what may be merged stars, in an otherwise group
of mostly older and redder stars, and some white dwarfs. At some stage, say 7-8 billion years after some G class stars were formed, the conditions were too crowded, or else one cluster collided wih another. And a few stars may have collided and merged.
NGC 6093-
PS- No blue stars here. No blue!
metals everywhere...you know, gold and silver, and iron.
The old thread about colliding galaxies mentioned the collision of gasses and dust, that does seem to occur. That was a response by Frogfish mentioning that stars don't collide in those encounters. Fair enough.
I bit my tongue not to interject, but here I go. Globular clusters also collide, at least in the Milky Way. And, they really do not experience star's closing on a near-encounter.
Except once in a blue moon.
Globular clusters probably formed very early, when galaxies were first developing. That much is standard thinking. Except for a collision or merger between galaxies, how could an old globular cluster generate what appear to be new, somewhat massive blue stars?
Internal collisions between stars that were still main sequence dwarf yellow stars?
Could stars like our sun merge?
First of all, you need some infrared to peer through any dust. In the M22 Globular Cluster, that Kak mentioned, we see a monotone effect. That is because it is two-toned, red for infrared, and orange for visible light. Here, they were looking for really old stars, like white dwarfs. So they used a redder spectrum, but not too red- orange. The infrared is probably reddish, and just older stars, too.
Here are just five images that show what may be merged stars, in an otherwise group
of mostly older and redder stars, and some white dwarfs. At some stage, say 7-8 billion years after some G class stars were formed, the conditions were too crowded, or else one cluster collided wih another. And a few stars may have collided and merged.
NGC 6093-
PS- No blue stars here. No blue!
QUOTE(Bosanchero @ Jul 18 2006, 03:04 AM) [snapback]1273939[/snapback]
The link, like always, is in the first post
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 18
Noctilucent Clouds Over Sweden
Credit: P-M Hedén
Explanation: Sometimes it's night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises up from the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still shines on clouds above. Under usual circumstances, a pretty sunset might be visible, but unusual noctilucent clouds float so high up they can be seen well after dark. Pictured above last month, a network of noctilucent clouds cast a colorful but eerie glow after dusk near Vallentuna, Sweden. Although noctilucent clouds are thought to be composed of small ice-coated particles, much remains unknown about them. Recent evidence indicates that at least some noctilucent clouds result from freezing water exhaust from Space Shuttles.
Thanks for the info Shun. Don't know the answers to those questions.
Don't know the answers to those questions.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2006 July 19
Reflections on Planet Earth
Credit: Michael Fossum, STS-121 Mission, NASA
Explanation: Catching sight of your reflection in a store window or shiny hubcap can be entertaining and occasionally even inspire a thoughtful moment. So consider this reflective view from 300 kilometers above planet Earth. The picture is actually a self-portrait taken by astronaut Michael Fossum on July 8 during a space walk or extravehicular activity while the Discovery orbiter was docked with the International Space Station. Turning his camera to snap a picture of his own helmet visor, he also recorded the reflection of his fellow mission specialist, Piers Sellers, near picture center and one of the space station's gold-tinted solar power arrays arcing across the top. Of course, the horizon of our fair planet lies in background.
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 19
Reflections on Planet Earth
Credit: Michael Fossum, STS-121 Mission, NASA
Explanation: Catching sight of your reflection in a store window or shiny hubcap can be entertaining and occasionally even inspire a thoughtful moment. So consider this reflective view from 300 kilometers above planet Earth. The picture is actually a self-portrait taken by astronaut Michael Fossum on July 8 during a space walk or extravehicular activity while the Discovery orbiter was docked with the International Space Station. Turning his camera to snap a picture of his own helmet visor, he also recorded the reflection of his fellow mission specialist, Piers Sellers, near picture center and one of the space station's gold-tinted solar power arrays arcing across the top. Of course, the horizon of our fair planet lies in background.
Credit: Nasa
Saturn rocket engines & Mercury craft at NASA, Houston, Texas.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 20
(move mouse over image)
Constellation Construction
Credit & Copyright: Jerry Lodriguss (Catching the Light)
Explanation: This lovely twilight scene, recorded last April, finds a young crescent Moon low in the west at sunset. Above it, stars shine in the darkening sky but they too are soon to drop below the western horizon. These stars and constellations are prominent in the northern hemisphere winter sky and as the season changes, slowly give way to the stars of summer. Sliding your mouse over the picture will detail the constellations and stars in view, including Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Perseus, and the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters.
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 20
(move mouse over image)
Constellation Construction
Credit & Copyright: Jerry Lodriguss (Catching the Light)
Explanation: This lovely twilight scene, recorded last April, finds a young crescent Moon low in the west at sunset. Above it, stars shine in the darkening sky but they too are soon to drop below the western horizon. These stars and constellations are prominent in the northern hemisphere winter sky and as the season changes, slowly give way to the stars of summer. Sliding your mouse over the picture will detail the constellations and stars in view, including Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Perseus, and the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 21
Strangers on Mars
Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASA
Explanation: This view from the winter station of Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, looks across the rock strewn landscape of Gusev Crater. The dark boulders and distant hills are characteristic of the region, but the two light colored rocks in the foreground of this cropped image are - like Spirit itself - most probably strangers to the Red Planet, believed to be iron meteorites. Informally named for sites in Antarctica they have been dubbed "Zhong Shan" and "Allan Hills." Zhong Shan is the Antarctic base of the People's Republic of China. Allan Hills is the icy location where many Martian meteorites have been found on planet Earth, including the controversial ALH84001, suggested to contain evidence for fossilized Martian microbial life.
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2006 July 21
Strangers on Mars
Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASA
Explanation: This view from the winter station of Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, looks across the rock strewn landscape of Gusev Crater. The dark boulders and distant hills are characteristic of the region, but the two light colored rocks in the foreground of this cropped image are - like Spirit itself - most probably strangers to the Red Planet, believed to be iron meteorites. Informally named for sites in Antarctica they have been dubbed "Zhong Shan" and "Allan Hills." Zhong Shan is the Antarctic base of the People's Republic of China. Allan Hills is the icy location where many Martian meteorites have been found on planet Earth, including the controversial ALH84001, suggested to contain evidence for fossilized Martian microbial life.
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