Posts Tagged ‘astronomy’
Astronomy Picture of the Day
AE Aurigae and the Flaming Star Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Rolf Geissinger Explanation: AE Aurigae is the bright star below and left of center in this evocative portrait of IC 405, also known as the Flaming Star Nebula. Embedded in the cosmic cloud, the hot, variable O-type star energizes the glow of hydrogen along convoluted filaments of atomic gas, its blue starlight scattered by interstellar dust. But AE Aurigae wasn't formed in the nebula it illuminates. ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
NGC 1999: South of Orion Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona Explanation: South of the large star-forming region known as the Orion Nebula, lies bright blue reflection nebula NGC 1999. Also at the edge of the Orion molecular cloud complex some 1,500 light-years distant, NGC 1999's illumination is provided by the embedded variable star V380 Orionis. The nebula is marked with a dark sideways T-shape near center in this broad ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discovery in Twilight Image Credit & Copyright: Tamas Ladanyi (TWAN) Explanation: As evening twilight faded on March 7, sky gazers around planet Earth enjoyed a beautiful pairing of young crescent Moon and brilliant planet Jupiter. Along with stars setting in the west, the two bright celestial beacons, Moon above and Jupiter below, leave short trails in this well-planned time exposure, a composite of 54 individual frames each 4 seconds long. On its final flight, the Space ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, ISS, JPL, ESA, NASA Explanation: How thin are the rings of Saturn? Brightness measurements from different angles have shown Saturn's rings to be about one kilometer thick, making them many times thinner, in relative proportion, than a razor blade. This thinness sometimes appears in dramatic fashion during an image taken nearly along the ring plane. The robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn has now ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO AIA Team Explanation: One of the most spectacular solar sights is an erupting prominence. Two weeks ago, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressively large prominence erupting from the surface. The dramatic explosion was captured in ultraviolet light in the above time lapse video covering 90 minutes, where a new frame was taken every 24 seconds. The scale of the prominence is huge -- the ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Cooling Neutron Star Credit: X-ray: NASA / CXC / UNAM / Ioffe / D.Page, P.Shternin et al; Optical: NASA / STScI; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss) Explanation: Supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cass A) is a comfortable 11,000 light-years away. Light from the Cass A supernova, the death explosion of a massive star, first reached Earth just 330 years ago. The expanding debris cloud spans about 15 light-years in this composite X-ray/optical image, while the bright source near ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
NGC 6914 Nebulae Credit: Descubre Foundation, CAHA, OAUV, DSA, Vicent Peris (OAUV), Jack Harvey (SSRO), Juan Conejero (PixInsight) Explanation: A dramatic study in contrasts, this colorful skyscape features stars, dust, and glowing gas in NGC 6914. The complex of nebulae lies some 6,000 light-years away, toward the high-flying northern constellation Cygnus and the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. With foreground dust clouds in silhouette, both reddish ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
NGC 1499: The California Nebula Credit & Copyright: Markus Noller (Deep Sky Images) Explanation: What's California doing in space? Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California on the west coast of the United States. Our own Sun also lies within the Milky Way's Orion Arm, only about 1,500 light-years from the California Nebula. Also known as NGC 1499, the classic emission nebula is ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Stephan's Quintet Image Data: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing: Hunter Wilson Explanation: The first identified compact galaxy group, Stephan's Quintet is featured in this eye-catching image constructed with data drawn from the extensive Hubble Legacy Archive. About 300 million light-years away, only four galaxies of the group are actually locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters. The odd man out is easy to spot, though. The ... Full Story
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Shell Galaxies in Pisces Image Credit & Copyright: Stephen Leshin Explanation: This colorful cosmic skyscape features a peculiar system of galaxies cataloged as Arp 227 some 100 million light-years distant. Swimming within the boundaries of the constellation Pisces, Arp 227 consists of the two galaxies prominent on the left; the curious shell galaxy NGC 474 and its blue, spiral-armed neighbor NGC 470. The faint, wide arcs or shells of NGC 474 could have been formed ... Full Story
