APOD

[Jack Aubrey]

QUOTE (Alsgalpal @ Jul 8 2005, 12:50 PM)

QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Jul 8 2005, 08:08 AM) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0507/ngc4565_gendler.jpg Explanation: Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky as it lies in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp color image reveals the galaxy's bulging central core dominated by light from a population of older, yellowish stars. The core is dramatically cut by obscuring dust lanes which lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane. A large island universe similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy, NGC 4565 is only about 30 million light-years distant, but over 100,000 light-years in diameter. In fact, some consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed. Some of this information is unfathomable in my feeble mind. I can't imagine how vast space is. Don't feel bad, the human mind is incapable of fully grasping the true concept of infinity. We are only able to think of it in the abstract.

[RushRevisited]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0507/sts114iss_ayiomamitis_c91.jpg

 

Explanation: That large sunspot near the right edge of the Sun is actually not a sunspot at all. It's the International Space Station (ISS) and the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-114. In the past, many skygazers have spotted the space station and space shuttles as bright stars gliding through twilight skies, still glinting in the sunlight while orbiting 200 kilometers or so above the Earth's surface. But here, astronomer Anthony Ayiomamitis took advantage of a rarer opportunity to record the spacefaring combination moving quickly in silhouette across the solar disk. He snapped the picture on Thursday, July 28th from Athens, Greece. Launched on Tuesday, Discovery joined with the ISS Thursday, making the already large space station seem to loom even larger.

[GhostGirl]

Wow...cool pic!

[Alsgalpal]

QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Jul 29 2005, 09:48 AM)

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0507/sts114iss_ayiomamitis_c91.jpg Explanation: That large sunspot near the right edge of the Sun is actually not a sunspot at all. It's the International Space Station (ISS) and the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-114. In the past, many skygazers have spotted the space station and space shuttles as bright stars gliding through twilight skies, still glinting in the sunlight while orbiting 200 kilometers or so above the Earth's surface. But here, astronomer Anthony Ayiomamitis took advantage of a rarer opportunity to record the spacefaring combination moving quickly in silhouette across the solar disk. He snapped the picture on Thursday, July 28th from Athens, Greece. Launched on Tuesday, Discovery joined with the ISS Thursday, making the already large space station seem to loom even larger.

Its so incredible, to imagine, that ball of fire, so many millions of miles away, giving us heat, and life... Boggles the mind...

[Cygnus]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMGKA808BE_0.html

[Inthend]

QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Jul 29 2005, 09:48 AM)

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0507/sts114iss_ayiomamitis_c91.jpg Explanation: That large sunspot near the right edge of the Sun is actually not a sunspot at all. It's the International Space Station (ISS) and the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-114. In the past, many skygazers have spotted the space station and space shuttles as bright stars gliding through twilight skies, still glinting in the sunlight while orbiting 200 kilometers or so above the Earth's surface. But here, astronomer Anthony Ayiomamitis took advantage of a rarer opportunity to record the spacefaring combination moving quickly in silhouette across the solar disk. He snapped the picture on Thursday, July 28th from Athens, Greece. Launched on Tuesday, Discovery joined with the ISS Thursday, making the already large space station seem to loom even larger.

This I call "Fly on the Wall"

[RushRevisited]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0507/2003ub313_palomar_big.jpg

 

Explanation: Is that a tenth planet? A faint, slowly moving dot discovered by computer shows clear signs of being a deep Solar System object at least as large as Pluto. The object, designated 2003 UB313, is currently situated nearly 100 times the Earth-Sun distance -- over twice the average Pluto-Sun distance. That far out, the only way a single round object could be as bright as 2003 UB313 would be if it is at least as large as Pluto and completely reflective. Since 2003 UB313 is surely not completely reflective, it could be substantially larger. One of the discovery frames is shown above digitally expanded and artificially brightened. 2003 UB313 was identified initially on frames taken by the automated 1.2-meter Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory in California, USA.

[sundog]

I have to learn how to do those wonderful screen captures.....

 

For you #1... http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050730.html

[RushRevisited]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0507/m106_block_c1.jpg

 

Explanation: Close to the Great Bear (Ursa Major) and surrounded by the stars of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici), this celestial nebula was discovered in 1781 by the metric French astronomer Pierre Mechain. Later, it was added to the catalog of his friend and colleague Charles Messier as M106. Modern deep telescopic views reveal it to be an island universe -- a spiral galaxy around 30 thousand light-years across located only about 21 million light-years beyond the stars of the Milky Way. Youthful blue star clusters and reddish stellar nurseries trace the striking spiral arms of M106. Seen so clearly in this beautiful image, the galaxy's bright core is also visible across the spectrum from radio to x-rays, making M106 a nearby example of the Seyfert class of active galaxies. The bright core of a Seyfert galaxy is believed to be powered by matter falling into a massive central black hole.

[NeilPeartFan2112]

QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Aug 1 2005, 12:21 PM)

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0507/m106_block_c1.jpg

That's an awesome pic RR.

[Inthend]

QUOTE (NeilPeartFan2112 @ Aug 1 2005, 12:23 PM)

QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Aug 1 2005, 12:21 PM) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0507/m106_block_c1.jpg That's an awesome pic RR. It's BEAUTIFUL!!!     Knew as soon as I saw it... !   "God's Easter egg"   Thanks RR.

[RushRevisited]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0508/shuttle_sts114.jpg

 

Explanation: Last week, crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) watched carefully as the Space Shuttle Discovery did a planned but unusual back flip upon approach. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins guided the shuttle through the flip, which was about 200 meters from the ISS when the above picture was taken. The ISS crew took detailed images of the dark heat shield tiles underneath during a 90-second photo shoot. The images are being analyzed to assess the condition of the dark heat shield. Later the shuttle docked with the space station. On the more usually photographed top side of the Space Shuttle, the above image shows Discovery's cargo bay doors open toward a distant Earth below.

[sundog]

2 User(s) are reading this topic (0 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users):

sundog, RushRevisited

 

Holy Moly! that's a great shot #1!!!

[Alsgalpal]

QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Aug 2 2005, 10:25 AM)

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0508/shuttle_sts114.jpg Explanation: Last week, crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) watched carefully as the Space Shuttle Discovery did a planned but unusual back flip upon approach. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins guided the shuttle through the flip, which was about 200 meters from the ISS when the above picture was taken. The ISS crew took detailed images of the dark heat shield tiles underneath during a 90-second photo shoot. The images are being analyzed to assess the condition of the dark heat shield. Later the shuttle docked with the space station. On the more usually photographed top side of the Space Shuttle, the above image shows Discovery's cargo bay doors open toward a distant Earth below.

[RushRevisited]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0508/m8_sherick.jpg

 

Explanation: Stars are battling gas and dust in the Lagoon Nebula but the photographers are winning. Also known as M8, this photogenic nebula is visible even without binoculars towards the constellation of Sagittarius. The energetic processes of star formation create not only the colors but the chaos. The red-glowing gas results from high-energy starlight striking interstellar hydrogen gas. The dark dust filaments that lace M8 were created in the atmospheres of cool giant stars and in the debris from supernovae explosions. This spectacular portion of the Lagoon Nebula was created in scientifically-assigned colors from light emitted in very specific colors by hydrogen, silicon, and oxygen. The light from M8 we see today left about 5000 years ago. Light takes about 50 years to cross this section of M8.

[sundog]

QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Aug 3 2005, 10:24 AM)

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0508/m8_sherick.jpg Explanation: Stars are battling gas and dust in the Lagoon Nebula but the photographers are winning. Also known as M8, this photogenic nebula is visible even without binoculars towards the constellation of Sagittarius. The energetic processes of star formation create not only the colors but the chaos. The red-glowing gas results from high-energy starlight striking interstellar hydrogen gas. The dark dust filaments that lace M8 were created in the atmospheres of cool giant stars and in the debris from supernovae explosions. This spectacular portion of the Lagoon Nebula was created in scientifically-assigned colors from light emitted in very specific colors by hydrogen, silicon, and oxygen. The light from M8 we see today left about 5000 years ago. Light takes about 50 years to cross this section of M8.

That is absolutely stunning!

[sundog]

RR- I received this in an email...... thought you'd like it the information...

 

 

THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN MAY BE INTERESTED IN THIS.

 

 

>MARS SPECTACULAR

 

> The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is

 

>catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest

 

>approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars

 

>may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on

 

>Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has

 

>not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, b ut it may be as long

 

>as 60,000 years before it happens again.

 

>

 

> The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within

 

>34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest

 

>object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear

 

>25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look

 

>as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At

 

>the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its

 

>azimuth at about 3 a.m. By the end of August when the two planets are

 

>closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky

 

>at 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being

 

>has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of

 

>August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the

 

>month. Share this w ith your children and grandchildren.

 

>

 

> NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN

 

[RushRevisited]

QUOTE (sundog @ Aug 3 2005, 11:09 PM)

RR- I received this in an email...... thought you'd like it the information... THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN MAY BE INTERESTED IN THIS. >MARS SPECTACULAR > The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is >catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest >approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars >may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on >Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has >not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, b ut it may be as long >as 60,000 years before it happens again. > > The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within >34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest >object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear >25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look >as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At >the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its >azimuth at about 3 a.m. By the end of August when the two planets are >closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky >at 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being >has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of >August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the >month. Share this w ith your children and grandchildren. > > NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN

That is so wild that you just posted that, because for the past month I have wanted to stay up late to catch Mars rising. I just PMd Launchpad, a fellow astonomer here, and told him that I was taking off work tomorrow and staying up to see it through the scope tonight (around 2am I should have a good view). I will try to snap some photos!

 

I will definately be trying to get it out around the 27th

[Inthend]

QUOTE (sundog @ Aug 3 2005, 11:16 AM)

QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Aug 3 2005, 10:24 AM) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0508/m8_sherick.jpg Explanation: Stars are battling gas and dust in the Lagoon Nebula but the photographers are winning. Also known as M8, this photogenic nebula is visible even without binoculars towards the constellation of Sagittarius. The energetic processes of star formation create not only the colors but the chaos. The red-glowing gas results from high-energy starlight striking interstellar hydrogen gas. The dark dust filaments that lace M8 were created in the atmospheres of cool giant stars and in the debris from supernovae explosions. This spectacular portion of the Lagoon Nebula was created in scientifically-assigned colors from light emitted in very specific colors by hydrogen, silicon, and oxygen. The light from M8 we see today left about 5000 years ago. Light takes about 50 years to cross this section of M8. That is absolutely stunning! So these colors are what we would actually see if we where there? If true, that's amazing.   ---------   >MARS SPECTACULAR   > The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next...   and thanks Sundog. I had not heard that.

[sundog]

 

You're welcome.... get pictures please!

[RushRevisited]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0508/ic1805wide_crisp.jpg

 

Explanation: Is the heart and soul of our Galaxy located in Cassiopeia? Possibly not, but that is where two bright emission nebulas nicknamed Heart and Soul can be found. The Heart Nebula, officially dubbed IC 1805 and visible above on the right, has a shape reminiscent of a classical heart symbol. Both nebulas, shown above in false color, shine brightly in the light of energized hydrogen. Several young open clusters of stars populate the image and are visible above in and around the nebula centers. Light takes about 6,000 years to reach us from these nebulas, which together span roughly 300 light years. Studies of stars and clusters like those found in the Heart and Soul Nebulas have focussed on how massive stars form and how they affect their environment.

[RushRevisited]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0508/NGC7129NM_gendler_c43.jpg

 

Explanation: Young suns still lie within dusty NGC 7129, some 3,000 light-years away toward the royal constellation Cepheus. While these stars are at a relatively tender age, only about a million years old, it is likely that our own Sun formed in a similar stellar nursery some five billion years ago. Most noticeable in the striking image are the lovely bluish dust clouds that reflect the youthful starlight, but the smaller, deep red crescent shapes are also markers of energetic, young stellar objects. Known as Herbig-Haro objects, their shape and color is characteristic of glowing hydrogen gas shocked by jets streaming away from newborn stars. Ultimately the natal gas and dust in the region will be dispersed, the stars drifting apart as the loose cluster orbits the center of the Galaxy. NGC 7129 is about 10 light-years across.

[Cygnus]

Maybe wrong thread but a Meteor 'Outburst' is Expected Friday Morning

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/meteoroutbur...HE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

 

Peter Jenniskens

Principal Investigator, SETI Institute

SPACE.com

Thu Aug 11,10:00 AM ET

 

 

 

For as long as records exist, the Perseid meteor showers have always been strong. This summer's Perseid shower will be exceptional. The moon is mostly out of the way later in the night, and higher-than-normal activity rates are expected over the United States.

 

 

The Perseid shower's parent body, comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, is notable in being a comparatively huge comet in an orbit that passes close to Earth's orbit frequently. It measures 24-31 kilometers in diameter, 2 to 3 times the size of comet Halley, and is so big that the continuous ejection of water vapor and dust during its approach to the Sun does not move the comet much off course. It has spewed dust for at least 5,000 years and most likely thirty times longer. It has built a massive meteoroid stream, most of which is located just outside of Earth's orbit. Earth passes through the outer regions of that stream in July, and hits the center on August 12.

 

 

At that time, the annual Perseid shower peaks at 80 meteors per hour under ideal circumstances (no clouds or moon, dark sky, stars of magnitude +6.5 just visible).

 

 

When comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle was rediscovered in 1992, scientists noticed in alarm that a delay of 17 days in the next projected return of the comet in 2126 could cause it to collide with Earth. That fear dissipated when the orbit was recomputed using data from sightings in 188 A.D. and 69 B.C. The more precise orbit has the comet approach Earth in 2126 to within only 23 million kilometers, but there's no danger of us being hit. In September 4479, the comet will approach Earth even closer, to within about 6 million kilometers. It will then be as bright as Jupiter (-2.1 magnitude) in the sky.

 

 

The dust released will spread along the comet orbit because some dust grains make wider orbits than others and return later. When Earth encounters these dust trails, a meteor storm may be observed. But only if the very narrow trail is steered smack in Earth's path by perturbations of the planets. Most dust does wander far from the comet, which is why the best showers are observed in the years following when the comet returns, while lesser outbursts occur when dust further along the comet orbit wanders in Earth's path.

 

 

The next big shower is not expected until the next return of the comet.

 

 

For now, a nice outburst is projected for Aug. 12, 2005, at 08:18h UT (= 04:18 EDT and 01:18 PDT), when Earth will encounter the dust ejected in the return of 1479. Rates can go up four fold to about 240 per hour on top of the 80 per hour annual activity, for a brief period of time (approximately 1.2 hours).

 

 

In addition, rates may increase again around 13h UT, when Earth is slated to encounter the Filament component, rising to less than 86 per hour on top of normal, annual activity. That Filament is older dust presumably in mean-motion resonance with Jupiter.

 

Top 10 Perseid Facts 2005 Perseid Viewer's Guide How Meteor Showers Work

 

Visit SPACE.com for more space-related news including videos, launch coverage and interactive experiences. Explore our huge collection of Image Galleries, view our Image of the Day and Amazing Images. Follow the latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our SETI: Search for Life section. Sign up for our free daily email newsletter today!

 

[NeilPeartFan2112]

QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Aug 11 2005, 07:46 AM)

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0508/NGC7129NM_gendler_c43.jpg Explanation: Young suns still lie within dusty NGC 7129, some 3,000 light-years away toward the royal constellation Cepheus. While these stars are at a relatively tender age, only about a million years old, it is likely that our own Sun formed in a similar stellar nursery some five billion years ago. Most noticeable in the striking image are the lovely bluish dust clouds that reflect the youthful starlight, but the smaller, deep red crescent shapes are also markers of energetic, young stellar objects. Known as Herbig-Haro objects, their shape and color is characteristic of glowing hydrogen gas shocked by jets streaming away from newborn stars. Ultimately the natal gas and dust in the region will be dispersed, the stars drifting apart as the loose cluster orbits the center of the Galaxy. NGC 7129 is about 10 light-years across.

That's an amazing photo RR. Awesome stuff.

[RushRevisited]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0508/MeteorMovie_brosch.gif

 

Explanation: Go outside tonight and see a celestial light show -- the later the better. Tonight is the peak of the month-long Perseid Meteor Shower. Although visible every year at this time, the Perseids are expected to appear particularly active this year due to the relative absence of glare from the Moon during the peak. Tonight, a thin moon will set a few hours after the Sun, leaving a moonless and dark sky. All through the night, all over the sky, meteors will appear to shoot out the constellation Perseus and across the sky. The rate of meteors and fireballs is not known for sure, but expected by some to be as high as one meteor flash every minute. Lucky sky gazers might be treated to a bright fireball like the one pictured above. That fireball was captured by a digital recorded over Wise Observatory during the 2001 Leonid Meteor Shower. The meteor shower poses no danger as few, if any, of the sand-sized flaring bits are expected to reach the ground.