Thursday, March 19, 2015

The Seagull Nebula

The Seagull Nebula: APOD: 2014 January 11 - The Seagull Nebula


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2014 January 11


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Explanation: A broad expanse of glowing gas and dust presents a bird-like visage to astronomers from planet Earth, suggesting its popular moniker - The Seagull Nebula. This portrait of the cosmic bird covers a 1.6 degree wide swath across the plane of the Milky Way, near the direction of Sirius, alpha star of the constellation Canis Major. Of course, the region includes objects with other catalog designations: notably NGC 2327, a compact, dusty emission region with an embedded massive star that forms the bird's head (aka the Parrot Nebula, above center). Dominated by the reddish glow of atomic hydrogen, the complex of gas and dust clouds with bright young stars spans over 100 light-years at an estimated 3,800 light-year distance.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:39 AM 0 comments
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The Gegenschein Over Chile

The Gegenschein Over Chile: APOD: 2014 January 14 - The Gegenschein Over Chile


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2014 January 14


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Explanation: Is the night sky darkest in the direction opposite the Sun? No. In fact, a rarely discernable faint glow known as the gegenschein (German for "counter glow") can be seen 180 degrees around from the Sun in an extremely dark sky. The gegenschein is sunlight back-scattered off small interplanetary dust particles. These dust particles are millimeter sized splinters from asteroids and orbit in the ecliptic plane of the planets. Pictured above from last year is one of the more spectacular pictures of the gegenschein yet taken. Here a deep exposure of an extremely dark sky over Las Campanas Observatory in Chile shows the gegenschein so clearly that even a surrounding glow is visible. Notable background objects include the Andromeda galaxy, the Pleiades star cluster, the California Nebula, the belt of Orion just below the Orion Nebula and inside Barnard's Loop, and bright stars Rigel and Betelgeuse. The gegenschein is distinguished from zodiacal light near the Sun by the high angle of reflection. During the day, a phenomenon similar to the gegenschein called the glory can be seen in reflecting air or clouds opposite the Sun from an airplane.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:38 AM 0 comments
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Spitzer's Orion

Spitzer's Orion: APOD: 2014 January 15 - Spitzer's Orion


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2014 January 15


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Spitzer's Orion

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, T. Megeath (Univ. Toledo, Ohio)
Explanation: Few cosmic vistas excite the imagination like the Orion Nebula, an immense stellar nursery some 1,500 light-years away. This stunning false-color view spans about 40 light-years across the region, constructed using infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope. Compared to its visual wavelength appearance, the brightest portion of the nebula is likewise centered on Orion's young, massive, hot stars, known as the Trapezium Cluster. But the infrared image also detects the nebula's many protostars, still in the process of formation, seen here in red hues. In fact, red spots along the dark dusty filament to the left of the bright cluster include the protostar cataloged as HOPS 68, recently found to have crystals of the silicate mineral olivine within its protostellar envelope.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:37 AM 0 comments
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Despina, Moon of Neptune

Despina, Moon of Neptune: APOD: 2014 January 16 - Despina, Moon of Neptune


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2014 January 16


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Despina, Moon of Neptune

Image Credit: NASA, JPL - Processed Image Copyright: Ted Stryk
Explanation: Despina is a tiny moon of Neptune. A mere 148 kilometers across, diminutive Despina was discovered in 1989, in images from the Voyager 2 spacecraft taken during its encounter with the solar system's most distant gas giant planet. But looking through the Voyager 2 data 20 years later, amateur image processor and philosophy professor Ted Stryk discovered something no one had recognized before -- images that show the shadow of Despina in transit across Neptune's blue cloud tops. His composite view of Despina and its shadow is composed of four archival frames taken on August 24, 1989, separated by nine minutes. Despina itself has been artificially brightened to make it easier to see. In ancient Greek mythology, Despina is a daughter of Poseidon, the Roman god Neptune.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:36 AM 0 comments
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M83 Star Streams

M83 Star Streams: APOD: 2014 January 17 - M83 Star Streams


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2014 January 17


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Explanation: Big, bright, and beautiful, spiral galaxy M83 lies a mere twelve million light-years away, near the southeastern tip of the very long constellation Hydra. This deep view of the gorgeous island universe includes observations from Hubble, along with ground based data from the European Southern Observatory's very large telescope units, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's Subaru telescope, and Australian Astronomical Observatory photographic data by D. Malin. About 40,000 light-years across, M83 is popularly known as the Southern Pinwheel for its pronounced spiral arms. But the wealth of reddish star forming regions found near the edges of the arms' thick dust lanes, also suggest another popular moniker for M83, the Thousand-Ruby Galaxy. Arcing near the top of the novel cosmic portrait lies M83's northern stellar tidal stream, debris from the gravitational disruption of a smaller, merging satellite galaxy. The faint, elusive star stream was found in the mid 1990s by enhancing photographic plates.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:34 AM 0 comments
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Apogee Full Moon

Apogee Full Moon: APOD: 2014 January 18 - Apogee's Full Moon


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2014 January 18


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Explanation: This big, bright, beautiful Full Moon rose over Lick Observatory Wednesday night. Traditionally a full moon in January might be called the Wolf Moon. But this moon reached its full phase on January 16, 4:54 UT, within about 2 hours of apogee, the most distant point in its elliptical orbit around planet Earth. That also makes it the smallest full moon of 2014. Of course the difference in apparent size between the largest and smallest full moons is hard to see, because the difference in distance between lunar apogee and perigee, or closest point in the Moon's orbit, is only about 50,000 kilometers, while the Moon's average distance is around 385,000 kilometers. Though not by much, this apogee's full moon was also the smallest full moon of the last 1,000 years. It will keep that distinction until a slightly smaller full moon occurs close to apogee in 2154.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:33 AM 0 comments
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Spiral Galaxies in Collision

Spiral Galaxies in Collision: APOD: 2014 January 19 - Spiral Galaxies in Collision


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2014 January 19


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Explanation: Billions of years from now, only one of these two galaxies will remain. Until then, spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 will slowly pull each other apart, creating tides of matter, sheets of shocked gas, lanes of dark dust, bursts of star formation, and streams of cast-away stars. Astronomers predict that NGC 2207, the larger galaxy on the left, will eventually incorporate IC 2163, the smaller galaxy on the right. In the most recent encounter that about peaked 40 million years ago, the smaller galaxy is swinging around counter-clockwise, and is now slightly behind the larger galaxy. The space between stars is so vast that when galaxies collide, the stars in them usually do not collide.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:32 AM 0 comments
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Micro Moon over Super Moon

Micro Moon over Super Moon: APOD: 2014 January 21 - Micro Moon over Super Moon


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2014 January 21


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Explanation: Did you see the big, bright, beautiful Full Moon last Wednesday night? That was actually a Micro Moon! On that night, the smallest Full Moon of 2014 reached its full phase only a few hours from lunar apogee, the time of its the most distant point from Earth in the Moon's elliptical orbit. Of course, last year on the night of June 22, a Full Super Moon was near perigee, the closest point in its orbit. The relative apparent size of January 15's Micro Moon is compared to the June 22 Super Moon in the above composite image digitally superimposing telescopic images from Perugia, Italy. The difference in apparent size represents a difference in distance of just under 50,000 kilometers between apogee and perigee, given the Moon's average distance of about 385,000 kilometers. How long do you have to wait to see another Full Micro Moon? Until March 5, 2015, when the lunar full phase will again occur within a few hours of lunar apogee.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:31 AM 0 comments
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Double Cluster in Perseus

Double Cluster in Perseus: APOD: 2014 January 23 - Double Cluster in Perseus


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2014 January 23


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Explanation: This lovely starfield spans some seven full moons (about 3.5 degrees) across the heroic northern constellation of Perseus. Just right of center it holds the famous pair of open or galactic star clusters, h and Chi Persei. Also cataloged as NGC 869 (right) and NGC 884, both clusters are about 7,000 light-years away and contain stars much younger and hotter than the Sun. Separated by only a few hundred light-years, the clusters are both 13 million years young based on the ages of their individual stars, evidence that they were likely a product of the same star-forming region. Always a rewarding sight in binoculars, the Double Cluster is even visible to the unaided eye from dark locations. Not seen in binoculars though, and not often depicted in telescopic images of the region are faint clouds of reddish ionized hydrogen gas found throughout this remarkable cosmic skyscape. A color composite, the image includes narrowband data to enhance emission from the hydrogen clouds. Visible toward the upper left of the wide field of view is another, smaller open star cluster, NGC 957, also of similar age, distance, and possibly related to the more famous Double Cluster in Perseus.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:31 AM 0 comments
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Bright Supernova in M82

Bright Supernova in M82: APOD: 2014 January 24 - Bright Supernova in M82


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2014 January 24


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Explanation: Astronomers really don't find supernovae by looking for the arrows. But in this image taken January 23rd, an arrow does point to an exciting, new supernova, now cataloged as SN 2014J, in nearby bright galaxy M82. Located near the Big Dipper in planet Earth's sky, M82 is also known as the Cigar Galaxy, a popular target for telescopes in the northern hemisphere. In fact, SN 2014J was first spotted as an unfamiliar source in the otherwise familiar galaxy by teaching fellow Steve Fossey and astronomy workshop students Ben Cooke, Tom Wright, Matthew Wilde and Guy Pollack at the University College London Observatory on the evening of January 21. M82 is a mere 12 million light-years away (so the supernova explosion did happen 12 million years ago, that light just now reaching Earth), making supernova SN 2014J one of the closest to be seen in recent decades. Spectra indicate it is a Type Ia supernova caused by the explosion of a white dwarf accreting matter from a companion star. By some estimates one week away from its maximum brightness, SN 2014J is already the brightest part of M82 and visible in small telescopes in the evening sky.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:30 AM 0 comments
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Sunspot Loops in Ultraviolet

Sunspot Loops in Ultraviolet: APOD: 2014 January 26 - Sunspot Loops in Ultraviolet


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2014 January 26


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Explanation: It was a quiet day on the Sun. The above image shows, however, that even during off days the Sun's surface is a busy place. Shown in ultraviolet light, the relatively cool dark regions have temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius. Large sunspot group AR 9169 from the last solar cycle is visible as the bright area near the horizon. The bright glowing gas flowing around the sunspots has a temperature of over one million degrees Celsius. The reason for the high temperatures is unknown but thought to be related to the rapidly changing magnetic field loops that channel solar plasma. Large sunspot group AR 9169 moved across the Sun during 2000 September and decayed in a few weeks.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:29 AM 0 comments
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Spiral Galaxy M83: The Southern Pinwheel

Spiral Galaxy M83: The Southern Pinwheel: APOD: 2014 January 28 - Spiral Galaxy M83: The Southern Pinwheel





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2014 January 28




See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Spiral Galaxy M83: The Southern Pinwheel
Image Credit:
NASA,
ESA,
Hubble Heritage Team
(STScI/AURA), and
W. P. Blair
(JHU)
et al.
Explanation:
M83 is one of
the closest and brightest
spiral galaxies on the
sky.

Visible with binoculars in the constellation of
Hydra, majestic spiral arms
have prompted its nickname as the
Southern Pinwheel.

Although discovered 250 years ago,
only
much later was it appreciated that
M83 was not a nearby gas cloud, but a
barred
spiral galaxy much like our own
Milky Way Galaxy.

M83, pictured above by the Hubble Space Telescope in a recently released image,
is a prominent member of a group of galaxies that includes
Centaurus A and
NGC 5253, all of which lie about 15 million
light years distant.

Several bright supernova explosions
have been recorded in
M83.

An intriguing double
circumnuclear ring has been discovered
at the center of of M83.





Organize Your Universe:
Free APOD 2014 Calendar in PDF format
Tomorrow's picture: jellystone park

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:28 AM 0 comments
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Light Pillars from a Little Planet

Light Pillars from a Little Planet: APOD: 2014 January 31 - Light Pillars from a Little Planet


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2014 January 31


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Explanation: Eerie pillars of light ring the edges of this snowy little planet. Of course the little planet is planet Earth, shown in a nadir-to-zenith, around-the-horizon, little planet projection. The spherical panoramic image mosaic maps a view from Siilinjärvi in eastern Finland. Flat ice crystals, like those more often found in high, thin clouds, are gently fluttering in very cold air near the surface. Pillars of light appear as the crystals' briefly horizontal facets reflect upward directed light from ground sources downward, toward the observer. In fact, the fluttering crystals produce an effect analogous to shimmering columns of moonlight or sunlight reflected by surface waves across water.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:27 AM 0 comments
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NGC 6188 and NGC 6164

NGC 6188 and NGC 6164: APOD: 2014 February 1 - NGC 6188 and NGC 6164


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2014 February 1


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Explanation: Fantastic shapes lurk in clouds of glowing gas in NGC 6188, about 4,000 light-years away. The emission nebula is found near the edge of a large molecular cloud unseen at visible wavelengths, in the southern constellation Ara. Massive, young stars of the embedded Ara OB1 association were formed in that region only a few million years ago, sculpting the dark shapes and powering the nebular glow with stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation. The recent star formation itself was likely triggered by winds and supernova explosions, from previous generations of massive stars, that swept up and compressed the molecular gas. Joining NGC 6188 on this cosmic canvas is rare emission nebula NGC 6164, also created by one of the region's massive O-type stars. Similar in appearance to many planetary nebulae, NGC 6164's striking, symmetric gaseous shroud and faint halo surround its bright central star near the bottom edge. The impressively wide field of view spans over 3 degrees (six full Moons), corresponding to over 200 light years at the estimated distance of NGC 6188. Narrowband image data has been included in the natural looking color composite, adding to deep red emission from hydrogen and sulfur atoms and the blue-green light of oxygen atoms.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:26 AM 0 comments
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Mars and Orion over Monument Valley

Mars and Orion over Monument Valley: APOD: 2014 February 2 - Mars and Orion over Monument Valley


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2014 February 2


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Explanation: Welcome to The World At Night. Sharing the night sky seen around the world, this view from Monument Valley, USA includes a picturesque foreground of famous buttes. Buttes are composed of hard rock left behind after water eroded away the surrounding soft rock. The two buttes on the image left are known as the Mittens, while Merrick Butte is on the right. Recorded in 2007 December, planet Mars is at the left of the skyscape, a glowing beacon of orange that is the brightest object in the frame. To the right of Mars lies the constellation of Orion. Betelgeuse is the reddish star near the center and the Belt of Orion and the Orion Nebula are farther right. Finally, the bright blue star Rigel appears above Merrick Butte in this stunning view of The World At Night.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:26 AM 0 comments
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A Particle Beam Jet forms HH 24

A Particle Beam Jet forms HH 24: APOD: 2014 February 4 - A Particle Beam Jet forms HH 24





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2014 February 4




See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
A Particle Beam Jet forms HH 24
Image Credit:
Hubble Legacy Archive,
NASA,
ESA -
Processing:
Judy Schmidt
Explanation:
If you visit HH 24, don't go near the particle beam jet.

This potential future travel advisory might be issued because the powerful jet likely contains
electrons and
protons moving hundreds of kilometers per second.

The above image was taken by the
Hubble Space Telescope in
infrared light
in order to
better understand turbulent star forming regions known as
Young Stellar Objects (YSOs).

Frequently when a star forms, a disk of dust and gas circles the
YSO causing a
powerful central jets to appear.

In this case, the
energetic jets
are creating, at each end,
Herbig-Haro object 24
(HH 24), as they slam into the surrounding interstellar gas.

The entire star forming region lies about 1,500
light years distant in the
Orion B molecular cloud complex.

Due to their rarity,
jets like that forming HH 24 are estimated to last only a few thousand years.





Tomorrow's picture: edgy galaxy

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:25 AM 0 comments
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NGC 2683: Edge On Spiral Galaxy

NGC 2683: Edge On Spiral Galaxy: APOD: 2014 February 5 - NGC 2683: Edge On Spiral Galaxy


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2014 February 5


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Explanation: Does spiral galaxy NGC 2683 have a bar across its center? Being so nearly like our own barred Milky Way Galaxy, one might guess it has. Being so nearly edge-on, however, it is hard to tell. Either way, this gorgeous island universe, cataloged as NGC 2683, lies a mere 20 million light-years distant in the northern constellation of the Cat (Lynx). NGC 2683 is seen nearly edge-on in this cosmic vista combining data and images from the ground-based Subaru telescope and the space-based Hubble Space Telescope. More distant galaxies are seen scattered in the background. Blended light from a large population of old yellowish stars forms the remarkably bright galactic core. Starlight silhouettes the dust lanes along winding spiral arms, dotted with the telltale blue glow of young star clusters in this galaxy's star forming regions.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:24 AM 0 comments
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The Terraced Night

The Terraced Night: APOD: 2014 February 6 - The Terraced Night


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2014 February 6


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Explanation: Long after sunset on January 25 an unusually intense red airglow floods this south-looking skyscape. The scene was recorded with a long exposure using a digital camera over Yunnan Province in southwest China. At best faintly visible to the eye, the lingering airglow is due to chemiluminescence, the production of light through chemical excitation. Originating at an altitude similar to aurora, it can found around the globe. The chemical energy is initially provided by the Sun's extreme ultraviolet radiation On this night, despite the luminous atmosphere, the band of the Milky Way clearly stretches above the horizon with bright star Sirius near the top of the frame. Both airglow and starry sky are beautifully reflected in region's watery Yuanyang rice terraces below.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:21 AM 0 comments
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Night Hides the World

Night Hides the World: APOD: 2014 February 7 - Night Hides the World


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2014 February 7


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Explanation: Stars come out as evening twilight fades in this serene skyscape following the Persian proverb "Night hides the world, but reveals a universe." In the scene from last November, the Sun is setting over northern Kenya and the night will soon hide the shores of Lake Turkana, home to many Nile crocodiles. That region is also known as the cradle of humankind for its abundance of hominid fossils. A brilliant Venus, then the world's evening star, dominates the starry night above. But also revealed are faint stars, cosmic dust clouds, and glowing nebulae along the graceful arc of our own Milky Way galaxy.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:20 AM 0 comments
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NGC 5101 and Friends

NGC 5101 and Friends: APOD: 2014 February 8 - NGC 5101 and Friends


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2014 February 8


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Explanation: This sharp telescopic field of view holds two bright galaxies. Barred spiral NGC 5101 (top right) and nearly edge-on system NGC 5078 are separated on the sky by about 0.5 degrees or about the apparent width of a full moon. Found within the boundaries of the serpentine constellation Hydra, both are estimated to be around 90 million light-years away and similar in size to our own large Milky Way galaxy. In fact, if they both lie at the same distance their projected separation would be only 800,000 light-years or so. That's easily less than half the distance between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. NGC 5078 is interacting with a smaller companion galaxy, cataloged as IC 879, seen just below and left of the larger galaxy's bright core. Even more distant background galaxies are scattered around the colorful field. Some are even visible right through the face-on disk of NGC 5101. But the prominent spiky stars are in the foreground, well within our own Milky Way.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:19 AM 0 comments
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The Heart and Soul Nebulas

The Heart and Soul Nebulas: APOD: 2014 February 11 - The Heart and Soul Nebulas


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2014 February 11


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
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 in the above zoomable view on the right, has a shape reminiscent of a classical heart symbol. Both nebulas shine brightly in the red light of energized hydrogen. Several young open clusters of stars populate the image and are visible above in blue, including 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.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:18 AM 0 comments
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Rocket, Meteor, and Milky Way over Thailand

Rocket, Meteor, and Milky Way over Thailand: APOD: 2014 February 12 - Rocket, Meteor, and Milky Way over Thailand


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2014 February 12


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Explanation: Can the night sky appear both serene and surreal? Perhaps classifiable as serene in the above panoramic image taken last Friday are the faint lights of small towns glowing across a dark foreground landscape of Doi Inthanon National Park in Thailand, as well as the numerous stars glowing across a dark background starscape. Also visible are the planet Venus and a band of zodiacal light on the image left. Unusual events are also captured, however. First, the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, while usually a common sight, appears here to hover surreally above the ground. Next, a fortuitous streak of a meteor was captured on the image right. Perhaps the most unusual component is the bright spot just to the left of the meteor. That spot is the plume of a rising Ariane 5 rocket, launched a few minutes before from Kourou, French Guiana. How lucky was the astrophotographer to capture the rocket launch in his image? Pretty lucky -- the image was not timed to capture the rocket. Also lucky was how photogenic -- and perhaps surreal -- the rest of the sky turned out to be.

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:17 AM 0 comments
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IC 1805: Light from the Heart

IC 1805: Light from the Heart: APOD: 2014 February 14 - IC 1805: Light from the Heart


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2014 February 14


See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Explanation: Sprawling across almost 200 light-years, emission nebula IC 1805 is a mix of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds about 7,500 light-years away in the Perseus spiral arm of our galaxy. Stars were born in this region whose nickname, the Heart Nebula, derives from its Valentine's-Day-appropriate shape. The clouds themselves are shaped by stellar winds and radiation from massive hot stars in the nebula's newborn star cluster Melotte 15 about 1.5 million years young. This deep telescopic image maps the pervasive light of narrow emission lines from atoms in the nebula to a color palette made popular in Hubble images of star forming regions. The field of view spans about two degrees on the sky or four times the diameter of a full moon. The cosmic heart is found in the constellation of Cassiopeia, the boastful mythical Queen of Aethiopia .

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 7:16 AM 0 comments
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