NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 3/2010]

Science & Reason on Facebook: tinyurl.com NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 3/2010]. — Please subscribe to Science & Reason: • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com — ? Eclipse over the Temple of Poseidon The Moon moved to partly block the Sun for a few minutes last week as a partial solar eclipse became momentarily visible across part of planet Earth. In the above single exposure image, meticulous planning enabled careful photographers to capture the partially eclipsed Sun well posed just above the ancient ruins of the Temple of Poseidon in Sounio, Greece. • antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov ? Dust Sculptures in the Rosette Nebula Noted for the common beauty of its overall shape, parts of the Rosette Nebula, also known as NGC 2237, show beauty even when viewed up close. Visible above are globules of dark dust and gas that are slowly being eroded away by the energetic light and winds by nearby massive stars. Left alone long enough, the molecular-cloud globules would likely form stars and planets. The Rosette Nebula spans about 50 light-years across and lies about 4500 light-years away. • antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov ? Watch Jupiter Rotate What would it be like to coast by Jupiter and watch it rotate? This was just the experience of the New Horizons spacecraft as it approached and flew by Jupiter. Visible above in the extensive atmosphere of the Solar System’s largest planet are bands and belts of light and dark clouds, as well as giant rotating …

The Andromeda Galaxy

Science & Reason on Facebook: tinyurl.com “The Andromeda Galaxy” with Jane Houston Jones at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. — Please subscribe to Science & Reason: • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com — The Andromeda Galaxy (also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224) is a spiral galaxy approximately 2500000 light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way. As it is visible as a faint smudge on a moonless night, it is one of the farthest objects visible to the naked eye, and can be seen even from urban areas with binoculars. It is named after the princess Andromeda (Greek: ????????? Androméd?) in Greek mythology. Andromeda is the largest galaxy of the Local Group, which consists of the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy, the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 30 other smaller galaxies. Although the largest, Andromeda may not be the most massive, as recent findings suggest that the Milky Way contains more dark matter and may be the most massive in the grouping. The 2006 observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope revealed that M31 contains one trillion stars, several times more than the number of stars in our own galaxy, which is estimated to be c. 200-400 billion. While the 2006 estimates put the mass of the Milky Way to be ~80% of the mass of Andromeda, which is estimated to be 7.1 × 1011 solar masses, a 2009 study concluded that Andromeda and the Milky …

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The Hubble Space Telescope has solved a long-standing puzzle by resolving giant but delicate filaments shaped by a strong magnetic field around the active galaxy NGC 1275. It is the most striking example so far of the influence of the immense tentacles of extragalactic magnetic fields. Read the Full story and see the images at figbranch.com follow this link: figbranch.com Credit: ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & LL Christensen) Visual design & Editing: Martin Kornmesser Animations and photos: Martin Kornmesser , Digitized Sky Survey 2, A. Fujii and NASA/GSFC Written by: Lars Lindberg Christensen & Laura Simurda Host: Dr. J Narration: Bob Fosbury Cinematography: Peter Rixner Directed by: Lars Lindberg Christensen

Extreme Star Cluster Bursts Into Life

Hubblecast 09: Extreme Star Cluster Bursts Into Life. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a spectacular image of NGC 3603, a giant nebula hosting one of the most prominent massive young clusters in the Milky Way. This is a splendid location for continued studies of stellar birth in star forming regions. — Subscribe to Science & Reason: • www.YouTube.com • www.YouTube.com • www.YouTube.com — Credit: • ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & LL Christensen) • Narration: Dr. Robert Fosbury • Design: Martin Kornmesser •Web Technical Support: Lars Holm Nielsen, Raquel Yumi Shida • Cinematographer: Peter Rixner (www.perix.de) • Script: Lars Lindberg Christensen, Will Gater • Executive Producers: Raquel Yumi Shida, Lars Lindberg Christensen • Director: Lars Lindberg Christensen Dr. J is a German astronomer at the ESO. His scientific interests are in cosmology, particularly on galaxy evolution and quasars. Dr. J’s real name is Joe Liske and he has a PhD in astronomy. Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre Garching/Munich, Germany • www.eso.org • http • hubblesite.org . Att. Lars Lindberg Christensen, ESO office 011 Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2 DE-85748 Garching bei München Germany http .

Sky Merger – Interacting And Colliding Galaxies

Hubblecast 31: Sky merger yields sparkling dividends. A recent NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image captures what appears to be one very bright and bizarre galaxy, but is actually the result of a pair of spiral galaxies, like our own Milky Way smashing together at breakneck speeds. The product of this dramatic collision, called NGC 2623, or Arp 243, is about 250 million light-years away in the constellation of Cancer (the Crab). This object was a target of Hubble’s and a handful of its “sibling” spacecraft as part of a massive comprehensive sky survey called GOALS. — • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com — Not surprisingly, interacting galaxies have a dramatic effect on each other. Studies have revealed that as galaxies approach one another massive amounts of gas are pulled from each galaxy towards the centre of the other, until ultimately, the two merge into one massive galaxy. The object in the image, NGC 2623, is in the late stages of the merging process with the centres of the original galaxy pair now merged into one nucleus. However, stretching out from the centre are two tidal tails of young stars showing that a merger has taken place. During such a collision, the dramatic exchange of mass and gases initiates star formation, seen here in both the tails. The prominent lower tail is richly populated with bright star clusters — 100 of them have been found in these observations. The large star clusters that the team have observed in the merged galaxy are brighter …

Spiral galaxy NGC 1309 Supernova (1080p)

Created with a single image. Image credit: NASA, ESA, The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 2/2010]

NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day [Week 2/2010]. — • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com — ? The Spider and The Fly Bright clusters and nebulae abound in the ancient northern constellation of Auriga. The region includes the open star cluster M38, emission nebula IC 410 with Tadpoles, Auriga’s own Flaming Star Nebula IC 405, and this interesting pair IC 417 (lower left) and NGC 1931. An imaginative eye toward the expansive IC 417 and diminutive NGC 1931 suggests a cosmic spider and fly. About 10000 light-years distant, both represent young, open star clusters formed in interstellar clouds and still embedded in glowing hydrogen gas. • Learn more: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov ? Atlantis to Orbit The launch of a rocket bound for space is an event that inspires awe and challenges description. The Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off to visit the International Space Station during the early morning hours. • Learn more: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov ? Ancient Layered Hills on Mars What may appear to some as a terrestrial coastline is in fact a formation of ancient layered hills and wind-blown sand on Mars. The pictured region spans about three kilometers in Schiaparelli Crater. What created the layers of sediment is still a topic of research. The image was taken with the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. • Learn more: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov ? The Flame Nebula in Infrared 1500 light years away towards the constellation of Orion lies a nebula which, from its glow and dark dust lanes, appears, on …

The Crab Nebula

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History Channel The Universe Space Travel. When man finally broke free of the Earth’s gravitational pull the dream of traveling to other planets became a reality. Today scientists are proposing a bizarre array of technologies in the hope of traveling faster through space: from space craft sporting sails that catch laser beams, to propulsion engines powered by a bizarre entity known as anti-matter. Finally explore the science behind the seemingly fanciful notion of warp-drive and a …

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History Channel The Universe Space Travel. When man finally broke free of the Earth’s gravitational pull the dream of traveling to other planets became a reality. Today scientists are proposing a bizarre array of technologies in the hope of traveling faster through space: from space craft sporting sails that catch laser beams, to propulsion engines powered by a bizarre entity known as anti-matter. Finally explore the science behind the seemingly fanciful notion of warp-drive and a …