Astronomy in English

Aurora Oklahoma

2009-12-08T21:19:00.001+02:00

Aurora Oklahoma

Nestled in the central US, the state of Oklahomais noted for it gorgeous prairieskies and wide-open spaces,but not for frequent visitations o thenorthern lights.Still, following the intens solar activity late lastmonth, aurora did come sweeping down the Oklahoma plains an skywatcherDave Ewoldt managed to catch up withthis photogenic apparition 40 miles northwest ofOklahoma City at about 3am CST o October 29.Anticipatin aurora sightings, Ewoldthad spent the eveningphotographing nighttimeviews of small towns in the area whilekeeping an eye toward the north He reports,"I was just about ready to call it a night when theshow started. When it did, it was like someone turned on a lightswitch.I wish it would have lasted longer... [it] seemed like it wascompletely done in about 25 minutes."Watery reflections of the colorful show highlight the foregroundin the stunning image while stars of the Big Dipper and the northernsky shine behind the dazzlin Oklahomaauroral display. Skywatchers' note: First of tw Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight.

Mars Then and Now

2009-11-29T16:47:00.001+02:00

Mars Then and Now

Does Mars have canals? A hot debate topic of the late 1800s, several prominent astronomers including Percival Lowell not only claimed to see an extensive system of long straight canals on Mars, but used them to indicate that intelligent life exists there. The relatively close opposition of 1894 was used to make drawings like the one digitally re-scaled on the above left. The above map was originally prepared by Eugene Antoniadi and redrawnby Lowell Hess for the book Exploring Mars, by Roy A. Gallant.In more modern times, the latest Mars opposition has allowed the Hubble Space Telescope to capture a picture of similar orientation. Comparison of the two images shows that large features were impressively recorded, but that an extensive system of long and straight canals just does not exist. Satellites orbiting Mars have now shown conclusively that the red planet does indeed have surface features similar to canals, but that these are usually smaller, curved, and less extensive than that previously claimed. Real canyon systems like Noctis Labyrinthus are most likely cracks caused by surface stress.

Eclipsed Moonlight from Connelly s Springs

2009-11-28T11:44:00.001+02:00

Eclipsed Moonlight from Connelly s Springs

Happily, skiesover Connelly's Springs, North Carolina, USAwere not mostly cloudy, as forecast, on the evening of November 8.In fact they were mostly clear early on, allowing photographerDavid Cortner to record the evening' scheduledcelestial entertainment, total lunar eclipse.Cortner took telescopic pictures of the Moon everyeight minutes as it entered partial eclipsearound 6:30pm EST and progressed throughthe reddis totaleclipse phase while rising higher in the sky.Near the end of the eclipse he also recorded a wide-angle viewin a long exposure, bringing out thethickening clouds and a landscape silhouetted by still partiall eclipsed moonlight.Later, the telescopic views were carefully combined along th Moon's trail through thewide-angle image to creat this dramatic compositeeclipse sequence.

An Intermediate Polar Binary System

2009-11-26T18:42:00.001+02:00

An Intermediate Polar Binary System

How can two stars create such a strange and intricate structure? Most stars are members of multiple-star systems. Some stars are members of close binary systems where material from one star swirls around the other in an accretion disk. Only a handful of stars, however, are members of an intermediate polar, a system featuring a white dwarf star with a magnetic field that significantly pushes out the inner accretion disk, only allowing material to fall down its magnetic poles. Shown above is an artist's depiction of an intermediate polar system, also known as a DQ Hercules system. The foreground white dwarf is so close to the normal star that it strips away its outer atmosphere. As the white dwarf spins, the columns of infalling gas rotate with it. The name intermediate polar derives from observations of emitted light polarized at a level intermediate to non-disk binary systems known as polars. Intermediate polars are a type of cataclysmic variable star system.

Apollo 17 Lunarscape A Magnificent Desolation

2009-11-23T19:51:00.001+02:00

Apollo 17 Lunarscape A Magnificent Desolation

Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Lunar Module pilot and th second human to walk onthe Moon, described the lunar landscape as "a magnificent desolation".Dramatic pictures fromthe Apollo missionsto the lunar surfacetestify to this apt turn of phrase.Near the Apollo 17 landing site,Family Mountain (center background) and the edge of South Massif (left) fram the lunarscape in this photo o astronaut Harrison Schmittworking alongsid the lunar roving vehicle.Schmitt and fello astronaut Eugene Cernan were th lastto walk on this magnificent desolation.

Eclipsed Moon in Infrared

2009-11-20T23:29:00.001+02:00

Eclipsed Moon in Infrared

The total lunar eclipse of September 1996disappointed many observers in North America whowere cursed with cloudy skies.However, th MidcourseSpace Experiment (MSX) satellite hada spectacular view from Earth orbit an SPIRIT III,an on board infrared telescope, was used torepeatedly image the moo during the eclipse.Above is one ofthe images taken during the 70 minute totality, the Moon completel immersed inthe Earth's shadow.Infrared ligh has wavelengthslonger than visible light - humans can not see it but feel it as heat.The bright spots correspond to the warm areas on thelunar surface, dark areas are cooler.The brightest spot below and left of center is th crater Tycho,the dark region at the upper right i the Mare Crisium.The series of SPIRIT III images allow the determination of coolingrates for geologically different areas, exploring the physical propertie of the Moon's surface.

November's Lunar Eclipse

2009-11-15T00:30:00.001+02:00

November's Lunar Eclipse

The Moon slides through the Earth's shadowthis Saturday night / Sunday morning (November 8/9) givingskygazers in the Americas, Europe,Africa, and western Asia a chance t enjoy a total lunar eclipse.A lunar eclipses go,this will be a brief onethough, with the total phase lasting only about 25 minutes.The orientation and relative size of th Earth's shadowand the Moon's trajectory are illustrated in this thoughtfulanimation showing the full Moon moving up from the lower right,entering the penumbra or outer portion of the shadow region,and then passing well below the center of the darker inner shadow regionor umbra.The tota eclipse phase beginsat 1:06 Universal Time, November 9(8:06pm EST Nov. 8 whenthe Moon is completely within the umbra.While the off-center passage guarantees a short total phase, italso makes it likely that this November's eclipsed Moon will bedramatically visible and colorfulwith a brighter rim along thesouthern edge.

Flare Well AR 10486

2009-11-09T21:12:00.001+02:00

Flare Well AR 10486

Almost out of view fro our fair planet,rotating around theSun's western edge, giant sunspot regio AR 10486lashed outwith another intense solar flare followed bya larg coronalmass ejection (CME) on Tuesday, November 4that about 1950 Universal Time.The flare itself is seen here at the lower right in an extremeultraviolet image from th sun-staring SOHO spacecraft's EITcamera.Saturating the EIT camera pixels and detectors onother satellites, this giant X-classflare was among themost powerful ever recorde sincethe 1970s, the third such historicblast from AR 10486 within the last two weeks.While energetic particle radiation from the flare did causesubstantial radio interference, the associated CME is notexpected to trigger extremely widespread aurorae as it glances offthe magnetosphere, unlike th direct hits from last week's CMEs.Say farewell to the mighty AR 10486, for now.For the next two weeks, the sunspot region will be on the Sun' far side.

The Lynx Arc

2009-11-08T10:42:00.000+02:00

The Lynx Arc

While chasing the spectrum of a mysterious arc in a cluster ofgalaxies within the obscure northerl constellationLynx, astronomers havestumbled upon the most massive and distant star-forming regio ever discovered.The notably red "Lynx arc" lies right of center i thiscolor image of the galaxy cluster, a composite ofHubble Space Telescope and ground-based data.While the galaxy cluster lies about 5 billionlight-years distant spectroscopic studiesshow that the arc itself is actually a distortedimage of an even more distant but enormous star-forming region.The image is formed as the closer galaxy cluster' gravitybends lightlike a magnifying lens, an effect explained by Einstein'stheory of gravity In fact, the monster star-forming region is nearly12 billio light-years awayand about a million times brighter than themore familiar stellar nursery, th Orion Nebula.Estimates are that the star-forming region seen as theLynx arc contains about a million massive, hot stars, comparedto the four stars which power theOrion Nebula's glow. Stars within the Lynx arc are more than twice as hotas the Orion Nebula's central starsand were formed whenthe Universe was a mere 2 billion years old.Still, astronomers believe that th first stars wereformed at even earlier times.

Aurora Over Edmonton

2009-11-08T08:45:00.000+02:00

Aurora Over Edmonton

Northern and southern locales saw many a beautiful aurora over the last week, as particles from severa large solar flares impacted the Earth. Many reported unusually red auroras, although colors across the spectrum were also seen. Power grids and orbiting satellites braced for the onslaught, but little lasting damage was reported. Pictured above, the Clover Bar Power Plant was photographed from the banks of the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. A small pond in the foreground reflects predominantly green aurora light far in the distance. Two days ago, again unexpectedly, another large solar flare occurred from sunspot group 10486, the site ofother recent major flares. This unusually active solar region is now rotating to the far side of the Sun.

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3982 Before Supernova

2009-11-06T22:27:00.001+02:00

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3982 Before Supernova

What do stars look like just before they explode? To find out, astronomers are taking detailed images of nearby galaxies now, before any supernova is visible. Hopefully, a star in one of the hundreds of high resolution galaxy images will explode in the coming years. If so, archival images like that taken above by the Hubble Space Telescope can be inspected to find what the star looked like originally. This information is likely important for better understanding of how and why supernovas occur, as well as why some supernovas appear brighter than others. Pictured above, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 3982 displays numerous spiral arms filled with bright stars, blue star clusters, and dark dust lanes. NGC 3982, which spans about 30,000 light years, lies about 60 million light years from Earth and can be seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of Ursa Major.

A Giant Starspot on HD 12545

2009-10-28T21:03:00.003+02:00

A Giant Starspot on HD 12545

What could cause a star to have such a large spot? Our Sun itself frequently has sunspots, relatively cool dark magnetic depressions that move across its surface. HD 12545, however, exhibits the largest starspots yet observed. Doppler imaging - the use of slight changes in color caused by the rotation of the star - was used to create this false-color image. The vertical bar on the right gives a temperature scale i kelvins.This giant, binary, RS CVn star, also known as XX Trianguli, is visible with binoculars in the constellation of Triangulum. The starspot is thought to be caused by large magnetic fields that inhibit hot matter from flowing to the surface.

Halo of the Cat's Eye

2009-10-28T21:03:00.001+02:00

Halo of the Cat's Eye

The Cat's Eye Nebula(NGC 6543) is one of the best known planetarynebulae in the sky.Its haunting symmetries are seen in the very central regionof this stunning false-color picture, processed to reveal theenormous but extremely faint halo of gaseous material, over threelight-years across, which surrounds the brighter, familiar planetary nebula.Made with data from th Nordic Optical Telescopein the Canary Islands, the composite pictureshows emission fromnitrogen atoms as red and oxygen atoms as green and blue shades Planetarynebulae have long been appreciated as a final phas in the life of a sun-like star.Only much more recently however, have some planetaries bee found to have haloslike this one, likely formed of material shrugged off duringearlier active episodes in the star's evolution.While the planetarynebula phase is thought to last for around 10,000 years,astronomers estimate the age of the outer filamentary portionsof this halo to be 50,000 to 90,000 years.

A Dark and Stormy Night

2009-10-27T00:21:00.001+02:00

A Dark and Stormy Night

It was a dark and stormy night.But on August 29th the red planet Mars, near it closestapproachto Earth in almost 60,000 years, shone brightly in the sky againsta background of stars in th constellation Aquarius.In the foreground o thisscary view, huge thunder clouds arelit by lightningstrokes from within Mars,of course, has nothing to do with storms on Earth, thoughboth have the power to excite th imagination and wonde ofEarthdwellers.And whoknows wha luminoussights you might see if you go out tonight?Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Aurora in Colorado Skies

2009-10-25T00:12:00.000+03:00

Aurora in Colorado Skies

Vividauroral displayswere triggered by a cloud o high energyparticles and magnetic fields from the Sun that collided with plane Earth'smagnetosphereyesterday, October 29, at about 06:3 Universal Time.The collision was anticipated, following a intensesolar flareand coronal mass ejection detected on October 28, and manyanxious skywatchers were rewarded with an enjoyable light show.While aurorae don't normall haunt skies in the southern UnitedStates, they were reporte from locations in Missouri, Texas,New Mexico, and California in the early morning hours.Near Yampa, Colorado astronomer Jimmy Westlake also spentearly yesterday morning enjoying the storm space weather.He was impressed by thi colorful apparition ofthe northern lights -- produced byoxygen and nitrogen atoms excited by collisions withenergetic particles from the magnetosphere andreturning to lower energy states,at altitudes of 100 kilometers or more.Brighter stars shine through the extreme high-altitudeglow which shows much lower cloudsand the distant horizon in silhouette.

A Powerful Solar Flare

2009-10-20T20:50:00.001+03:00

A Powerful Solar Flare

Yesterday, our Sun produced one of the most powerful solar flares in recorded history. Seen across the electromagnetic spectrum, the Sun briefly became over 100 times brighter in X-rays than normal. Over the next few days, as energetic particles emitted from these regions strike the Earth, satellite communications might be affected and auroras might develop. The flare and resulting CME, emitted from giant sunspot group 10486, was captured above as it happened by the by the LASCO instrument aboard the Sun-orbiting SOHO satellite.The disk of the Sun is covered to accentuate surrounding areas. The time-lapse movie shows the tremendous explosion in frames separated in real time by about 30 minutes each. The frames appear progressively noisier as protons from the flare begin to strike the detector. The SOHO satellite has been put in a temporary safe mode to avoid damage from the solar particle storm.

The SDSS 3D Universe Map

2009-10-18T12:39:00.001+03:00

The SDSS 3D Universe Map

The latest map of the cosmos again indicates that dark matter and dark energy dominate our universe. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is on its way to measuring the distances to over one million galaxies. Galaxies first identified on 2D images, like the one shown above on the right, have their distances measured to create the 3D map. The SDSS currently reports 3D information for over 200,000 galaxies, now rivaling the 3D galaxy-count of the Two-Degree Field sky map. The latest SDSS map, shown above on the left, could only show the galaxy distribution it does if the universe was composed and evolved a certain way. After trying to match many candidate universes to it, the Cinderella universe that best fits the above map has 5% atoms, 25% dark matter, and 70% dark energy. Such a universe was previously postulated because its rapid recent expansion can explain why distant supernovas are so dim, and its early evolution can explain the spot distribution on the very distant cosmic microwave background.

Large Sunspot Groups 10484 and 10486

2009-10-10T14:18:00.001+03:00

Large Sunspot Groups 10484 and 10486

Two unusually large sunspot groups are now crossing the face of the Sun. Each group, roughly the size of Jupiter, is unusual not only for its size but because it is appearing over three years after solar maximum, the peak of solar surface activity. Sunspot group 10484 appears near the image center, while sunspot group 10486 is just coming over the left limb of the Sun. The active region associated with Sunspot 484 (the shorter nickname) has already jettisoned a large coronal mass ejection (CME) of particles out into the Solar System. When striking Earth, radiation of this sort has the power to interrupt normal satellite operations while simultaneously providing beautiful auroras. Rotating with the Sun, sunspots 484 and 486 will take about 30 days to make one complete circle, slowly evolving in size and shape during this time. After using extreme care never to look directly at the Sun, the above image was created by holding a digital camera up to a small telescope.

M16 Stars from Eagles EGGs

2009-10-01T22:30:00.000+03:00

M16 Stars from Eagles EGGs

Newborn stars are forming in the Eagle Nebula. This image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, shows evaporating gaseous globules (EGGs) emerging from pillars of molecular hydrogen gas and dust. The giant pillars are light years in length and are so dense that interior gas contracts gravitationally to form stars. At each pillars' end, the intense radiation of bright young stars causes low density material to boil away, leaving stellar nurseries of dense EGGs exposed. The Eagle Nebula, associated with the open star cluster M16, lies about 7000 light years away.

Islands in the Photosphere

2009-09-26T23:41:00.007+03:00

Islands in the Photosphere

Awash in a sea o plasmaand anchored i magneticfields, sunspots are planet-sized, dark islands i thesolar photosphere, the bright surface of the Sun.Before the enlightened(!) age of cameras solar observerscreated detaile drawingsof sunspots as they changed an progressed across thevisible solar disk.But contemporary observersalso regularly use this time-honored methodof monitoring sunspots.In this sketch from March 6th 2001 astronomerGunther Groenez has faithfullyrecorded the intriguing shapesand shades of major visible sunspot groupsand labeled them according to their NOA active region number.Solar north is up and east to the right.Groenez' technical equipment includes H and 2H pencil leads for thesunspot umbra (dark) and penumbra (light) areas respectively.Want to draw sunspots too Now'syour chance as two large sunspot groups ar presently making their wayacross the solar disk.Activity associated with these large sunspots may trigge aurorain the coming days.

Mars Moons

2009-09-26T23:41:00.005+03:00

Mars Moons

APOD: 2003 October 24 - Mars Moons <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Cygnus Nebulosities</h1> <p>2009-09-26T23:41:00.003+03:00</p> Cygnus Nebulosities<br><br><br><br><title> APOD: 2003 October 23 - Cygnus Nebulosities <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>The Heart and Soul Nebulas</h1> <p>2009-09-26T23:41:00.001+03:00</p> The Heart and Soul Nebulas<br><br><br><br>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 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. <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>The Belt of Venus over the Valley of the Moon</h1> <p>2009-09-20T22:15:00.001+03:00</p> The Belt of Venus over the Valley of the Moon<br><br><br><br>Although you've surely seen it, you might not have noticed it. During a cloudless twilight, just before sunrise or after sunset, part of the atmosphere above the horizon appears slightly off-color, slightly pink. Called the Belt of Venus, this off-color band between the dark eclipsed sky and the blue sky can be seen in nearly every direction including that opposite the Sun. Straight above, blue sky is normal sunlight reflecting off the atmosphere. In the Belt of Venus, however, the atmosphere reflects light from the setting (or rising) Sun which appears more red. The Belt of Venus can be seen from any location with a clear horizon. Pictured above, the Belt of Venus was photographed above morning fog in the Valley of the Moon, a famous wine-producing region in northern California, USA.The belt is frequently caught by accident in other photographs. <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Neptune and Triton from Palomar</h1> <p>2009-09-15T00:10:00.001+03:00</p> Neptune and Triton from Palomar<br><br><br><br>How's the weather on Neptune? Tracking major weather patterns on the Solar System's outermost gas giant can help in the understanding of global weather patterns here on Earth. Each summer for the past five years, Neptune has been imaged and major weather patterns studied. The latest picture, taken on September 15, is shown above in false color. Visible in pink near Neptune's lower right is a new storm dubbed Annabelle that is several times larger than her terrestrial sister Isabel, a concurrent storm system that occurred here on Earth. Although Isabel lasted a few weeks, no one knows how long Annabelle will endure. On the upper right is Neptune's largest moon Triton, an unusual moon that sports volcanoes that spew ice. <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> </main></body></html>