Clipmarks | willhelm's Astronomy collection

Astronomy's next big telescope

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:02:06 GMT

clipped by: willhelm

The Owl (Overwhelmingly Large Telescope) is an awesome project which requires international effort to make it happen.

It would open an enormous new window on the Universe

Dr Roberto Gilmozzi

This huge telescope - its main mirror would be more than 100 metres across - would have a predicted resolution 40 times better than the Hubble Space Telescope and a sensitivity several thousand times greater.

It would be sited at an altitude of 5,000 metres and would be operated almost as a space observatory, with a base camp for the human operators nearby at a lower height of no more than 3,000 metres.

The preferred site would be in the Atacama Desert, which is said to be the driest in the world, making it a perfect location for astronomy.

Owl is currently in the design phase, with the cost and timescale still to be fixed. But the aim is to take advantage of the latest developments in telescope technology to make the next giant leap forward in observing.

Tags: astronomy

NASA Space Sound Recordings

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:45:27 GMT

clipped by: willhelm

Clip Source: www.inner-net.com

Miranda:

For a long time our most popular Space Sound CD. Sounds like strange winds and occasionally like choirs and voices singing. Haunting and beautiful.

RING'S OF URANUS:

Presently our most popolar Space Sound CD. Sounds like giant Tibetan Bowls and Bells. Extremely centering and relaxing.

JUPITER:

SATURN:

NEPTUNE:

SPHERE OF IO:

SATURN'S RINGS:

URANUS:

VOICE OF EARTH:

SONG OF EARTH:

SPACE SOUNDS MUSIC:

Cassini Nears Four-year Mark

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:55:06 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: www.boston.com

NASA's Cassini Spacecraft is now reaching the end of its four-year prime mission (on June 30th), and about to enter into its extended mission. What a nice excuse for a retrospective of some of the great images sent back home by Cassini over the past four years. (12 photos total)

The Sun is on the opposite side, so all of Saturn is backlit. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

Swirls in Saturn's cloud-tops. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

The surface of Saturn's moon Dione, up close. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

Tiny moon Janus, seen before Saturn's rings, with massive moon Titan beyond. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

Saturn's moon Rhea, with Izanagi Crater at center. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

Saturn's horizon seen through its thin rings. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

Small moon Mimas, seen against Saturn's horizon. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

A "knot", or small disturbance in one of Saturn's outer rings. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

Closeup of small, cratered moon Hyperion. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

Saturn's moon Enceladus

Carina Nebula in its wonderful glory

Wed, 28 May 2008 11:30:59 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Clip Source: www.coolscifi.com

Explanation: What dark forms lurk in the mists of the Carina Nebula? These ominous figures are actually molecular clouds, knots of molecular gas and dust so thick they have become opaque. In comparison, however, these clouds are typically much less dense than Earth's atmosphere. Pictured above is part of the most detailed image of the Carina Nebula ever taken, a part where dark molecular clouds are particularly prominent. The entire Carina Nebula spans over 300 light years and lies about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Carina. NGC 3372, known as the Great Nebula in Carina, is home to massive stars and changing nebula. Eta Carinae, the most energetic star in the nebula, was one of the brightest stars in the sky in the 1830s, but then faded dramatically. Wide-field annotated and zoomable versions of the larger image composite are also available.

Tags: carina nebula, space

Third red spot erupts on Jupiter

Mon, 26 May 2008 02:10:41 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: space.newscientist.com

A third giant red storm has flared up on Jupiter, joining the Great Red Spot and the recently developed Red Spot Junior. The spot, along with new measurements of record-high wind speeds on Red Spot Junior, come at a time when the solar system's largest planet is experiencing a time of global upheaval.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is an ancient, hurricane-like storm that may have been raging for 340 years or more, based on early observations with telescopes. At three times the width of Earth, it is the largest storm in the solar system.

It was recently joined by a similar, but smaller storm called Red Spot Junior. Red Spot Junior grew out of the merger of three smaller, white storms between 1998 and 2000 and turned red in 2006. It is about the size of Earth.

Now, a third red spot, about half the size of Red Spot Junior

No one knows for sure what gives the three spots their red colour.

Ferocious winds

Star Forming Region

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:15:26 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Clip Source: www.coolscifi.com

Explanation: What's happening in the NGC 3582 nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming. The complex nebula resides in the star forming region called RCW 57. Visible in this image are dense knots of dark interstellar dust, bright stars that have formed in the past few million years, fields of glowing hydrogen gas ionized by these stars, and great loops of gas expelled by dying stars. A recent detailed study of NGC 3582 uncovered at least 33 massive stars in the end stages of formation, and the clear presence of the complex carbon molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are thought to be created in the cooling gas of star forming regions, and their development in the Sun's formation nebula five billion years ago may have been an important step in the development of life on Earth. This picture was taken last year with the Blanco 4-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), in Chile.

Tags: space, star, star-forming, orange

The Tarantula Nebula - Beautiful WOW!!!

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:13:16 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator
clipper's remarks: This I might make a wallpaper for awhile- What beauty!

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Clip Source: www.coolscifi.com

Explanation: The Tarantula Nebula is more than 1,000 light-years in diameter -- a giant star forming region within our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). That cosmic arachnid lies at the upper left of this expansive mosiac covering a part of the LMC over 6,000 light-years across. Within the Tarantula (NGC 2070), intense radiation, stellar winds and supernova shocks from the central young cluster of massive stars, cataloged as R136, energize the nebular glow and shape the spidery filaments. Around the Tarantula are other violent star-forming regions with young star clusters, filaments and bubble-shaped clouds. The small but expanding remnant of supernova 1987a, the closest supernova in modern history, is located near the center of the view. The rich field is about as wide as four full moons on the sky, located in the southern constellation Dorado.

Tags: space, the tarantula nebula, picture, hd, wallpaper

Cosmic Clouds

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:57:02 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Clip Source: www.coolscifi.com

Explanation: The sky is full of hydrogen, though it can take a sensitive camera and telescope to see it. For example, this twelve-degree-wide view of the northern part of the constellation Cygnus reveals cosmic clouds of hydrogen gas along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. The mosaic of telescopic images was recorded through an h-alpha filter that transmits only visible red light from glowing hydrogen atoms. Further digital processing has removed most of what is left of the myriad, point-like Milky Way stars from the scene, though bright Deneb, alpha star of Cygnus and head of the Northern Cross, remains near top center. Recognizable bright nebulae include NGC 7000 (North America Nebula), and IC 5070 (Pelican Nebula) at the upper left with IC 1318 (Butterfly Nebula) and NGC 6888 (Crescent Nebula) at lower right -- but others can be found throughout the wide field. Want the stars back? Just slide your cursor over the picture.

Tags: hydrogen, clouds, space, walpaper

Fox Fur Nebula.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:18:07 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Clip Source: www.coolscifi.com

Explanation: This interstellar beast is formed of cosmic dust and gas interacting with the energetic light and winds from hot young stars. The shape, visual texture, and color, combine to give the region the popular name Fox Fur Nebula. The characteristic blue glow on the left is dust reflecting light from the bright star S Mon, just beyond the left edge of the image. Mottled pink and brown areas are a combination of the cosmic dust and reddish emission from ionized hydrogen gas. S Mon is part of a young open cluster of stars, NGC 2264, located about 2,500 light years away toward the constellation of Monoceros, just north of the Cone Nebula.

Tags: fox fur nebula, space, hdpics

Suspected Medium-Sized Black Hole in Omega Centauri

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 05:14:20 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

Although the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole is the most likely reason for the stellar speedway near the cluster’s center, the astronomers said they have not ruled out a couple of other possible causes.

Clip Source: www.randybrewer.net

Clip Source: mcdonaldobservatory.org

A well-known star cluster that glitters with the light of millions of stars may have a mysterious dark object tugging at its core, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.

Astronomer Karl Gebhardt has teamed up with recent Ph.D. graduate Eva Noyola to find evidence for a medium-size black hole at the core of Omega Centauri, one of the largest and most massive globular star clusters orbiting the Milky Way galaxy. The finding will appear in the April 10 issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

The black hole in Omega Centauri is estimated to be about 40,000 times the mass of the Sun, falling in between the masses of supermassive black holes at the hearts of galaxies like the Milky Way and stellar-mass black holes that result when the most massive stars explode as supernovae.

Measuring the speed of the stars swirling near the cluster’s center with the Gemini Observatory, the astronomers found that the stars closer to the core are moving faster than the stars farther away.

Tags: astronomy, science

The N44 Complex

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:58:55 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Clip Source: www.coolscifi.com

Explanation: A truly giant complex of emission nebulae, N44 is about 1,000 light-years across. It shines in southern skies as a denizen of our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, 170,000 light-years away. Winds and intense radiation from hot, young, luminous stars in N44 excite and sculpt filaments and streamers of the glowing nebular gas. But supernovae - the death explosions of the massive short lived stars - have also likely contributed to the region's enormous, blown-out shapes. The cluster of young stars seen near the center lies in a superbubble nearly 250 light-years across. This detailed, false-color view of the intricate structures codes emission from hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur in shades of blue and green.

Tags: space, pictures, n44, nebulae

What Does a Gamma-Ray Burst Look Like?

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:40:17 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: www.popsci.com

The universe’s most powerful explosions are, without parallel, those of gamma-ray bursts. A single such burst releases as much energy as a ten million billion suns. Short gamma-ray bursts lasting only a fraction of a second occur when two neutron stars or black holes collide. Long gamma-ray bursts of more than two seconds happen in connection with very powerful supernovae. This picture shows a long gamma-ray burst—in the form of a jet of gamma radiation—10 seconds after it was ejected by a heavy star that collapsed into a supernova. The image was created by a supercomputer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The blue, red and yellow colors represent gamma-ray density, with blue the lowest and yellow the highest.

Tags: astronomy, space, science

Cat's Eye Hubble Remix

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:26:20 GMT

clipped by: KW802
clipper's remarks: In about 5 billion years this is what our own sun may look like.

Clip Source: www.coolscifi.com

Cat's Eye Hubble Remix

Credit & Copyright: Vicent Peris (OAUV / PTeam), MAST, STScI, AURA, NASA

Staring across interstellar space, the alluring Cat's Eye Nebula lies three thousand light-years from Earth. One of the most famous planetary nebulae in the sky, the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) is over half a light-year across and represents a final, brief yet glorious phase in the life of a sun-like star. This nebula's dying central star may have produced the simple, outer pattern of dusty concentric shells by shrugging off outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. But the formation of the beautiful, more complex inner structures is not well understood. Here, Hubble Space Telescope archival image data has been reprocessed to create another look the cosmic cat's eye. Compared to well-known Hubble pictures, the alternative processing strives to sharpen and improve the visiblility of details in light and dark areas of the nebula and also applies a more complex color palette.

Tags: cool sci-fi, space

The Far-out SpaceClip Gallery

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:18:30 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: picasaweb.google.com

converted PNM file

IDL TIFF file

Tags: art, space, image, gallery, pics, cool

Solar wind

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:17:10 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov

solar wind
	At 22:55 UT
	Speed: 449 km/s
	Density: 5.65 p/cm³

Tags: solar wind, space