Clipmarks | Astronomy Clips

A Spectacular Starburst Galaxy

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:00:38 GMT

Image of the Day: A Spectacular Starburst Galaxy

N 2403 is a showy face-on spiral starburst galaxy in Camelopardalis- The Giraffe, with numerous many bright emission nebulae which can be seen as bright pink regions in the spiral arms. This galaxy is estimated to be around 12 million light years away.

The galaxy is the home of numerous Wolf-Rayet stars are evolved, massive stars (over 20 solar masses), which are losing mass rapidly by means of a very strong stellar wind, with speeds up to 2000 km/s. Wolf-Rayet stars are very hot, with surface temperatures in the range of 25,000 K to 50,000 K. It is believed that the star in the galaxy NGC 2770 that exploded into a supernova on January 9, 2008 — SN 2008D, the first supernova ever observed in the act of exploding — was a Wolf-Rayet star

Tags: astronomy, science

Dissertation Assistance

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:14:53 GMT

clipped by: papersunlimited
clipper's remarks: We are a group of writers having at minimum a Master’s Degree in assorted fields, and for over 7 Years we have been providing assistance to Students.

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Clip Source: www.papersunlimited.biz

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Tags: term paper writing, research papers

3,000 images combine for Milky Way portrait.

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:30:00 GMT

clipped by: EddieIsSteady

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

3,000 images combine for Milky Way portrait

Panoramic image shows stars 1,000 times fainter than human eye can see

A new panoramic image of the full night sky — with the Milky Way as its centerpiece — has been made by piecing together 3,000 individual photographs.

The panorama's creator, Axel Mellinger of Central Michigan University, spent 22 months and traveled over 26,000 miles to take digital photographs at dark sky locations in South Africa, Texas and Michigan.

"This panorama image shows stars 1,000 times fainter than the human eye can see, as well as hundreds of galaxies, star clusters and nebulae," Mellinger said.

To combine these images, a simple cutting and pasting job would not suffice. Each photograph is a two-dimensional projection of the celestial sphere.

Mellinger describes the image-making process in the November issue of the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

The result is an image of our home galaxy that no star-gazer could ever see

Tags: astronomy, science

GRB 090423 - the most distant known object in the Universe

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:57:01 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: via chestnut501 http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/B59F45DC-4C41-47C7-8E47-E06B1F83D4EB/

Clip Source: www.star.le.ac.uk

In this week's edition of the science journal Nature, two international teams of astronomers report their observations of the most distant object yet seen in the Universe. Dubbed GRB 090423, the record-breaker is an example of a gamma-ray burst, the brightest and most violent explosions known to exist. The explosion is thought to accompany the catastrophic death of a very massive star as it ended its life, and is triggered by the centre of the star collapsing to form a black hole.

"This observation allows us to begin exploring the last blank space on our map of the Universe", said Professor Nial Tanvir, who led one of the teams.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Nature press notice

GRB 090423 background FAQ

Figures from paper

Tags: astronomy, nature, science, universe

Where Are You Hiding Planet X, Dr. Brown?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:31:46 GMT

clipped by: nuttyriv3r

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Ian O'Neill: Hehe, that's good! I've been writing about the non-existence of an Earth-killing Planet X for the last 2 years, and I still get hate mail because I say the thing doesn't exist!

Mike Brown: I sometimes get hate mail because people are convinced it does exists and I discovered it and therefore the destruction of the Earth is really all my fault. I only WISH I had that much power.

Ian O'Neill: Lol! That's an interesting twist! So you're not hiding the existence of Planet X then? ;) Or should I say "Nibiru".

It is very hard to convince someone who thinks that there is a conspiracy that you are not part of the conspiracy. I really, really wish there were a Planet X and that I had discovered it. That would have been serious fun.

Ian O'Neill: When you discovered Eris, did it cross your mind that it *might* have been the fabled Planet X?

this thing was big -- bigger than Pluto, even -- but it was also clear that it was not the Planet X of legend.

Tags: 2012 hoax, astronomy, dwarf planets, eris, nibiru, planet x, pluto, pop science

Diminishing Returns!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:09:54 GMT

clipped by: CulturalEngineer
clipper's remarks: An astronomical example of how scale can change encouraging environments to discouraging ones... (what does this have to do with governance or economics?)

Clip Source: www.sciencenews.org

Giant galaxy graveyard grows

Galaxies that group together tend to switch off each others’ star formation, “bringing a flourishing galaxy into a dead one,”

Astronomers think that grouped galaxies speed up, stripping away their neighbors’ hot gas, the raw material for forming stars. When galaxies cluster, “there is always a threshold when groups go from an encouraging environment to a suffocating environment,” Finoguenov says.

Tanaka’s team identified tens of clumps of galaxies surrounding CL0016+16, some of which are up to a thousand times more massive than the Milky Way.

And most of those galaxies are either dead or dying, meaning they’re not making new stars. The tremendous gravitational pull of the central cluster is drawing in other galaxies, which will eventually cease star formation in the growing galactic graveyard.

Tags: economics, politics, science, astronomy

Astronomers See 'Skeleton' of the Universe

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:09:34 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Viewed through the world's most powerful telescopes, the discovery "is the first observation of such a prominent galaxy structure in the distant universe, providing further insight into the cosmic web and how it formed," according to a statement by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

The assembly of galaxies form filaments "millions of light years long and constitute the skeleton of the universe," it says.

"Galaxies gather around them, and immense galaxy clusters form at their intersections, lurking like giant spiders waiting for more matter to digest," it adds.

The filaments are located about 6.7 billion light-years away and extend over at least 60 million light-years, the scientists say, adding the structure very likely stretches beyond the area they probed, warranting further observations.

"This is the first time that we have observed such a rich and prominent structure in the distant universe," says ESO's Masayuki Tanaka, who led the study.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

(Source: ESO/Subaru/National Astronomical Observatory of Japan/M Tanaka)" />

The galaxies located in the newly discovered structure are shown in red, those in front or behind are shown in blue (Source: ESO/Subaru/National Astronomical Observatory of Japan/M Tanaka)

Tags: astronomy-space, telescopes, the-universe

Strong Leonid Meteor Shower Expected Nov. 17

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:10:34 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Seems to cloud over here every time one of these events comes up.

Clip Source: www.space.com

Circle Nov. 17 on your calendar, for early that morning a moderate to possibly very strong showing of annual Leonid meteor shower is likely.

The very strong display will favor those living across most of central and eastern Asia. In this region, meteor rates might briefly rise to a few hundred per hour (the time frame for the most intense activity is anticipated sometime around 21:40 GMT).

A far more modest, but still potentially enjoyable display of a few dozen Leonid meteors per hour is expected to favor North America. In the United States and Canada, eastern observers will be particularly well-positioned for maximum activity, expected sometime between 3:30 and 5:30 a.m. EST, when the radiant of the Leonid shower will be well up in the dark southeastern sky.

The Leonid radiant is within the so-called "Sickle" of Leo; a backwards question-mark pattern of stars that outlines the head and mane of the constellation Leo, the Lion. Hence the meteors are known as "Leonids."

Tags: astronomy

Excellent pic of Saturn

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:07:12 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Even better at the source.

Clip Source: www.space.com

Seen from our planet, the view of Saturn's rings during equinox is extremely foreshortened and limited. But in orbit around Saturn, Cassini had no such problems. From 20 degrees above the ring plane, Cassini's wide angle camera shot 75 exposures in succession for this mosaic showing Saturn, its rings and a few of its moons August 12, 2009, beginning about 1.25 days after exact Saturn equinox, when the Sun's disk was exactly overhead at the planet's equator. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Tags: astronomy

Findings on Mysterious Haze at Galaxy's Center

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:12:14 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: richarddawkins.net

In the latest episode of their continuing efforts to embrace and understand the dark side of creation, astronomers sifting data from a new satellite say they have discerned the existence of a mysterious haze of high-energy particles surrounding the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Nobody knows where the particles came from, and the five astronomers who posted their results online on Monday did not offer a formal opinion. But one tantalizing prospect, they admit, is that the particles are the decayed remains of the long-sought dark matter that constitutes 25 percent of the universe.

“Obviously we wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t think it could be dark matter,” said one of the authors, Douglas Finkbeiner of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

If true, it would mean that astronomy has finally entered the realm of seeing the unseeable.

The identity of this dark matter, presumably exotic elementary particles left over from the Big Bang, is one of the biggest mysteries in physics

Tags: astrophysics

The Average Color of the Universe

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:08:10 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Explanation: What color is the universe? More precisely, if the entire sky were smeared out, what color would the final mix be? This whimsical question came up when trying to determine what stars are commonplace in nearby galaxies. The answer, depicted above, is a conditionally perceived shade of beige. To determine this, astronomers computationally averaged the light emitted by one of the largest sample of galaxies yet analyzed: the 200,000 galaxies of the 2dF survey. The resulting cosmic spectrum has some emission in all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, but a single perceived composite color. This color has become much less blue over the past 10 billion years, indicating that redder stars are becoming more prevalent. In a contest to better name the color, notable entries included skyvory, univeige, and the winner: cosmic latte.

Tags: astronomy

The Celtic Zodiac: The Origin of Halloween

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:56:35 GMT

clipped by: risatalogo
clipper's remarks: Notes from the artist:

The Ancient Origins of Halloween

In today's world it is often difficult for us to imagine that there were ancient civilizations that came long before us, who were more aware and in tune with nature, astronomy and astrology than we are today with all of our advanced knowledge and technology.

Approximately one thousand years B.C., a religious order of Celtic priests known as the Druids lived in the British Isles. They used a lunar calendar that consisted of 13 months, with each month having within it 28 days, plus an additional day which was added to the calendar as in a leap year, to correspond to the solar/lunar year. This 13 month calendar was used by the Druids to calculate their year and important festivals. The Druidic religion focused on the natural and supernatural energies of the universe which they identified with the spirits of their sacred trees. These sacred trees formed the basis of the Druid astrological zodiac.

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

Celts believed that on the night before their new year, which they celebrated on Novermber 1, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, the Druids celebrated Samhain (pronounced sow-in), when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For someone who's entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

The term Halloween, originally spelled Hallowe’en, is shortened from All Hallows' Even – e'en is a shortening of even, which is a shortening of evening. This is ultimately derived from the Old English Eallra Hālgena ǣfen.

The Real Story of Halloween: www.history.com/content/halloween/

Tags: celtic zodiac, halloween

Asteroid explodes over Indonesia.

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:21:21 GMT

clipped by: EddieIsSteady

Clip Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Asteroid with energy of three Hiroshima bombs explodes over Indonesia

An asteroid, with the energy of three Hiroshima bombs, has exploded in the atmosphere above Indonesia - reigniting fears about Earth's defences against space impacts.

Witnesses in Indonesia heard the explosion and spotted a huge fireball in the sky. The blast was also heard by monitoring stations 10,000 miles away, according to a report by scientists at the University of Western Ontario.

The explosion, on October 8, caused no damage on the ground because it occurred at high altitude, 15 to 20km above Earth's surface.

A Nasa statement said: "We estimate size to be about 5-10 meters in diameter. As a rule, the most common types of stony asteroids would not be expected to cause ground damage unless their diameters were about 25 meters in diameter or larger."

[Video]

objects as small as 20 or 30 metres across may be capable of doing damage on Earth

[Video]

Tags: asteroids, astronomy, science, indonesia

Galilean Nights In Argentina

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:15:38 GMT

clipped by: celestialdancer

Clip Source: www.skyandtelescope.com

The first Galilean Night (Thursday, Oct. 22) was a total success at the planetarium in Buenos Aires. Five hundred people gathered here to look at the Moon and Jupiter with our two biggest scopes (11- and 12-inch SCTs, and to learn something about Galileo´s life and contributions to the modern astronomy. Half of them had never seen the sky with a big telescope, including more than 100 children, who observed the Moon and Jupiter shouting "Wow," "Wonderful," "Incredible"!

On Friday it was cloudy. But our second Galilean Night, on Saturday, was even better, with 700 visitors.

For us these Galilean Nights are very, very special, because our planetarium´s name is... Galileo Galilei!

Astronomy Picture of the Day: JKCS041: The Farthest Galaxy Cluster Yet Measured

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:44:28 GMT

clipped by: travislaborde

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Astronomy Picture of the Day

JKCS041: The Farthest Galaxy Cluster Yet Measured

Tags: images