Clipmarks | Astronomy Clips

CATCH A BOOMING , BLAZING STAR.

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:47:12 GMT

clipped by: ellington
clipper's remarks: JOURNEY TO THE STARS

Catch a Booming, Blazing Star

Journey to the Stars The Sun as a red giant at the Hayden Planetarium.

Young stars forming from a giant cloud of interstellar gas and dust, in “Journey to the Stars,” at the Hayden Planetarium.

Clip Source: graphics8.nytimes.com

MULTIMEDIA

Trailer: "Journey to the Stars"

A trailer for "Journey to the Stars," a new show at the American Museum of Natural History, which opens on Saturday, July 4.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Stars are the meat and potatoes of astronomy and cosmology.

Everything we know about the universe depends on a remarkably intimate and hard-won knowledge of how they shine, age and die. They have defined the night for generations, and provided our ancestors with the first hints of a regularity in nature that has haunted scientists and thinkers for thousands of years.

Yet stars rarely occupy the main ring in popular expositions of the cosmos these days. Black holes, the infinitely dense corpses of some stars, drowning all light and matter, are more dramatic. Planets, especially those around distant stars,

Tags: sun, stars

Are Planets 'Living Super-Organisms'?

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:03:31 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly
clipper's remarks: more (at source): He wants to find out if the continents will merge again in 250 million years to form a single super-continent; how meteorites change the chemical composition of the Earth; and what the connection is between the temperature of a planet and its magnetic field, which protects plants and animals from being bombarded with cosmic radiation, which in turn influences the rate of mutations and thus the development of new forms of life.

Clip Source: www.disinfo.com

Daily Galaxy: Japan's Maruyama Shigenori, one of the world's leading geophysicists, is working on a global formula for a new field of study that would include dozens of disciplines collaborating to produce an overall picture of the Earth. As he connects the links from astronomy to life sciences, an outline emerges of an all-encompassing image of entire planets which appear as living super-organisms.

Shigenori believes that expanding the study of life sciences to the core of our world and the depths of outer space will help us find distant relatives of our own Earth — planets that could also sustain life.

Maruyama is creating a new institute called the Center for Bio-Earth Planetology will be launched in 2009 and fully dedicated to creating a new conception of life in space.

Best Astrology and Horoscope Services in India

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:51:40 GMT

clipped by: astrologer6
clipper's remarks: If you are facing various problems in life regarding job,love,marriage,family then anmol astrologers solve your problems by giving best astrology solutions.There are other services including palmistry,numerology,love astrology,astrology compatibility,daily horoscope etc...

Clip Source: anmolastrologers.i.ph

Astrology is Vedic Science with combinations of Astronomy mathematically calculated method of exploring the major events of our future due to influence of Planets on Humankind, our relationships and our place & Status in the world. It works by taking a look at the impact and influence of heavenly planets on our significant events & environmental influences right from our date, time & place of birth, starts operating in a particular place at a given time.

Numerology is the study of numbers and their meanings. It is based on the belief that the name you were given at birth and the day, month, and year you were born influence who you are and what will happen during the course of your lifetime.We provide information on a number of subjects relating to numerology such as numerology compatabilty readings, biblical numerology readings, name Numerology and numerology methods.

Tags: anmol astrologers, astrology, astrologer

[Astronomy Ireland] U2, Talking Live With ISS Astronauts

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:06:44 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: From Astronomy Ireland: At the opening concert of their world tour on June 30, U2 had a very special surprise for concert goers in Barcelona. After the 4th song of the show, a live satellite link with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), appeared on the screens in the stadium, with one of the astronauts telling the audience "right now the most beautiful sight in our cosmos is the blue planet Earth". ISS will be visible in Irish skies again from July 6 - 23.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

u2 talking with the ISS

[Video]

Lyman Alpha Blob

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:14:11 GMT

clipped by: violetnightshade

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Dubbed a Lyman-alpha blob, an enormous cloud of hydrogen gas spans several hundred thousand light-years in this remarkable image (left), a composite of x-ray, optical, and infrared data from space and ground based observatories. The gigantic, amoeba-like structure is seen as it was when the universe was a mere 2 billion years old (about 12 billion years ago). Lyman-alpha blobs are so called because they strongly emit radiation due to the Lyman-alpha emission line of hydrogen gas. Normally, Lyman-alpha emission is in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, but Lyman-apha blobs are so distant, their light is redshifted to (longer) optical wavelengths. X-ray data (blue) indicates the presence of a supermassive black hole feeding at the center of an active galaxy embedded in the blob.

Lyman-alpha blobs could represent an early phase in galaxy formation where the heating is so great it begins to limit further rapid growth of active galaxies and their supermassive black holes.

Tags: space, science, astronomy, cool, informative

Three Galaxies in Draco

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:11:29 GMT

clipped by: violetnightshade

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Explanation: This intriguing trio of galaxies is sometimes called the Draco Group, located in the northern constellation of (you guessed it) Draco. From left to right are edge-on spiral NGC 5981, elliptical galaxy NGC 5982, and face-on spiral NGC 5985 -- all within this single telescopic field of view spanning a little more than half the width of the full moon. While the group is far too small to be a galaxy cluster and has not been cataloged compact group, these galaxies all do lie roughly 100 million light-years from planet Earth. On close examination with spectrographs, the bright core of the striking face-on spiral NGC 5985 shows prominent emission in specific wavelengths of light, prompting astronomers to classify it as a Seyfert, a type of active galaxy. Not as well known as other tight groupings of galaxies, the contrast in visual appearance makes this triplet an attractive subject for astrophotographers.

Tags: science, space, astronomy, cool, informative, galaxies

Scientists Make Radio Waves Travel Faster Than Light

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:23:34 GMT

clipped by: chestnut501
clipper's remarks: A Los Alamos National Laboratory gadget, called a polarization synchrotron, combines radio waves and a rapidly spinning magnetic field, which forces radio waves to travel faster than the speed of light. The resulting phenomenon could lead to new technologies in health and communications.

Clip Source: www.santafenewmexican.com

Scientist John Singleton insists that Albert Einstein wouldn't be mad at him, even though at first blush Singleton appears to have twisted the famous physicist's theories about light into a pretzel.

Most people think Einstein said that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, but that's not really the case, Singleton said.

Einstein predicted that particles and information can't travel faster than the speed of light — but phenomenon like radio waves? That's a different story, said Singleton, a Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow.

Singleton has created a gadget that abuses radio waves so severely that they finally give in and travel faster than light.

Singleton's discovery could have wide-ranging technological impacts in areas such as medicine and communications, he said.

"Because nobody's really thought about things that travel faster than light before, this is a wide-open technological field," Singleton said.

Tags: physics, theory, energy, speed, einstein, astronomy, pulsars, discoveries, news, science

Most complete Earth map published

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:49:06 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The most complete terrain map of the Earth's surface has been published.

The data, comprising 1.3 million images, come from a collaboration between the US space agency Nasa and the Japanese trade ministry.

A Nasa/Aster image of Death Valley

The images were taken by Japan's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (Aster) aboard the Terra satellite.

The resulting Global Digital Elevation Map covers 99% of the Earth's surface, and will be free to download and use.

The Terra satellite, dedicated to Earth monitoring missions, has shed light on issues ranging from algal blooms to volcano eruptions.

For the Aster measurements, local elevation was mapped with each point just 30m apart.

"This is the most complete, consistent global digital elevation data yet made available to the world," said Woody Turner, Nasa programme scientist on the Aster mission.

Tags: astronomy

Space Shuttle and Strange Clouds Key to Mysterious 1908 Explosion

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:40:11 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Tunguska solved - for now. Great article and piecing together of facts by the scientists.

Clip Source: www.space.com

Ever since something generated a huge explosion over Siberia in 1908, flattening an area as big as a large city, scientists have been trying to figure out what caused it.

Among the enduring mysteries: Following the explosion, the night skies shone brightly for several nights across Europe all the way to London, 3,000 miles away.

But which type of space rock was it?

New evidence from an unlikely source -- water vapor in the exhaust plumes of space shuttles launched a century later -- points to a comet.

The potential solution comes courtesy some strange clouds that scientists have only recently begun to understand.

Noctilucent clouds are brilliant, and visible only at night. Made of ice particles, they are Earth's highest clouds, forming in the mesosphere some 55 miles over the polar regions during the summer months when, up there, it is around minus 180 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 117 degrees Celsius).

The ephemeral noctilucent clouds are relatively new, at least to scientists

Tags: astronomy

Spirit Rover Makes Night Sky Observations

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:34:17 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: so many stars!

Clip Source: www.universetoday.com

When your rover has abundant energy but can't go anywhere, what's a scientist to do? How about making observations of the evening and night skies on Mars? With the benefit of a boost in electrical power from a wind gust cleaning off her solar panels, the Spirit rover has more energy available than she's had for a couple of years. But unfortunately, Spirit is stuck in a patch of loose soil in the Home Plate region on Mars. While the engineers at JPL work hard at figuring out how to "Free Spirit" (see the new website dedicated to their efforts) scientists are making observations of her surroundings to aid in the effort to get her out. But there's also enough power to do additional observations, and astronomy was a logical choice.

Kaguya Spacecraft Crashes into the Moon

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:31:12 GMT

clipped by: violetnightshade

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

[Video]

Explanation: Japan's Kaguya spacecraft crashed into the Moon last week, as planned. Officially named the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE), the spacecraft was given the nickname Kaguya after the princess in the Japanese folklore story The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Pictured above is a movie taken by Kaguya during the last orbit of its twenty-month lunar mission. A desolate, hilly, and cratered terrain passes underneath as the spacecraft barely clears a few peaks. At the movie's end, the spacecraft disappears into darkness near GILL crater. Robotic SELENE carried thirteen scientific instruments and two HDTV cameras. The groundbreaking mission took data on lunar topology and composition that are being used to better understand the origin and history of Earth's unique and ancient companion. Data and images from Kayuga and the recently launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter could be used to choose good locations to land future Moon-exploring astronauts.

Tags: space, astronomy, moon, science, informative, cool

An exploding star in an "exploding" galaxy

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:10:57 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Good explanation, especially of how images were collected to make the composite shown.

Clip Source: www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de

Zooming into the center of the galaxy M82, one of the nearest starburst galaxies at a distance of only 12 Million light years. The left image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), shows the body of the galaxy in blue and hydrogen gas breaking out from the central starburst in red. The VLA image (top left) clearly shows the supernova (SN 2008iz), taken in May 2008. The high-resolution VLBI images (lower right) shows an expanding shell at the scale of a few light days and proves the transient source as the result of a supernova explosion in M82

M82 is an irregular galaxy in a nearby galaxy group located 12 million lightyears from Earth. Despite being smaller than the Milky Way, it harbors a vigorous central starburst in the inner few hundred lightyears. In this stellar factory more stars are presently born than in the entire Milky Way

it looks as if being torn apart in optical and infrared images as the result of numerous supernova explosions from massive stars (see Fig. 1, left)

Tags: astronomy

when the universe was but a toddler

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:24:22 GMT

clipped by: Solar Child

Clip Source: spaceflightnow.com

Galaxies coming of age in cosmic blobs

The "coming of age" of galaxies and black holes has been pinpointed, thanks to new data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes. This discovery helps resolve the true nature of gigantic blobs of gas observed around very young galaxies. About a decade ago, astronomers discovered immense reservoirs of hydrogen gas -- which they named "blobs" -- while conducting surveys of young distant galaxies. The blobs are glowing brightly in optical light, but the source of immense energy required to power this glow and the nature of these objects were unclear.

"We're seeing signs that the galaxies and black holes inside these blobs are coming of age and are now pushing back on the infalling gas to prevent further growth," said coauthor Bret Lehmer, also of Durham. "Massive galaxies must go through a stage like this or they would form too many stars and so end up ridiculously large by the present day."

Tags: astronomy, black holes, galaxies, blob, hydrogen, chandra, telescope

Why the solstices are like yin and yang

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:16:18 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: From a discussion about "why is June 21 considered the first day of summer, when it's been feeling summery for weeks if not months?"

Clip Source: nielsenhayden.com

the Summer Solstice is the beginning of summer. Summer is the season when days are longer than nights, but growing shorter.

The boundaries between seasons are like the boundary between yin and yang on the t'ai chi. There's a little spring in summer and a little summer in spring, and so on.

Also: the days are growing shorter in summer, just as adulthood begins when you begin to age. Aging is the characteristic condition of adulthood, though it's not usually noticeable for the first few years (starting at around 25).

So, for reasons of both astronomy and metaphor, I prefer to think of the solstice as the moment when the world turns to summer. The Sun, in His triumph,

begins His descent into death.

And like that.

Tags: solstice, seasons, yin-and-yang, making-light

Shot of Volcano From Space Station

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:21:21 GMT

clipped by: violetnightshade

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Credit: Expedition 20 Crew - International Space Station, NASA
Stereo Image: Patrick Vantuyne

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Sarychev Peak Volcano in Stereo

Explanation: From 400 kilometers above planet Earth, the Expedition 20 Crew onboard the International Space Station (ISS) was able to witness a remarkable event from a remarkable vantage point -- the June 12 eruption of the Sarychev Peak Volcano. The active volcano is located in Russia's Kuril Island chain, stretching to the northeast of Japan. Emphasizing the orbital perspective, this stunning color stereo view was made by combining two images from the ISS and is intended to be viewed with red/blue glasses (red for the left eye). Punching upwards into the atmosphere at an early stage of the eruption, the volcanic plume features a brown column of ash topped with a smooth, bubble-like, white cloud that is likely water condensation.

Tags: science, space, photography, volcano, cool, informative