Apod

[Dantheman62]

I'm sure most of you are familiar with APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day), and it's probably been posted before, but here it is again for those that haven't seen it!

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091102.html

and Archives... http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html





2009 November 2
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/ares1_duncan.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/ares1_duncan_big.jpg) Ares 1-X Rocket Lifts Off
Credit & Copyright: Rory A. Duncan (United Space Alliance (http://www.unitedspacealliance.com/))

[Dantheman62]

2009 November 6
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/ringdeep_CAHA.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/ringdeep_CAHA_big.jpg) Ring Nebula Deep Field
Credit & Copyright: Vicent Peris (http://www.astrofoto.es/) (DSA (http://www.astro-photographer.org/) / OAUV (http://www.uv.es/obsast) / PixInsight (http://www.pixinsight.com/)), Jack Harvey (http://www.starshadows.com/aboutus/index.cfm?PageID=10) (DSA (http://www.astro-photographer.org/) / SSRO (http://www.starshadows.com/)),
Steve Mazlin (http://www.starshadows.com/aboutus/index.cfm?PageID=14) (DSA (http://www.astro-photographer.org/) / SSRO (http://www.starshadows.com/)), Jose Luis Lamadrid (astronomo90@hotmail.com) (DSA (http://www.astro-photographer.org/) / ceFca (http://www.cefca.es/)), Ana Guijarro (guijarro@caha.es) (CAHA (http://www.caha.es/)), RECTA (http://www.cienciadirecta.com/), DSA (http://www.astro-photographer.org/).
2009 October 22
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/3PlanetsMoonLabel_seip900.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/3PlanetsMoon_seip.jpg) Moon and Planets in the Morning
Credit & Copyright (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Stefan Seip (http://www.photomeeting.de/astromeeting/_index.htm) (TWAN (http://www.twanight.org/))

[Dantheman62]

2009 November 3
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/california7_andreo.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/california7_andreo_big.jpg) Seven Sisters Versus California
Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (http://blog.deepskycolors.com/about.html) (Deep Sky Colors)
2009 October 28
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/jkcs041_chandra.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/jkcs041_chandra_big.jpg) JKCS041: The Farthest Galaxy Cluster Yet Measured
Credit: X-ray: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/), CXC (http://chandra.harvard.edu/), INAF (http://www.inaf.it/), S. Andreon (http://www.brera.inaf.it/utenti/andreon/) et al. (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008arXiv0812.1699A); Optical: DSS (http://archive.eso.org/dss/dss), ESO (http://www.eso.org/public/)/VLT (http://www.eso.org/projects/vlt/)
2009 October 26
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/mergers_galaxyzoo.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/mergers_galaxyzoo_big.jpg) Galaxy Zoo Catalogs the Universe
Credit & Copyright: SDSS (http://www.sdss.org/), Galaxy Zoo (http://www.galaxyzoo.org/); Composite: Richard Nowell & Hannah Hutchins (http://theinterstellarblogofspace.blogspot.com/)

[BROOK]

I like the Ring Nebula ...it looks like a spiral in the center :naughty: Very lovely :thumb_yello:

[Dantheman62]

2009 October 21
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/deviltrails_mro.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/deviltrails_mro_big.jpg) Martian Dust Devil Trails
Credit: HiRISE (http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/), MRO (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/), LPL (U. Arizona) (http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/), NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/)
2009 October 15
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/IMG_4235_mikaelyan_c800.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/IMG_4235_mikaelyan.jpg) Fireball Meteor Over Groningen
Credit & Copyright (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Robert Mikaelyan (http://www.fotoarena.nl/)
2009 October 14
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/pleiades_andreo.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/pleiades_andreo_big.jpg) Pleiades and Stardust
Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (http://blog.deepskycolors.com/about.html) (Deep Sky Colors)
2009 October 12
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/statuesky_guisard.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/statuesky_guisard_big.jpg) Stars Over Easter Island
Credit & Copyright (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Stéphane Guisard (http://www.astrosurf.com/sguisard/) (Los Cielos de Chile), TWAN (http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/index.asp)

[Dantheman62]

I like the Ring Nebula ...it looks like a spiral in the center :naughty: Very lovely :thumb_yello:




Yep, me too! Just go to the link in my first post, then scroll down to archives and click on that. They have pictures going back to 1995 at least! Awesome!

[BROOK]

Hay Dan....go to 2007 May 28 ..the hole in Mars.....What the heck is that? :mfr_omg:
And post it...because I cannot...argh

[Dantheman62]

2007 May 28
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0705/marshole_hirise.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0705/marshole_hirise_big.jpg) A Hole in Mars
Credit: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/), JPL (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/), U. Arizona (http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/) Explanation: Black spots have been discovered on Mars that are so dark that nothing inside can be seen. Quite possibly, the spots (http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00000984/) are entrances to deep underground caves (http://www.nps.gov/wica/historyculture/images/Historic_Cave_Entrance.jpg) capable of protecting Martian life (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/life/), were it to exist. The unusual hole pictured above was found on the slopes of the giant Martian volcano Arsia Mons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsia_Mons). The above image was captured three weeks ago by the HiRISE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HiRISE) instrument onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/overview/) currently circling Mars (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050209.html). The holes were originally identified (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2007/pdf/1371.pdf) on lower resolution images from the Mars Odyssey (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/overview/) spacecraft, The above hole is about the size of a football field (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_pitch) and is so deep that it is completely unilluminated (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060409.html) by the Sun. Such holes and underground caves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave) might be prime targets for future spacecraft (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/future/), robots (http://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/), and even the next generation of human interplanetary explorers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_Chronicles).

[BROOK]

That is so strange looking to me :shocked: And it must be HUGE!

[Dantheman62]

http://a52.g.akamaitech.net/f/52/827/1d/www.space.com/images/070605_mars_pit_02.jpg
This feature on Mars is a candidate cavern entrance. It is northeast of Arsia Mons – one of the four giant Tharsis volcanoes on the red planet. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

[Dantheman62]

http://www.marsanomalyresearch.com/evidence-reports/2007/121/2-121-regional-view.jpg

[Dantheman62]

2007 September 28
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0709/PSP_004847_1745_cut_b720.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0709/PSP_004847_1745_cut_b.jpg) A Hole in Mars Close Up

[BROOK]

Now how do they know that's a volcano? Wouldn't it have a mountainous peak? it looks flat to the surface.

[Dantheman62]

It's not a volcano, it's just near volcanos.

[BROOK]

Oh...:naughty:

[Dantheman62]

I like the last picture where you can actually see an inside wall going down!

[BROOK]

Yeah..me too. Wonder what is down there :smoke:

[Dantheman62]

HaHa

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3403/3611452704_6eaf079b00.jpg

[Dantheman62]

http://www.stickerchick.com/LooneyTunes/21501BP.jpg (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0S020m1zvRKmH4AaMCjzbkF/SIG=12722ibaj/EXP=1257644085/**http%3A//www.stickerchick.com/LooneyTunes/21501BP.jpg)

[BROOK]

HaHa

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3403/3611452704_6eaf079b00.jpg

Haha :roll1:

[Dantheman62]

2009 October 7
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/doublebasin_messenger.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0910/doublebasin_messenger_big.png) A Double Ringed Basin on Mercury
Credit: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/)/JHU APL (http://www.jhuapl.edu/)/CIW (http://www.ciw.edu/)

[Dantheman62]

2009 November 7
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/PSP_007769_9010_IRB_Stickney800.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/PSP_007769_9010_IRB_Stickney.jpg) Stickney Crater
Credit: HiRISE (http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/), MRO (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/), LPL (U. Arizona) (http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/), NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/) Explanation: Stickney Crater, the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos, is named for Chloe Angeline Stickney (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angeline_Stickney) Hall, mathematician and wife of astronomer Asaph Hall. Asaph Hall discovered both the Red Planet's moons (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031024.html) in 1877. Over 9 kilometers across, Stickney is nearly half the diameter of Phobos itself (http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00001348), so large that the impact that blasted out the crater likely came close to shattering the tiny moon. This stunning, enhanced-color image (http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/phobos.php) of Stickney and surroundings was recorded by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as it passed within some six thousand kilometers of Phobos (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031129.html) in March of 2008. Even though the surface gravity of asteroid-like Phobos (http://www.nineplanets.org/phobos.html) is less than 1/1000th Earth's gravity, streaks suggest loose material has slid down inside the crater walls over time. Light bluish regions near the crater's rim could indicate a relatively freshly exposed surface. The origin of the curious grooves (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041120.html) along the surface is mysterious but may be related to the crater-forming impact.

[Dantheman62]

2009 February 6
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0902/ISS_0082_2009-02-02x2cropped800.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0902/ISS_0082_2009-02-02x2cropped.jpg) Space Station in the Moon
Credit & Copyright (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Eric J. Zbinden (eric%20dot%20zbinden%20at%20gmail%20dot%20com) Explanation: On February 2nd (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day), a first quarter Moon shone (http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonphase/) in planet Earth's early evening sky. As seen from a location on the US west coast near Mt. Hamilton (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081212.html), California, the International Space Station (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html) also arched above the horizon, crossing in front of the Moon's sunlit surface. The space station's transit (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061014.html) lasted 0.49 seconds.

[Dantheman62]

2008 June 23
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0806/iss_sts124.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0806/iss_sts124_big.jpg) The International Space Station Expands Again
Credit: STS-124 Shuttle Crew (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts124/index.html), NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/)

[BROOK]

I like the colors in this one

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0609/moonmosaic_carboni_f.jpg

[burgundia]

Beautiful photos....

[Ross H]

Superb photos, thank you:thumb_yello:

[Luminari]

http://www.google.com/mars/

I just viewed the region of the mars grotto on google mars.. you can't find it with that, the zoom isn't great enough. I'm going to try NASA Worldwind..

[Luminari]

Holy smoke theres not one hole... but seven in that part of Tharsis Montes. :mfr_omg:

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww178/luminari_2009/800px-Mars_caves_from_NASA_orbiters.jpg

Seven very dark holes on the north slope of a Martian volcano have been proposed as possible cave skylights, based on day-night temperature patterns suggesting they are openings to subsurface spaces. These six excerpts of images taken in visible-wavelength light by the Thermal Emission Imaging System camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter show the seven openings. Solar illumination comes from the left in each frame. The volcano is Arsia Mons, at 9 degrees south latitude, 239 degrees east longitude.

The features have been given informal names to aid comparative discussion. They range in diameter from about 100 meters (328 feet) to about 225 meters (738 feet). The candidate cave skylights are (A) "Dena," (B) "Chloe," (C) "Wendy," (D) "Annie," (E) "Abby" (left) and "Nikki," and (F) "Jeanne." Arrows signify north and the direction of illumination.

[P4BL0]

:tongue2:

[P4BL0]

:tongue2:

[Luminari]

Thanks Pablo, thats one of the nicest pictures of the pleiades I've ever seen.

I just took this photo for you, I have the pleiades tattooed underneath my arm. :original:


Edit:
Ink work done by LINK @ ALL STAR TATTOO (http://www.myspace.com/all_star_tattoo).

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww178/luminari_2009/P1000246copy.jpg

[P4BL0]

:tongue2:

[P4BL0]

:tongue2:

[Luminari]

Do you have a link for that photo?

It totally looks like an enormous ruined city in a martian valley, look at the geometry.

Nice one.

[P4BL0]

:tongue2:

[Luminari]

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww178/luminari_2009/ESP_012252_1245.jpg


Dark Dust Devil Tracks in Bright Crater Floor in Southern Noachis Region, Mars.

[Luminari]

"Bright Crater Floor" looks alot like water. :wink2:

[Luminari]

Frozen ocean?

[mudra]

Open star cluster, The Pleiades.


My favourite Pab.
On a higher dimension Alcione the Pleiades 's brightest star is the place that holds the entire universal library .

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/imagenes_pleyades/pleyades21_07.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/imagenes_pleyades/pleyades21_07.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/pleyades/esp_pleyades_21.htm&usg=__7wxHqLu6yuPdklDKBSIGchmlbIA=&h=720&w=1000&sz=140&hl=fr&start=21&um=1&tbnid=9yjvNuJGrkdVHM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=149&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dalcione%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bpleiades%26ndsp% 3D15%26hl%3Dfr%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Dfr%26sa%3 DN%26start%3D15%26um%3D1

Love Always
mudra

[Dantheman62]

2009 November 10
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/saturnafterequinox_cassini.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/saturnafterequinox_cassini_big.jpg) Saturn After Equinox
Credit: Cassini Imaging Team (http://ciclops.org/), ISS (http://ciclops.org/iss/iss.php), JPL (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/), ESA (http://www.esa.int/), NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/) Explanation: The other side of Saturn's ring plane is now directly illuminated by the Sun. For the previous 15 years, the southern side of Saturn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn) and its rings were directly illuminated, but since Saturn's equinox (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090901.html) in August, the orientation has reversed. Pictured above (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12318) last month, the robotic Cassini spacecraft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini–Huygens) orbiting Saturn has captured the giant planet and its majestic rings (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73UCCHjoQrM) soon after equinox. Imaged from nearly behind, Saturn and its moon Tethys (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041129.html) each show a crescent phase to Cassini (http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/saturntourdates/) that is not visible from Earth. As the rings continue to point nearly toward the Sun, only a thin shadow of Saturn's rings (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090930.html) is visible across the center of the planet. Close inspection (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF9Ot4ymMeQ&NR=1) of Saturn's rings, however, shows superposed bright features identified as spokes (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090602.html) that are thought to be groups of very small electrically charged ice particles. Understanding the nature and dynamics of spokes (http://ciclops.org/view/2275/The_Spoke_Search?js=1) is not fully understood and remains a topic of research (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009DPS....41.2509M).

[Dantheman62]

2009 November 11
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/galacticcenter_greatobs.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/galacticcenter_greatobs_big.jpg) Great Observatories Explore Galactic Center
Credit: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/), ESA (http://www.spacetelescope.org/), SSC (http://ssc.spitzer.caltech.edu/), CXC (http://chandra.harvard.edu/), and STScI (http://www.stsci.edu/resources/) Explanation: Where can a telescope take you? Four hundred years ago, a telescope took Galileo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo) to the Moon (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050305.html) to discover craters, to Saturn (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950801.html) to discover rings, to Jupiter (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001118.html) to discover moons, to Venus (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090424.html) to discover phases, and to the Sun (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031027.html) to discover spots. Today, in celebration of Galileo's telescopic achievements and as part of the International Year of Astronomy (http://www.astronomy2009.org/), NASA has used its entire fleet of Great Observatories (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Observatories), and the Internet (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Eniac.jpg), to bring the center of our Galaxy to you. Pictured above (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/28/full/), in greater detail and in more colors than ever seen before, are the combined images of the Hubble Space Telescope (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html) in near-infrared light, the Spitzer Space Telescope (http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/about/index.shtml) in infrared light, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=CHANDRA) in X-ray light. A menagerie of vast star fields is visible (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090107.html), along with dense star clusters, long filaments of gas and dust, expanding supernova remnants, and the energetic surroundings (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080427.html) of what likely is our Galaxy's central (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36xZsgZ0oSo) black hole. Many of these features are labeled on a complementary annotated image (http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-2009-28-g-compass_large_web.jpg). Of course, a telescope (http://science.howstuffworks.com/telescope.htm)'s magnification and light-gathering ability create only an image of what a human could see if visiting these places. To actually go requires rockets (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041212.html).

[TRANCOSO]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, everybody!
Mucking Fajic!!!

[TheObserver]

Here is an interesting picture of Mars surface taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission.

I apologize for the large size. But it is the only way in which the details can be seen.

Looks almost like elephant skin, weird! :smoke:

[Dantheman62]

2009 November 12
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/NGC918SN2009JSBrimacombe900.jpg (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/NGC918SN2009JSBrimacombe.jpg) Art and Science in NGC 918
Credit & Copyright (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Joseph Brimacombe (%20jbrimaco%20at%20bigpond.net.au) Explanation: This beautiful telescopic skyscape features spiral galaxy NGC 918. The island universe (http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/March02/Gordon/Gordon2.html) is about 50,000 light-years across and lies some 60 million light-years away toward the constellation Aries (http://hawastsoc.org/deepsky/ari/index.html). An artistic presentation (http://char.txa.cornell.edu/), the image shows spiky foreground stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy and convoluted dust clouds that hang (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050929.html) hundreds of light-years above our galactic plane, dimly reflecting starlight. It also captures NGC 918 in a cosmic moment (http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_lookback.html) important to astrophysicists on planet Earth. Light from supernova SN2009js, absent in previous images, is indicated by the two lines just below and left of the galaxy's center. The supernova itself is the death explosion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_II_supernova) of a massive star within the plane of galaxy NGC 981 (http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=NGC+918&extend=no). It was just discovered in October (http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/sn2009/sn2009js.html) by supernova search teams in Japan and the US.

[Luminari]

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww178/luminari_2009/Ophcloud_spitzer_c800.jpg

Rho Ophiuchi Cloud

[Dantheman62]

2009 November 18
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/plume_lcross_big.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/plume_lcross.jpg) Water Discovered in Moon Shadow
Credit: LCROSS (http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/), NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/) Explanation: Why is there water on the Moon? Last month, the LCROSS mission (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/overview/index.html) crashed a large impactor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVYKjR1sJY4) into a permanently shadowed crater (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091008.html) near the Moon's South Pole. A plume (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091010.html) of dust rose that was visible to the satellite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCROSS), although hard to discern from Earth. The plume is shown above (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/prelim_water_results.html) in visible light. Last week, the results of a preliminary chemical analysis gave a clear indication that the dust plume contained water (http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/13nov_lcrossresults.htm). Such water is of importance not only for understanding the history of the Moon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon#Origin_and_geologic_evolution), but as a possible reservoir for future astronauts trying to live on the Moon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon) for long periods. The source (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006AGUFM.U41C0832O) of the lunar water (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_water) is now a topic of debate. Possible origins (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2007/pdf/1433.pdf) include many small meteorites, a comet, or primordial moon soil (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html).

[Dantheman62]

2009 November 20
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/LeoSMCLMC6043_wulfen_c800.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/LeoSMCLMC6043_wulfen.jpg) Meteor between the Clouds
Credit & Copyright (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Victor van Wulfen (http://www.clearskies.eu/) Explanation: This bright meteor streaked through dark night skies over Sutherland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland,_Northern_Cape), South Africa (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060615.html) on November 15. Potentially part of the annual Leonid (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091119.html) meteor shower, its sudden, brilliant appearance, likened to a camera's flash, was captured by chance as it passed between two clouds. Of course, the two clouds are also visible to the eye in dark southern skies - the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060809.html) - satellite galaxies of our own Milky Way. This year's Leonid meteor shower (http://spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_17nov09.htm) peaked on November 17 as the Earth passed through the stream of dust from periodic comet Tempel-Tuttle (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021116.html).

[TRANCOSO]

Spectacular video of Saturns aurora!!!

www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/11/video-saturns-spectacular-aurora-in-action/

[Luminari]

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww178/luminari_2009/AnnapurnaStartrails_hao900.jpg

Annapurna Star Trails

[Dantheman62]

2009 November 30
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/sunearthpanel_sts129.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/sunearthpanel_sts129_big.jpg) Bright Sun and Crescent Earth from the Space Station
Credit: STS-129 Crew (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/), NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/) Explanation: This was just one more breathtaking view from the International Space Station. The Sun, a crescent Earth, and the long arm of a solar panel were all visible (http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-129/html/s129e007592.html) outside a window when the Space Shuttle (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html) Atlantis (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090513.html) visited the orbiting outpost last week. Reflections from the window and hexagon (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070403.html)al lens flares (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_flare) from the camera are superposed. The space shuttle landed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rfmb3uuLE8) Friday after a successful 10 day mission (http://www.vimeo.com/7852885) to expand and resupply the ISS (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091005.html). Numbered STS-129 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-129), the space shuttle mission returned astronaut Nicole Stott (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_P._Stott) to Earth from her stay on the ISS as a Flight Engineer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_engineer) in the Expedition 20 (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition20/index.html) and 21 (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition21/index.html) crews.

[Luminari]

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww178/luminari_2009/rosette_ebersole.jpg

Dust Sculptures in the Rosette Nebula

[Seashore]

2009 November 30
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/sunearthpanel_sts129.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/sunearthpanel_sts129_big.jpg) Bright Sun and Crescent Earth from the Space Station


This is stunning.

I wish I were there. :cup:

[Dantheman62]

2009 December 7
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/iss_sts129.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/iss_sts129_big.jpg) The International Space Station Over the Horizon

[Seashore]

The International Space Station Over the Horizon

I'm all confused!

Is it upside down?

It's kinda making me feel queasy - like being on the top floor of a skyscraper looking down, or something like that. :sad:

[Dantheman62]

hmmm, actually it's hard to tell. I guess we'll never know at what angle the picture was taken.

Here's a better one!


2009 December 6
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/comet_mcnaught.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/comet_mcnaught_big.jpg) The Magnificent Tail of Comet McNaught

[Seashore]

hmmm, actually it's hard to tell. I guess we'll never know at what angle the picture was taken.

Here's a better one!

2009 December 6


:original:

Yeah, much better!

[Dantheman62]

Oh how small we are!!!



2009 December 9
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/hudfir_hst.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/hudfir_hst_big.jpg) HUDF Infrared: Dawn of the Galaxies
Credit: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/), ESA (http://www.spacetelescope.org/), G. Illingworth (http://www.ucolick.org/~gdi/) (UCO/Lick (http://www.ucolick.org/) & UCSC (http://www.astro.ucsc.edu/)), R. Bouwens (http://www.ucolick.org/~bouwens/) (UCO/Lick (http://www.ucolick.org/) & Leiden U. (http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/)), & the HUDF09 Team (http://arxiv.org/abs/0909.1803) Explanation: When did galaxies form? To help find out, the deepest near-infrared (http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/Outreach/Edu/Regions/irregions.html) image of the sky ever has been taken of the same field (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQhaKVifhjI) as the optical-light Hubble Ultra Deep Field (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040309.html) (HUDF) in 2004. The new image was taken this summer by the newly installed Wide Field Camera 3 (http://www.stsci.edu/hst/wfc3) on the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090520.html). Faint red smudges identified on the above image (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/31/image/a/) likely surpass redshift (http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~jh8h/glossary/redshift.htm) 8 in distance. These galaxies (http://arxiv.org/abs/0909.1803) therefore likely existed when the universe was only a few percent of its present age (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_universe), and may well be members of the first class of galaxies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY24JAUsy5s). Some large modern galaxies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0jRObc7_xo) make a colorful foreground to the distant galaxies. Analyses by the HUDF09 team (http://arxiv.org/abs/0909.1803) indicate that at least some of these early galaxies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_formation) had very little interstellar dust. This early class (http://arxiv.org/abs/0909.1806) of low luminosity galaxies likely contained energetic stars (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030610.html) emitting light that transformed (http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~rtnigm/reion/RTNreionization.html) much of the remaining normal matter (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020820.html) in the universe from a cold gas to a hot ionized plasma (http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/ionization.html).

[Seashore]

Oh how small we are!!!

And this is just our universe, right? One of many? One of infinite universes?

[Dantheman62]

And this is just our universe, right? One of many? One of infinite universes?


Yep, our universe. One of many? probably. One of infinite? maybe.
It boggles the mind to think how vast it is!

[Dantheman62]

2009 December 20
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/tutulemma_tezel.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/tutulemma_tezel_big.jpg) Tutulemma: Solar Eclipse Analemma
Credit & Copyright (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Cenk E. Tezel and Tunç Tezel (http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/photographers_about.asp?photographer=Tunc%20Tezel) (TWAN (http://www.twanight.org/)) Explanation: If you went outside at exactly the same time every day and took a picture that included the Sun, how would the Sun appear to move? With great planning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Train_wreck_at_Montparnasse_1895.jpg) and effort, such a series of images (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLNqaYFqvoA) can be taken. The figure-8 path the Sun follows over the course of a year (https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/kahl/www/Images/Weather/Other/analemma.html) is called an analemma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analemma). This coming Tuesday, the Winter Solstice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice) day in Earth's northern hemisphere, the Sun will be at the bottom of the analemma. Analemma (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmHwyQwn0Sg)s created from different latitudes would appear at least slightly different, as well as analemmas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhqzW97_47w) created at a different time each day. With even greater planning and effort, the series can include a total eclipse of the Sun (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050407.html) as one of the images. Pictured is such a total solar eclipse analemma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analemma) or Tutulemma - a term coined by the photographers based on the Turkish word for eclipse. The composite image sequence was recorded from Turkey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey) starting in 2005. The base image for the sequence is from the total phase (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060404.html) of a solar eclipse as viewed from Side (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side%2C_Turkey), Turkey on 2006 March 29. Venus was also visible during totality, toward the lower right.

[Dantheman62]

2009 December 19
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/GeminidAurora_Hansen1.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/GeminidAurora_Hansen1.jpg) Aurora Shimmer, Meteor Flash
Credit & Copyright (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Bjørnar G. Hansen, (big%20dot%20hansen%20at%20bgnett%20dot%20no)Expla nation: Northern Lights (http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/), or aurora (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090922.html) borealis, haunted skies over (http://spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01dec09.htm) the island of Kvaløya, near Tromsø Norway on December 13. This 30 second long exposure records their shimmering glow gently lighting the wintery coastal scene. A study in contrasts, it also captures the sudden flash of a fireball meteor from December's excellent Geminid meteor shower (http://spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_13dec09_page3.htm). Streaking past familiar stars in the handle of the Big Dipper (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050218.html), the trail points back toward the constellation Gemini, off the top of the view. Both aurora and meteors occur in Earth's upper atmosphere at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so, but aurora are (http://odin.gi.alaska.edu/FAQ/#cause) caused by energetic charged particles from the magnetosphere (http://www.phy6.org/Education/), while meteors are trails of cosmic dust (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990219.html).

[Luminari]

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww178/luminari_2009/Geminid2009_pacholka850wp.jpg

Mojave Desert Fireball

[Dantheman62]

2009 December 25
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/ArcMW_hallas_alt445h.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/ArcMW_hallas_alt.jpg) A Graceful Arc
Credit & Copyright (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Tony Hallas (http://astrophoto.com/contact.htm) Explanation: The graceful arc of the Milky Way begins and ends (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090613.html) at two mountain peaks in this solemn night sky panorama. Created from a 24 frame mosaic, exposures tracking Earth and sky were made separately, with northern California's Mount Lassen at the left and Mount Shasta at the far right, just below the star and dust clouds (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090925.html) of the galactic center. Lassen and Shasta are volcanoes in the Cascade Mountain Range (http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Cascades/ImageMaps/CascadeRange/cascade_range.html) of North America, an arc of the volcanic Pacific Ring of Fire. In the dim, snow-capped (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070203.html) peaks, planet Earth (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081224.html) seems to echo the subtle glow of the Milky Way's own faint, unresolved starlight (http://www.100hoursofastronomy.org/component/content/article/55-rfienberg/230-qoh-my-god-its-full-of-starsq).

[Dantheman62]

2010 January 2
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1001/eclipse20091231_Roux900.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1001/eclipse20091231_Roux.jpg) Blue Moon Eclipse

[giovonni]

2010 January 2
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1001/eclipse20091231_Roux900.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1001/eclipse20091231_Roux.jpg) Blue Moon Eclipse

oh so nice~ Dan

blue moon~ Ella Fitzgerald
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4218R-gBmts&feature=related

[Dantheman62]

2010 January 22
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1001/aseJan2010_svalgaard800c.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1001/aseJan2010_svalgaard.jpg) Millennium Annular Solar Eclipse
Credit & Copyright (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply): Mikael Svalgaard (http://www.leif.org/mikael/astro_index.html) Explanation: The Moon's (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080821.html) shadow raced across planet Earth (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070610.html) on January 15 (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/ASE2010/ASE2010.html). Observers within the central shadow track were able to witness an annular solar eclipse (http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html) as the Moon's apparent size was too small to completely cover the Sun. A visually dramatic ring of fire (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030605.html), the annular phase lasted up to 11 minutes and 8 seconds depending on location, the longest annular solar eclipse for the next 1,000 years (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEcat5/SEcatalog.html). This picture of the Moon's silhouette just before mid-eclipse was taken within the eclipse path from the city of Kanyakumari at the southern tip of India (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=42311). The telescopic image was made through a filter that blocks most visible light, but still transmits light from hydrogen atoms (http://www.solarobserving.com/halpha.htm). As a result, detailed mottling, or granulation, caused by heat convection in the Sun's (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/solar-b/solar_013.html) atmosphere can be seen around the dark lunar disk

[Dantheman62]

2010 January 26
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1001/mynmareclipse_chin.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1001/mynmareclipse_chin_big.jpg) Annular Eclipse Over Myanmar
Credit & Copyright: Wei Loon Chin (%20universe24%20at%20hotmail%20dot%20com) Explanation: A hole crossed the Sun for a few minutes this month, as seen across a thin swath of planet Earth. The event (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/ASE2010/ASE2010.html) on January 15 was actually an annular solar eclipse, and the hole (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070528.html) was really Earth's Moon, an object whose dark half (http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/dark_side.html) may appear even darker when compared to the tremendously bright Sun (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091130.html). The Moon was too far (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_of_the_Moon) from Earth to create a total solar eclipse (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080920.html), but instead left well placed observers (http://spaceweather.com/eclipses/gallery_15jan10.htm) with a bright surrounding circle called the ring of fire (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090125.html). Pictured above was a complete solar annular eclipse (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=20100115) sequence as seen above the Ananda Temple (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Temple) in Bagan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagan), Myanmar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma). The image of the ancient temple, built around the year 1100, was taken after sunset on the same day of the eclipse (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX3Xu99Smgw). The next solar eclipse (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2010/TSE2010.html) will be a total solar eclipse (http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html) during 2010 July.

[Dantheman62]

2010 January 17
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/atlantis_sts104.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0912/atlantis_sts104_big.jpg) Atlantis to Orbit
Credit: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/) Explanation: Birds (http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/) don't fly this high. Airplanes (http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/background/) don't go this fast. The Statue of Liberty (http://www.nps.gov/stli/) weighs less. No species (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species) other than human can even comprehend what is going on, nor could any human (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/photos.html) just a millennium ago (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010101.html). The launch of a rocket (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/TRC/Rockets/history_of_rockets.html) bound for space is an event that inspires awe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKzi8dj-qAs) and challenges description. Pictured above (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-104/images/captions/KSC-01PP-1284.html), the Space Shuttle Atlantis (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html) lifted off to visit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPQvTgD2quQ) the International Space Station (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091207.html) during the early morning hours of 2001 July 12. From a standing start, the two million kilogram rocket ship left (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010219.html) to circle the Earth (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070325.html) where the outside air is too thin to breathe and where there is little noticeable onboard gravity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro-g_environment). Rockets (http://www.howstuffworks.com/rocket1.htm) bound for space are now launched (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021023.html) from somewhere on Earth about once a week (http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/launch_schedule.html)