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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Compton Reentry
3.06.2000
Nine years ago the massive Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the second of NASA's space-based great observatories, was deployed in low earth orbit. Lofted above the protective atmosphere, Compton's instruments could explore the extreme high-energy Universe in gamma rays -- photons with 100,000 times or more the energy of visible light.
The Secret Spiral Of IC3328
2.06.2000
IC3328 is an otherwise unremarkable dwarf elliptical galaxy about 50 million light-years away in the Virgo cluster. But hidden within IC3328 is a subtle, beautifully symmetric spiral structure! A team of astronomers recently made this totally surprising discovery using detailed digital images from the European Southern Observatory's 8.2 meter Antu telescope.
X-Ray Wind From NGC 3783
1.06.2000
A black hole is supposed to inexorably attract matter. But the intense radiation generated as material swirls and plunges into its high gravity field also heats up surrounding gas and drives it away.
Astronaut at Work
31.05.2000
Did you ever have a day where everything got turned around and you just couldn't tell which way was up? Fortunately, this didn't happen to astronaut James S. Voss on May 21, who spent six hours preparing to fix and upgrade the International Space Station.
The Very Large Array Turns Twenty
30.05.2000
The most photogenic array of radio telescopes in the world has also been one of the most productive. Each of the 27 radio telescopes in the Very Large Array (VLA) is the size of a house and can be moved on train tracks.
Olympus Mons Volcano on Mars
29.05.2000
Scroll right to virtually climb the largest volcano in the Solar System. Olympus Mons on Mars measures three times higher than Earth's highest mountain, and has a volume over fifty times greater than Earth's largest volcano. The caldera at the top is over 70 kilometers wide.
Skylab Over Earth
28.05.2000
Skylab was an orbiting laboratory launched by a Saturn V rocket in May 1973. Skylab was visited three times by NASA astronauts who sometimes stayed as long as two and a half months. Many scientific tests were performed on Skylab, including astronomical observations in ultraviolet and X-ray light.
M51: The Center Of The Whirlpool
27.05.2000
In the center of M51, a spiral galaxy 23 million light-years away, astronomers have identified a dense region of young stars. Viewed face-on in the constellation Canes Venatici, the swirling arcs of this galaxy's spiral arms have inspired its popular name, The Whirlpool Galaxy.
Solar Sail
26.05.2000
Nearly 400 years ago astronomer Johannes Kepler observed comet tails blown by a solar breeze and suggested that vessels might likewise navigate through space using appropriately fashioned sails. It is now widely recognized that...
Eros Horizon View
25.05.2000
Since April 30, the robotic NEAR-Shoemaker spacecraft has been orbiting only 31 miles from asteroid Eros. Cruising over the asteroid's north and south poles at a leisurely 7 miles per hour, the spacecraft completes an orbit once every 1.2 earth days. This dramatic horizon view
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