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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Weighing Empty Space
8.07.2002
Sometimes staring into empty space is useful. Pictured above is a region of sky that was picked because it had, well, nothing: no bright stars, no bright galaxies, and no picturesque nebulas. What could not be avoided, however, were a few stars in our own Galaxy, and many distant galaxies strewn across the universe.
The Galactic Center Across the Infrared
7.07.2002
The center of our Galaxy is obscured in visible light by dark dust that rotates with the stars in the Galactic Plane. In this century, however, sensors have been developed that can detect light more red that humans can see - light called infrared.
Io: Moon Over Jupiter
6.07.2002
Many Moons
5.07.2002
Whimsical and creative, this multiple exposure suggests that planet Earth's sky could be very dramatic indeed if it were graced by many moons. And in James Thurber's well-known children's story, Princess...
Young Star Clusters in an Old Galaxy
4.07.2002
Elliptical galaxy NGC 4365 is old, probably about 12 billion years old. Like most elliptical galaxies, this galaxy was thought to be full of old stars too, its burst of star forming activity having long since ended.
Interstellar Dust Bunnies of NGC 891
3.07.2002
What is going on in NGC 891? This galaxy appeared previously to be very similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy: a spiral galaxy seen nearly edge-on. However, recent high-resolution images of NGC 891's dust show unusual filamentary patterns extending well away from its Galactic disk.
The Average Color of the Universe
2.07.2002
What color is the universe? More precisely, if the entire sky was 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.
The Fox Fur Nebula
1.07.2002
The nebula surrounding bright star S Mon is filled with dark dust and glowing gas. The strange shapes that surrounding this star originate from fine interstellar dust reacting in complex ways with the energetic light and hot gas being expelled by the young stars.
Ida and Dactyl: Asteroid and Moon
30.06.2002
This asteroid has a moon! The robot spacecraft Galileo currently exploring the Jovian system, encountered and photographed two asteroids during its long journey to Jupiter. The second asteroid it photographed, Ida, was discovered to have a moon which appears as a small dot to the right of Ida in this picture.
A Deep Field In The Southern Sky
29.06.2002
This deep view of the cosmos is the sequel to the 1995 hit Hubble Space Telescope Deep Field. Billed as the Hubble Deep Field South, it was produced by pointing the space telescope toward a patch of sky in the southern constellation Tucana.
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