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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
HCG 87: A Small Group of Galaxies
6.07.2010
Sometimes galaxies form groups. For example, our own Milky Way Galaxy is part of the Local Group of Galaxies. Small, compact groups, like Hickson Compact Group 87 (HCG 87) shown above, are interesting partly because they slowly self-destruct.
The Milky Way Over Pulpit Rock
5.07.2010
Can a picture of the sky be relaxing? A candidate for such a picture might be the above image taken only last month from Cape Schank, Victoria, Australia. The frame is highlighted by a quiet lagoon, soft ground fog, two galaxies, and tens of thousands of stars.
Companion of a Young, Sun-like Star Confirmed
4.07.2010
The first direct image of an extrasolar planet orbiting a star similar to our Sun has been confirmed. Located just 500 light-years away toward the constellation Scorpius, the parent star, cataloged as 1RXS J160929.1-210524, is only slightly less massive and a little cooler than the Sun.
A Giant Planet for Beta Pic
3.07.2010
A mere 50 light-years away, young star Beta Pictoris became one of the most important stars in the sky in the early 1980s. Satellite and ground-based telescopic observations revealed the presence of a surrounding...
Galaxies on a String
2.07.2010
Galaxies NGC 5216 (top) and NGC 5218 really do look like they are connected by a string. Of course, that string is a cosmic trail of gas, dust, and stars about 22,000 light-years long.
Above Aurora Australis
1.07.2010
On May 29, looking southward from a vantage point about 350 kilometers above the southern Indian Ocean, astronauts onboard the International Space Station watched this enormous, green ribbon shimmering below. Known as aurora australis...
Fast Gas Bullet from Cosmic Blast N49
30.06.2010
What is that strange blue blob on the far right? No one is sure, but it might be a speeding remnant of a powerful supernova that was unexpectedly lopsided. Scattered debris from supernova explosion N49 lights up the sky in this gorgeous composited image based on data from the Chandra and Hubble Space Telescopes.
Trees, Sky, Galactic Eye
29.06.2010
Is beauty in the eye of this beholder? Earlier this month, over RIunion Island in the Indian Ocean, a playful photographer with an eye for the sky took eight images and composed the above intriguing picture.
A Partial Lunar Eclipse
28.06.2010
What's happened to the Moon? This past weekend, once again, part of the Moon moved through the Earth's shadow. This happens about once or twice a year, on the average, but not each month since the Moon's orbit around the Earth is slightly tilted.
All the Colors of the Sun
27.06.2010
It is still not known why the Sun's light is missing some colors. Shown above are all the visible colors of the Sun, produced by passing the Sun's light through a prism-like device.
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