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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Cosmic Ripples Implicate Dark Universe
29.05.2002
What may appear fuzzy to some makes things crystal clear to others. The cosmic microwave background radiation emanating from the universe could only have the above fuzzy pattern if it contained clear amounts of dark matter and dark energy.
The Very Large Array of Radio Telescopes
28.05.2002
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.
Antarctic Ice Shelf Vista
27.05.2002
It's all gone but the mountains. Most of the sprawling landscape of ice that lies between the mountains visible above has now disintegrated. The above picture was taken in Antarctica from the top of Grey Nunatak, one of three Seal Nunatak mountains that border the Larsen B Ice-Shelf.
The Pipe Dark Nebula
26.05.2002
The dark nebula predominant at the lower left of the above photograph is known as the Pipe Nebula. The dark clouds, suggestively shaped like smoke rising from a pipe, are caused by absorption of background starlight by dust.
A String Of Pearls
25.05.2002
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, named after its co-discoverers, was often referred to as the "string of pearls" comet. It is famous for its suggestive appearance as well as its collision with the planet Jupiter!
Love and War by Moonlight
24.05.2002
Venus, named for the Roman goddess of love, and Mars, the war god's namesake, approach each other by moonlight in this lovely sky view recorded on May 14th from Dunkirk, Maryland, USA.
N132D and the Color of X Rays
23.05.2002
Supernova remnant N132D shows off complex structures in this sharp, color x-ray image. Still, overall this cosmic debris from a massive star's explosive death has a strikingly simple horseshoe shape. While N132D lies 180,000 light-years distant in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the expanding remnant appears here about 80 light-years across.
Moon and Planets by the Eiffel Tower
22.05.2002
The great evening grouping of planets is coming to an end. Before all the planets went their own separate directions, however, the Moon was kind enough to pose with some of them. The planets in the above picture, taken last week, are Venus and Jupiter.
The Galactic Center Radio Arc
21.05.2002
What causes this unusual structure near the center of our Galaxy? The long parallel rays slanting across the top of the above radio image are known collectively as the Galactic Center Radio Arc and jut straight out from the Galactic plane.
East of the Lagoon Nebula
20.05.2002
To the east of the Lagoon Nebula is a star field rich in diversity. On the lower left are clouds rich in dark dust that hide background stars and young star systems still forming. Dark clouds include LDN 227 on the left and IC 1275 on the right, with a bright star near its tip.
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