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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Other Worlds and HD 38529
10.08.2000
After the latest round of discovery announcements, the list of known worlds of distant suns has grown to 50. While extrasolar planet discoveries are sure to continue, none - so far - points clearly to another planetary system like our own. Take, for example, the newly discovered parent star HD38529.
A Solar Filament Lifts Off
9.08.2000
Hot gas frequently erupts from the Sun. One such eruption produced the glowing filament pictured above, which was captured on July 19 by the Earth-orbiting TRACE satellite. The filament, although small compared...
Comet LINEAR Disperses
8.08.2000
What's happened to the nucleus of Comet LINEAR? The brightest comet this year has unexpectedly broken up into many smaller pieces. The break-up occurred on or about July 25 and was noted by many astronomers around the world with particularly pioneering work by Mark Kidger (IAC).
Nearby Star Epsilon Eridani Has a Planet
7.08.2000
A planet has been found orbiting a Sun-like star only 10 light-years away. No direct picture of the planet was taken - the planet was discovered by the gravitational wobble it created on its parent star, Epsilon Eridani. The discovery marks the closest Sun-like star yet found to house an extra-solar planet.
The Coma Cluster of Galaxies
6.08.2000
Almost every object in the above photograph is a galaxy. The Coma Cluster of Galaxies pictured above is one of the densest clusters known - it contains thousands of galaxies. Each of these galaxies houses billions of stars - just as our own Milky Way Galaxy
Halley s Nucleus: An Orbiting Iceberg
5.08.2000
What does a comet nucleus look like? Formed from the primordial stuff of the solar system, it is thought to resemble a very dirty iceberg. But for active comets, telescopic images only reveal the surrounding cloud of gas and dust, the comet's coma, and the characteristic cometary tails.
M15: Dense Globular Star Cluster
4.08.2000
Life might get dull at the core of M15 but the sky would always be bright with stars! In fact, only 40,000 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus, M15 is one of the most densely packed globular star clusters in our Milky Way Galaxy.
22 Miles From Eros
3.08.2000
Last month the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft swooped closer to Eros, orbiting only 22 miles (36 kilometers) from the center of the asteroid. These two images taken on July 19 (left) and July 24 (right)...
At the Edge of the Crescent Nebula
2.08.2000
The Crescent Nebula is a rapidly expanding shell of gas surrounding a dying star. In this recently released image by the Hubble Space Telescope, a bright dynamic part of the nebula three light-years across is shown in representative color.
X-Rays from Comet LINEAR
1.08.2000
Why do comets emit X-rays? First discovered during the passing of Comet Hyakutake in 1996, the reason a cold comet would produce hot X-rays has since remained a mystery. On July 14, however...
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