Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Leonids Above Torre de la Guaita14.11.2004
The 1999 Leonids Meteor Shower came to an impressive crescendo. Observers in Europe observed a sharp peak in the number of meteors visible around 0210 UTC during the early morning hours of November 18. Meteor counts then exceeded 1000 per hour - the minimum needed to define a true meteor storm.
Moon Over Shiraz
13.11.2004
Early morning risers around the world have enjoyed the sight of bright planets in this week's predawn skies - further enhanced by the celestial spectacle of the waning crescent Moon. From some locations the Moon was seen to pass in front of Jupiter or Venus, a lunar occultation.
Missouri's Green Ribbon Sky
12.11.2004
The critics rave - "Amazing!", "Unbelievable!", "The best I've ever seen!" They aren't talking about a movie, though. Instead, even casual sky critics are remarking on November's stunning auroral displays, visible with surprising intensities well beyond the confines of high latitudes where auroral activity is normally observed.
Pastel Planet, Triple Eclipse
11.11.2004
This false-color image of banded gas giant Jupiter shows a triple eclipse in progress on March 28 - a relatively rare event, even for a large planet with many moons. Captured by the Hubble Space...
Leo A: Nearby Dwarf Irregular Galaxy
10.11.2004
Why isn't this small galaxy simple? The above image and contemporary observations of small nearby galaxy Leo A were supposed to show it has a simple structure. Now Leo A is known...
A Full Sky Multi Colored Auroral Corona
9.11.2004
On some nights the sky is the most interesting show in town. This fisheye picture captures a particularly active and colorful auroral corona that occurred two days ago over l'Observatoire de la Decouverte in Val Belair near Quebec, Canada.
Jupiter and Venus at Sunrise
8.11.2004
What are those bright objects in the morning sky? Early morning dog walkers, among many others across our world's Northern Hemisphere, have likely noticed tremendously bright Venus hanging in the eastern sky just before sunrise. Looking a bit like an approaching airplane, Venus holds its place in the sky and never seems to land.
The Galactic Center in Infrared
7.11.2004
The center of our Galaxy is a busy place. In visible light, much of the Galactic Center is obscured by opaque dust. In infrared light, however, dust glows more and obscures less, allowing nearly one million stars to be recorded in the above photograph.
X-Rays from the Galactic Core
6.11.2004
Using the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have taken this long look at the core of our Milky Way galaxy, some 26,000 light-years away. The spectacular false-color view spans about 130 light-years.
Supernova Remnant Imaged in Gamma Rays
5.11.2004
Gamma rays are the most energetic form of light. With up to a billion times the energy of ordinary "medical" x-rays, they easily penetrate telescope lenses and mirrors, making it very difficult to create gamma-ray images of cosmic sources.
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