... Ash and Lightning Above an Icelandic Volcano . ... Although the large ash plume was not unparalleled in its abundance, its location was particularly noticeable because it drifted across such well-populated areas. Star Cluster R136 Bursts Out . ... High Energy Stereoscopic System II . ... Pink Aurora Over Crater Lake . ... How fast is lightning? ... The above lightning stroke did not move too fast, however, for this extremely high time resolution video to resolve. ...

... ESO is building what will be the World's largest optical telescope array, The Very Large Telescope (VLT). The VLT Project organisation is responsible for the design and construction of the Unit Telescopes, including enclosures, optics, adapter-rotators and coating unit. ... Unit Telescopes Overview - This page is outdated, an update is in process. ... Secondary mirror (M2 Unit) - This page is outdated, an update is in process. ... Coating Unit - This page is outdated, an update is in process. ...

... 2014 April 22 . The El Gordo Massive Galaxy Cluster . Image Credit: NASA , ESA , J. Jee ( UC Davis ) et al. ... Dubbed "El Gordo", the seven billion light years ( z = 0.87) distant galaxy cluster spans about seven million light years and holds the mass of a million billion Suns. ... That galaxy is actually far in the background and has its image stretched by the gravitational lens action of the massive cluster. Follow APOD on: Facebook , Google Plus , or Twitter . ... About APOD | ...

... Research . ... A rare hybrid morphology radio galaxy . ... In this project we will be able to investigate the environmental effect on star formation and galaxy evolution in individual galaxies falling into the cluster through radio observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Current models of galaxy evolution regulate the star formation rates within the simulated galaxies by invoking radio-mode feedback from AGN. ... Julie.Banfield@anu.edu.au . ...

The H II complex N 44 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) provides an excellent site to perform a detailed study of star formation in a mild starburst, as it hosts three regions of star formation at different evolutionary stages, and it is not as complicated and confusing as the 30 Doradus giant H II region. We have obtained Spitzer Space Telescope observations and complementary ground-based 4 m uBVIJK observations of N 44 to identify candidate massive young stellar objects (YSOs). ...

... October 18, 1999 . NGC 3603: An Active Star Cluster . ... Explanation: NGC 3603 is home to a massive star cluster, thick dust pillars, and a star about to explode . The central open cluster contains about 2000 bright stars, each of which is much brighter and more massive than our Sun . ... These stars are less massive than our Sun, demonstrating that great numbers of low-mass stars also form in active starburst regions . ... About APOD > . ...

... All previous such superstars have been found along with many companion stars in the centres of crowded star clusters. The star is known as VFTS 682 from the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey catalogue of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) located at Paranal in Chile by means of the attached FLAMES instrument. ... Although VFTS 682 seems to be alone now it is not very far away from a very rich star cluster known as RMC 136 that contains several similar superstars. ...

... The large field size of UIT is ideal for studies of globular clusters. ... Very metal poor clusters are conducive for the formation of very hot horizontal branch stars which radiate most of that energy in the UV part of the spectrum. ... M31 is the nearest large spiral galaxy to us. ... These are small dwarf galaxies and NGC 205 is a bit unusual because it still has retained some gas for star formation despite its low mass. M33 is an actively star forming spiral galaxy in the local group. ...

... Observing . ... Subscriber Extras . ... Web Extras . ... Globular cluster NGC 2808, elliptical galaxy NGC 2986, and the Sextans Dwarf . ... Observing springtime deep-sky objects with a large telescope . ... Web Extra: Astronomers animate one of the largest galaxy clusters ever observed . ... At the center of the Phoenix Cluster, a large elliptical galaxy lurks where the hot gas is ejected, giving off unprecedented levels of X-rays, which have been observed by the orbiting Chandra X-ray telescope. ...

Next: Ejectors in Massive Binary Previous: Artificial Galaxy: Full Matrix . The first version of the Scenario Machine was aimed especially at the simulation of massive binary star evolution. ... First, there is a large class of intermediate mass binaries (say, consisting initially of 8 + 5 solar masses) that can also produce NS and thus lead to the formation of a bright X-ray source. ... Next: Ejectors in Massive Binary Previous: Artificial Galaxy: Full Matrix Mike E. Prokhorov . ...

A Canadian and American team of Astronomers have used the 305-m wide Arecibo radio dish, the world's largest and most sensitive radio telescope, to uncover a dozen new super-fast-spinning pulsars. The team directed their search for these rare and exotic stars by pointing the Arecibo radio telescope towards massive star clusters, called Globular Clusters, orbiting our Milky Way galaxy. ... One of the most exotic residents in the Globular cluster system are the millisecond pulsars. ...

... Today this year's largest group of sunspots will cross the Sun's central meridian. ... The next day, the number of spots in the group reached five, and the day after, on June 2nd, it was possible to count thirteen sunspots on solar disk, which had been clear prior to this. ... This year's two most powerful active areas, which passed across the solar disk at the beginning of May, 2009, are set to appear in the Sun's eastern sector in two days, on June 6th. ...

In order to measure the density of the Universe, it is necessary to sample a region that is larger than the scale on which the Universe becomes approximately homogeneous. ... When applied to clusters of galaxies we find a mass to luminosity ratio that implies a density of the Universe that is about 0.3 times the critical density. ... Thus the mass-to-muinosity ratio appears to vary with the size of the region measured, from 3 in the solar neighborhood to 30 in galaxies to 300 in clusters of galaxies. ...

Results from 6m telescope observations of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies Sharina M. We consider properties of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies observed with the multi-slit unit of the SCORPIO spectrograph at the SAO 6m telescope. ... Studying GCs in dwarf galaxies at the faintest end of the galaxy luminosity function provides valuable information for a better understanding of galaxy evolution and evolutionary connection between globular clusters and nuclei of galaxies. ...

... Planets . ... Stars . Exoplanets . ... Most exoplanets so far discovered fall into the category of тАШhot JupitersтАЩ, these are giant planets orbiting very close to their parent star. ... Note that we have discovered so many hot Jupiters because they are the easiest type of planet to find, they are not necessarily particularly common in the galaxy. ... Subsequently several similar hot and€а fuzzy worlds have been discovered the same way, proving this that this planet is not a one-off oddball. ...

... Earth is the tiny spot between Jupiter and the Sun). ... Distance Radius Mass Name Orbits (000 km) (km) (kg) --------- ------- -------- ------- ------- Sun 697000 1.99e30 Jupiter Sun 778000 71492 1.90e27 Saturn Sun 1429000 60268 5.69e26 Uranus Sun 2870990 25559 8.69e25 * Neptune Sun 4504300 24764 1.02e26 * Earth Sun 149600 6378 5.98e24 Venus Sun 108200 6052 4.87e24 Mars Sun 227940 3398 6.42e23 Ganymede Jupiter 1070 2631 1.48e23 + Titan ... Extrema .. ...

... Over the first 4 years, its X-ray telescopes eROSITA and ART-XC will survey the whole sky with a record sensitivity in the 0.5-10 keV energy band. ... The goal of the second international Spectrum-RG conference is to discuss the different scientific topics addressed by the mission, synergies with surveys at other wavelengths, and requirements to follow-up observations.Contributed talks and poster presentations are invited on the topics related to the SRG science goals. ... Active galactic nuclei . ...

DARK MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE Paul J. Green UNSEEN MASS: Astronomers studying the motions of stars and galaxies throughout the universe have long noticed a strange discrepancy. Stars move around galaxies as if pulled by ten times the matter that we can see. ... GRAVITATIONAL LENSING: Since dark matter by definition cannot be directly observed, several recent searches have instead exploited the predicted gravitational effects of its mass on the observed light from nearby stars. ...

... LMC Project Outline . NGC 1818 Initial Results . ... The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is uniquely suitable for the study of massive star clusters at all stages of evolution. By combining HST observations of these clusters with N-body models we hope to understand the origin and evolution of rich star clusters in our own Galaxy, in the LMC, and beyond. ... We aim to combine our HST observations with N-body models to understand the formation and evolution of globular clusters. ...

... Astrophysics Group . ... AMI Science . ... Observations of galaxy clusters are central to the AMI science programme. The AMI Small Array is used to observe already-known clusters with high-sensitivity and resolution, allowing us to extract detailed information about individual clusters and to build up statistics about the cluster population. ... Observing galaxy clusters at 15 GHz is tricky because of the contamination from foreground radio sources, which is where the Large Array comes in! ...