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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Thor s Helmet in H Alpha
2.02.2006
Near picture center, the helmet-shaped structure with wing-like appendages is popularly called Thor's Helmet. Cataloged as NGC 2359, the striking nebula is located about 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major.
Venus Just After Sunset
1.02.2006
Is that Venus or an airplane? A common ponderable for sky enthusiasts is deciding if that bright spot near the horizon is the planet Venus. Usually, an airplane will show itself by moving significantly in a few moments. Venus will set only slowly as the Earth turns.
Huygens on Titan Illustrated
31.01.2006
If you could stand on Titan, what might you see? About one year ago the robotic Huygens probe landed on the enigmatic moon of Saturn and sent back the first ever images from beneath Titan's thick cloud layers.
NGC 1999: South of Orion
30.01.2006
South of the large star-forming region known as the Orion Nebula, lies bright blue reflection nebula NGC 1999. The nebula is marked with a dark inverted T-shape at the lower left in a broad cosmic vista that spans over 10 light-years.
Volcano and Aurora in Iceland
29.01.2006
Sometimes both heaven and Earth erupt. In Iceland in 1991, the volcano Hekla erupted at the same time that auroras were visible overhead. Hekla, one of the most famous volcanoes in the world, has erupted at least 20 times over the past millennium, sometimes causing great destruction.
Saturn in the Hive
28.01.2006
If you can find Saturn in tonight's sky, then you can also find M44, popularly known as the Beehive star cluster. In fact, with a pair of binoculars most casual skygazers should find it fairly easy to zero in on this celestial scene.
A New Storm on Saturn
27.01.2006
Presently at opposition in planet Earth's sky, Saturn is well placed for telescopic observations. On Wednesday two amateur astronomers took full advantage of the situation from Melun, near Paris, France. With...
An Unusual Two Toned Rock on Mars
26.01.2006
How did this unusual Martian rock form? The atypical two-toned rock, visible in the lower right of the above image, was photographed a few days ago by the robotic Spirit rover currently rolling across Mars. For now, the environmental processes that created the rock remain a matter of speculation.
The Expanding Light Echoes of SN 1987A
25.01.2006
Can you find supernova 1987A? It isn't hard -- it occurred at the center of the expanding bullseye pattern. Although this stellar detonation was first seen almost two decades ago, light from it continues to bounce off clumps of interstellar dust and be reflected to us today.
New Horizons Launches to Pluto
24.01.2006
Destination: Pluto. The New Horizons spacecraft roared off its launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA last week toward adventures in the distant Solar System. The craft is one of the fastest spaceships...
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