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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
The Cat's Eye Nebula
31.10.1999
Three thousand light-years away, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals The Cat's Eye Nebula to be one of the most complex planetary nebulae known.
Mars Rocks, Sojourner Rolls
30.10.1999
This sharp color image featuring Mars rock Yogi and the rolling Sojourner robot shows off Yogi's two-toned surface. Yogi appears to be leaning into the prevailing winds causing some to suggest that its color contrast may be caused by the accumulation of rust colored dust on its windward face.
The USNO Millennium Time Ball
29.10.1999
In the nineteenth century, dropping a time ball from a prominent location was a practical way of communicating the time to the surrounding country side and ships at sea. Initiating a fledgling time service for the United States, the U.S. Naval Observatory dropped a time ball at precisely noon every day begining in 1845.
X Ray Jet From Centaurus A
28.10.1999
Spanning over 25,000 light-years, comparable to the distance from the Sun to the center of our own Milky Way galaxy, a cosmic jet seen in X-rays blasts from the center of Centaurus A. Only 10 million light-years away, Centaurus A is a giant elliptical galaxy - the closest active galaxy to Earth.
In the Heart of the Tarantula Nebula
27.10.1999
In the heart of monstrous Tarantula Nebula lies one of the most unusual star clusters. Known as NGC 2070 or R136, it is home to a great number of hot young stars. The energetic light from these stars continually ionizes nebula gas, while their energetic particle wind blows bubbles and defines intricate filaments.
30 Doradus: The Tarantula Nebula
26.10.1999
30 Doradus is an immense star forming region in a nearby galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud. Its spidery appearance is responsible for its popular name, the Tarantula Nebula, except that this tarantula is about 1,000 light-years across, and 165,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Dorado.
Neptune in Infrared
25.10.1999
Neptune has never looked so clear in infrared light. Neptune is the eighth most distant planet from the Sun, thirty times the Earth-Sun distance. Neptune is the fourth largest planet, almost four times Earth's diameter. Surprisingly, Neptune radiates about twice as much energy as it receives from the Sun.
The Magnetic Carpet Of The Sun
24.10.1999
The Sun has a magnetic carpet. Its visible surface appears to be carpeted with tens of thousands of magnetic north and south poles joined by looping field lines which extend outward into the Solar Corona.
M27: Not A Comet
23.10.1999
While searching the skies above 18th century France for comets, astronomer Charles Messier diligently recorded this object as number 27 on his list of things which are definitely not comets. So what is it?
Iridium 52: Not A Meteor
22.10.1999
While hunting for meteors in the night sky above the White Mountains near Bishop, California, astrophotographer James Young instead captured this brilliant celestial apparition. Recorded near twilight on August 13, the bright streak is not the flash of a meteor trail but sunlight glinting from a satellite.
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