Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Supernova Remnant N132D in Optical and X Rays25.10.2005
Thousands of years after a star exploded, its expanding remnant still glows brightly across the spectrum. Such is the case with N132D, a supernova remnant located in the neighboring Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) galaxy. The expanding shell from this explosion now spans 80 light-years and has swept up about 600 Suns worth of mass.
Angular Sand on Martian Hills
24.10.2005
Why isn't this sand round? The robotic Spirit rover currently rolling across Mars has found notably angular sand in the Columbia Hills on Mars. Previously, small bits of sand found in the plains of Gusev Crater were significantly more round.
At the Center of the Milk Way
23.10.2005
At the center of our Milky Way Galaxy lies a black hole with over 2 million times the mass of the Sun. Once a controversial claim, this astounding conclusion is now virtually inescapable and based on observations of stars orbiting very near the galactic center.
Ring Galaxy AM 0644 741 from Hubble
22.10.2005
How could a galaxy become shaped like a ring? The rim of the blue galaxy pictured on the right is an immense ring-like structure 150,000 light years in diameter composed of newly formed, extremely bright, massive stars.
Ringside
21.10.2005
Orbiting in the plane of Saturn's rings, Dione and the other icy saturnian moons have a perpetual ringside view of the gorgeous gas giant planet. Of course, while passing through the ring plane the Cassini spacecraft also shares their stunning perspective.
The Andromeda Galaxy in Infrared
20.10.2005
What is the Andromeda galaxy really like? To find out, astronomers looked at our largest galactic neighbor in a different light: infrared. Astronomers trained the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope at the Messier monster (M31) for over 18 hours, creating a mosaic that incorporated 11,000 separate exposures.
On the Possibility of Ascending to Mars
19.10.2005
On another October 19, in 1899, a 17 year-old Robert Goddard climbed a cherry tree on a beautiful autumn afternoon in Worcester, Massachusetts. Inspired by H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds and gazing...
AE Aurigae: The Flaming Star
18.10.2005
Is star AE Aurigae on fire? No. Even though AE Aurigae is named the flaming star, the surrounding nebula IC 405 is named the Flaming Star Nebula, and the region appears to harbor red smoke, there is no fire.
Short Gamma Ray Bursts Localized
17.10.2005
What causes gamma-ray bursts? The most energetic type of explosions known in the cosmos has been an enigma since discovered over 30 years ago. It now appears that there may not be one unique type of progenitor.
Astronomy Quilt of the Week
16.10.2005
Demonstrating her mastery of a traditional astronomical imaging technique quilter and astronomy enthusiast Judy Ross has produced this spectacular composition of "Astronomy Quilt Piece of the Week". Her year-long effort resulted in an arrangement...
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