Date Joined: Nov 15, 2022 19:45:02 GMT -5
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Post by Justbec on Jan 20, 2023 16:39:41 GMT -5
The Seagull Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Carlos Taylor Explanation:A broad expanse of glowing gas and dust presents a bird-like visage to astronomers from planet Earth, suggesting its popular moniker - The Seagull Nebula. Using narrowband image data, this 3-panel mosaic of the cosmic bird covers a 2.5 degree swath across the plane of the Milky Way, near the direction of Sirius, alpha star of the constellation Canis Major. Likely part of a larger shell structure swept up by successive supernova explosions, the broad Seagull Nebula is cataloged as Sh2-296 and IC 2177. The prominent bluish arc below and right of center is a bow shock from runaway star FN Canis Majoris. This complex of gas and dust clouds with other stars of the Canis Majoris OB1 association spans over 200 light-years at the Seagull Nebula's estimated 3,800 light-year distance.
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Date Joined: Apr 5, 2018 3:27:17 GMT -5
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Post by sb on Jan 21, 2023 11:18:45 GMT -5
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Jan 21, 2023 11:28:32 GMT -5
The dangerous things are the gamma rays!
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Date Joined: Nov 15, 2022 19:45:02 GMT -5
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Post by Justbec on Jan 21, 2023 11:31:25 GMT -5
sb, that is cool. Thanks!
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Date Joined: Nov 15, 2022 19:45:02 GMT -5
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Post by Justbec on Jan 21, 2023 11:36:35 GMT -5
This week Night's Skies
SATURDAY, JANUARY 21■ Zero-magnitude Capella high overhead, and equally bright Rigel in Orion's foot, have almost the same right ascension. This means they cross your sky’s meridian at almost exactly the same time: around 9 or 10 p.m. now, depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone. So, whenever Capella passes its very highest, Rigel always marks true south over your landscape, and vice versa. Capella goes exactly through your zenith if you're at latitude 46° north: Portland, Oregon; Montreal; Portland, Maine; central France; Odesa. ■ Algol tonight should be at minimum brightness, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 12:27 a.m. EST; 9:27 p.m. PST. ■ New Moon (exact at 3:53 p.m. EST.) SUNDAY, JANUARY 22■ Venus and Saturn reach conjunction ½° apart, as shown below. Use binoculars in bright twilight. And look too for the thin crescent Moon rather far below them. Both planets will fit together in a telescope's low- to medium-power eyepiece. You will be struck by how radically different the surface brightnesses of Venus and Saturn really are! Saturn is 13.5 times farther from the Sun than Venus is, so its clouds are lit by sunlight that's 13.52 or 180 times fainter than the sunlight striking Venus. Bring binoculars or a telescope not just for a fine view of the Saturn-Venus conjunction in twilight on Sunday the 22nd, but also for earthshine on the dark part of the slim crescent Moon. MONDAY, JANUARY 23■ Now Saturn glimmers 1.3° to Venus's lower right in the fading twilight, while the crescent Moon looks on from the upper left. TUESDAY, JANUARY 24■ The big Northern Cross in Cygnus, topped by Deneb, is roughly upright in the west-northwest after dark. By 6 or 7 p.m. it's standing on the horizon. How upright it stands there depends on your latitude. ■ Algol should be at minimum brightness for a couple hours centered on 9:16 p.m. EST. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25■ Right after dark, face east and look very high, almost overhead. The bright star there is Capella, the Goat Star. To the right of it, by a couple of finger-widths at arm's length, is a small, narrow triangle of 3rd and 4th magnitude stars known as "The Kids." Though they're not exactly eye-grabbing, they form a never-forgotten asterism with Capella. THURSDAY, JANUARY 26■ After dark the Great Square of Pegasus sinks in the west left of Jupiter. It's tipped onto one corner. Meanwhile the Big Dipper is creeping up in the north-northeast, tipped up on its handle. FRIDAY, JANUARY 27■ Orion is now high in the southeast right after dark, and he stands highest due south around 9 p.m. Orion is the brightest of the 88 constellations, but his main pattern is surprisingly small compared to some of his dimmer neighbors. The biggest of these is Eridanus the River to his west, enormous but hard to trace. Dimmer Fornax the Furnace, to Eridanus's lower right, is almost as big as Orion! Even the main pattern of Lepus, the Hare cowering under the Hunter's feet, isn't much smaller than he is. Do you know the constellation down below Lepus? It's a tough one: Columba the Dove, faint, sprawly, and to my eye not a bit dove-like. See the constellation chart in the center of the February Sky & Telescope. Its brightest star, Alpha Columbae or Phact, is magnitude 2.6. To find it, draw a line from Rigel through Beta Leporis (the front of the bunny's neck) and extend it an equal distance straight on. SATURDAY, JANUARY 28■ First-quarter Moon (exactly so at 10:19 a.m. EST). The Moon is partway between Mars to its left and Jupiter farther to its lower right. During twilight Venus and Saturn complete the lineup low in the west-southwest; a line from the Moon through Jupiter points to them — because, of course, they all lie nearly on the great circle of the ecliptic. Uranus and Neptune are also part of the evening lineup, out of naked-eye sight.
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Date Joined: Nov 15, 2022 19:45:02 GMT -5
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Post by Justbec on Jan 22, 2023 12:24:41 GMT -5
In Green Company: Aurora over Norway Image Credit & Copyright: Max Rive Explanation: Raise your arms if you see an aurora. With those instructions, two nights went by with, well, clouds -- mostly. On the third night of returning to same peaks, though, the sky not only cleared up but lit up with a spectacular auroral display. Arms went high in the air, patience and experience paid off, and the creative featured image was captured as a composite from three separate exposures. The setting is a summit of the Austnesfjorden fjord close to the town of Svolvear on the Lofoten islands in northern Norway. The time was early 2014. Although our Sun passed the solar minimum of its 11-year cycle only a few years ago, surface activity is picking up and already triggering more spectacular auroras here on Earth.
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Date Joined: Nov 15, 2022 19:45:02 GMT -5
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Post by Justbec on Jan 23, 2023 14:37:21 GMT -5
Spiral Aurora over Iceland Image Credit & Copyright: Stefano Pellegrini Explanation: The scene may look like a fantasy, but it's really Iceland. The rock arch is named Gatklettur and located on the island's northwest coast. Some of the larger rocks in the foreground span a meter across. The fog over the rocks is really moving waves averaged over long exposures. The featured image is a composite of several foreground and background shots taken with the same camera and from the same location on the same night last November. The location was picked for its picturesque foreground, but the timing was planned for its colorful background: aurora. The spiral aurora, far behind the arch, was one of the brightest seen in the astrophotographer's life. The coiled pattern was fleeting, though, as auroral patterns waved and danced for hours during the cold night. Far in the background were the unchanging stars, with Earth's rotation causing them to appear to slowly circle the sky's northernmost point near Polaris.
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Date Joined: Nov 15, 2022 19:45:02 GMT -5
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Post by Justbec on Jan 25, 2023 12:45:14 GMT -5
Comet Leonard from Namibia
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Jan 25, 2023 13:48:36 GMT -5
Laura Mock a meteorologist in Tulsa posted a picture on twitter of what seems to be a red giant star frying a planet that seems to be earth-like in another solar system 38 light years away. The picture was posted by NASA and was an artist's idea of what that planet must look like. Laura re-tweeted the picture. Some day our sun will go red giant.
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Date Joined: May 12, 2024 12:02:17 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2023 14:34:09 GMT -5
Laura Mock is good. Not bad on the eyes either. That is who we listen too. Sometimes Travis Meyer on 6.
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Date Joined: Sept 16, 2012 13:59:47 GMT -5
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Post by sauerkraut on Jan 26, 2023 11:35:36 GMT -5
My favorites when it comes to weather forecasters are Mikayla Smith, Jole Bettenhausen, Stacia Knight, Laura Mock, my big favorite was Katy Kramer who left the station and moved to Indianapolis, she was one of the best meteorologists around. We also lost Caroline Brown from channel 8 a few years ago who left Tulsa for Colorado then moved to Houston, Texas. Nationally I like the lovely Ginger Zee and Stacy Abrams they are very good meteorologists.
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