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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
The Flaming Star Nebula from CFHT
28.02.2006
Rippling dust and gas lanes give the Flaming Star Nebula its name. The red and purple colors of the nebula are present in different regions and are created by different processes. The bright star...
GRB 060218: A Mysterious Transient
27.02.2006
What is it? Something is happening in a small portion of the sky toward the constellation of Aries and telescopes around the globe are tracking an unusual transient there as it changes day by day. No one is sure what it will do next.
Inside the Eagle Nebula
26.02.2006
From afar, the whole thing looks like an Eagle. A closer look at the Eagle Nebula, however, shows the bright region is actually a window into the center of a larger dark shell of dust. Through this window, a brightly-lit workshop appears where a whole open cluster of stars is being formed.
SOFIA s Window Seat
25.02.2006
Earlier this month, a 2.5-meter diameter infrared telescope was permanently assigned a window seat, looking through this opening in the fuselage of a historic Boeing 747 aircraft. The telescope mirror, about the size of the Hubble Space Telescope mirror, is protected by a red covering.
Recurrent Nova RS Ophiuci
24.02.2006
This pretty star field in the constellation Ophiucus is centered on a star not often seen - RS Ophiuci. In fact, early last week RS Oph suddenly became visible to the naked eye for the first time since 1985.
Saturn Storm by Ringshine
23.02.2006
Imaged on the night side of Saturn by the Cassini spacecraft, these swirling storm clouds are illuminated by ringshine - sunlight reflected from the gas giant's magnificent ring system. The storm (top) was actually spotted last month by amateur astronomers as it rotated across Saturn's day side and spans about 3,500 kilometers.
An Unusually Smooth Surface on Saturns Telesto
22.02.2006
Why is Saturn's small moon Telesto so smooth? Possibly Telesto is covered with a type of granular icy material similar to that suspected of covering Pandora, another of Saturn's small moon's. If so, Telesto might be more like a pile of rubble than a solid body.
Wisps Surrounding the Horsehead Nebula
21.02.2006
The famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion is not alone. A deep exposure shows that the dark familiar shaped indentation, visible just below center, is part of a vast complex of absorbing dust and glowing gas.
SuitSat1: A Spacesuit Floats Free
20.02.2006
Who dunnit? Like a scene from a space mystery movie, a spacesuit floated away from the International Space Station earlier this month, but no investigation was needed. It was pushed out by the space station crew.
M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy in Dust and Stars
19.02.2006
The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy. At only 30 million light years distant and fully 60 thousand light years across, M51, also known as NGC 5194, is one of the brightest and most picturesque galaxies on the sky.
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