Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Aurora Iowa20.05.2005
Early last Sunday morning stars were not the only lights in Iowa skies. The northern lights also shone from the heavens, extending across the midwestern USA and other locations not often graced with auroral displays.
X Ray Stars in the Orion Nebula
19.05.2005
When our middle-aged Sun was just a few million years old it was thousands of times brighter in x-rays. In fact, it was likely similar to some of the stars found in this false-color x-ray composite of the Orion Nebula region from the Chandra Observatory.
Three Kilometers Above Titan
18.05.2005
What did the Huygens probe see as it descended toward Saturn's Moon Titan? In January the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn released a probe through the dense cloud decks of one of the Solar System's most mysterious moons.
A Panorama of Mars from Larrys Lookout
17.05.2005
Scroll right to see a breathtaking panorama of Mars from Larry's Lookout. The lookout occurs near the peak of Husband Hill in the Columbia Hills. The summit of Husband Hill is visible 200 meters in the distance toward the center of the 360-degree near-true-color picture.
Deep Impact Spacecraft Hurtles Toward Comet
16.05.2005
What happens when you crash into a comet? That was a question considered by astronomers when they designed the Deep Impact mission, launched in January. This coming July 4, the Deep Impact spaceship will reach its target - Comet Tempel 1 -- and release an impactor over five times the mass of a person toward its surface.
On the Origin of Gold
15.05.2005
Where did the gold in your jewelry originate? No one is completely sure. The relative average abundance in our Solar System appears higher than can be made in the early universe, in stars, and even in typical supernova explosions.
NGC 3370: A Sharper View
14.05.2005
Similar in size and grand design to our own Milky Way, spiral galaxy NGC 3370 lies about 100 million light-years away toward the constellation Leo. Recorded here in exquisite detail by the Hubble Space...
When the Moon Was Young
13.05.2005
Remember when the Moon was young? It was just last Monday. On May 9th, this slender crescent Moon was recorded at a tender age of 34 hours and 18 minutes. Well, OK ... when calculating...
Stars, Galaxies, and Comet Tempel 1
12.05.2005
Faint comet Tempel 1 sports a fuzzy blue-tinted tail, just right of center in this lovely field of stars. Recorded on May 3rd slowly sweeping through the constellation Virgo, periodic comet Tempel 1 orbits the Sun once every 5.5 years.
The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
11.05.2005
This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is part of the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually glows brightly in infrared light.
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