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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Solar Storm Causes X-Ray Aurora
18.04.1997
On April 7, the SOHO spacecraft spotted a Solar Storm ejecting a cloud of energetic particles toward planet Earth. The plasma cloud's center missed Earth, but high energy particles swept up by Earth's magnetosphere still created a geomagnetic storm!
Pwyll: Icy Crater of Europa
17.04.1997
The impact crater Pwyll (a name from Celtic Mythology) is thought to represent one of the youngest features on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. A combination of color and high resolution black...
A Star Cluster Through Hale-Bopp's Tail
16.04.1997
Comet Hale-Bopp continues to look impressive. The photograph above captured the comet on April 7th passing nearly in front of M34, a star cluster in the constellation of Perseus. Many of the stars in this open cluster can be seen through Comet Hale-Bopp's white dust tail.
Hale-Bopp and the Plateau de Bure Interferometer
15.04.1997
Comet Hale-Bopp is being observed by many different telescopes. Here the comet is pictured behind the array of radio telescopes which compose the Plateau de Bure Interferometer. These telescopes are being used to detect the presence of different molecules in the coma and tail of Comet Hale-Bopp.
Hale-Bopp's Hoods
14.04.1997
Comet Hale-Bopp is spinning. The nucleus of the comet is a dirty snowball about 25 miles in diameter that spins about once every 12 hours. As Comet Hale-Bopp spins, parts of the comet's surface shoot away in jets.
Jets from SS433
13.04.1997
SS433 is one of the most exotic star systems known. Its unremarkable name stems from its inclusion in a catalog of stars which emit radiation characteristic of atomic hydrogen. Its very remarkable behavior stems from a compact object, a black hole or neutron star, which has produced an accretion disk with jets.
Arecibo: The Largest Telescope
12.04.1997
The Arecibo radio telescope is currently the largest single-dish telescope in the world. First opening in 1963, this 305 meter (1000 foot) radio telescope resides in a natural valley of Puerto Rico. The Arecibo telescope has been used for many astronomical research projects, including
The Sun Puffs
11.04.1997
The Earth has once again endured a burst of particles from the Sun. The latest storm, which began Monday, was one of the best documented solar storms to date. At 10 am (EDT) ground...
Europa's Ice Rafts
10.04.1997
The surface of Jupiter's moon Europa has shifted. Photographs released yesterday of Europa's surface taken by the spacecraft Galileo show that the smooth moon's icy surface is sometimes like a giant scrambled jigsaw puzzle. Pieces of Europa's surface, identifiable above, have rafted to new locations.
Oceans Under Jupiter's Europa?
9.04.1997
Is there life beneath Europa? Today, new results are being announced (at about 2 pm EST) about the possibility of oceans under Jupiter's moon Europa. The existence of such oceans increases the likelihood that some sort of life exists beneath the fractured ice planes of Jupiter's smoothest satellite.
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