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The Milky Way in Infrared
| Title |
The Milky Way in Infrared |
| Explanation |
At night, from a dark location, part of the clear sky looks milky [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980523.html ]. This unusual swath of dim light is generally visible during any month and from any location. Until the invention of the telescope [ http://es.rice.edu:80/ES/humsoc/Galileo/People/lipperhey.html ], nobody really knew what the "Milky Way" was. About 300 years ago telescopes caused a startling revelation: the Milky Way [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/1920/cs_lplan.html ] was made of stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#star ]. Only 70 years ago, more powerful telescopes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950701.html ] brought the further revelation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/debate/debate20.html ] that the Milky Way is only one galaxy among many. Now telescopes in space allow yet deeper understanding. The above picture [ http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/html/milky_way.html ] was taken by the COBE satellite [ http://arcturus.mit.edu/gallery/cobe.html ] and shows the plane of our Galaxy in infrared light [ http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/Outreach/Edu/discovery.html ]. The thin disk of our home spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/spiral_galaxies.html ] is clearly apparent, with stars appearing white and interstellar dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990509.html ] appearing red. |
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Globular Star Cluster M3
| Title |
Globular Star Cluster M3 |
| Explanation |
This immense ball of half a million stars older than the Sun lies over 30,000 light-years away. Cataloged as M3 [ http://seds.org/messier/m/m003.html ] (and NGC 5272 [ http://www.mporzio.astro.it/~marco/gc/ cluster_4.php?ggc=NGC+5272 ]), it is one of about 150 globular star clusters [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_cluster ] that roam the halo of our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/~spider/spider/MWGC/mwgc.html ]. Even in this impressively sharp image [ http://karelteuwen.be/photo_page.php?img=94 ], individual stars are difficult to distinguished in the densely [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031213.html ] packed core, but colors are apparent for the bright stars on the cluster's outskirts. M3's many cool "red" giant stars take on a yellowish cast, while hotter giants and pulsating variable stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070415.html ] look light blue. A closer look [ http://www.flemingastrophotography.com/m3dss.html ] at the deep telescopic view also reveals a host of background galaxies. Itself about 200 light-years across, the giant star cluster is a relatively bright, easy target for binoculars in the northern constellation Canes Venatici, The Hunting Dogs [ http://hawastsoc.org/deepsky/cvn/index.html ], and not far from Arcturus [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/arcturus.html ]. |
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A Spectacular Sky Over the G
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| Title |
A Spectacular Sky Over the Grand Tetons |
| Explanation |
Behold the breathtaking beauty of Earth and sky together. In the foreground is the Teton Mountain Range [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070814.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tetons ] of Wyoming [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming ], USA [ http://www.infoplease.com/states.html ]. The Grand Tetons are a relatively isolated set of high peaks that are part of the Rocky Mountains [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains ]. On the far left, vast clouds of bright stars and dark dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070430.html ] are visible in the nearly vertical plane of our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galaxy.html ]. Our Galactic Plane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050605.html ] appears to crash [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070508.html ] into the Tetons, but is actually far more distant. On the left, just to the left of the southernmost Teton [ http://www.nps.gov/grte/ ] peak, the planet Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050913.html ] is visible. Near the image center is the bright star Arcturus [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcturus ]. Scroll [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls ]ing to the far right will bring over the familiar asterism [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/Maps/Const/asterism.html ] of the Big Dipper [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070108.html ]. Last month it took five images, later digitally fused, to capture the majesty of this panoramic view. |
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A Southern Sky View
| Title |
A Southern Sky View |
| Explanation |
On 1996 March 22, a Galaxy and a comet shared the southern sky. They were captured together, from horizon to horizon, in the night sky above Loomberah, New South Wales, Australia [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/as.html ] by astronomer Gordon Garradd [ http://members.ozemail.com.au/~loomberah/ ]. Garradd used a home made all-sky camera with a fisheye lens [ http://www.zeta.org.au/~andrewa/ajaa31.htm ], resulting in a circular 200 degree field of view. This gorgeous sky view [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/images/96B2/96B2_960322_gg1.txt ] was dominated by the luminous band of our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/milky_way.html ] cut by dramatic, dark interstellar dust clouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990919.html ]. Along with the bright stars of our Galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010804.html ] is visible at the lower left. That night sky was also graced by the long, lovely, bluish tail of Comet Hyakutake [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980717.html ], which can be seen toward the top of the image, near the bright star Arcturus [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/hr/5340.html ]. Bright city lights from nearby Tamworth [ http://www.tamworthonline.com.au/ ] glow along the Northwestern horizon. |
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Venus Beyond the Storm
| Title |
Venus Beyond the Storm |
| Explanation |
A thunderstorm, lightning, a bright star and a bright planet all graced an evening sky for a short while near Bismarck [ http://www.bismarck.org/ ], North Dakota [ http://www.state.nd.us ], USA [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html ] two weeks ago. Thick thunderclouds [ http://www.ucar.edu/40th/webweather/tstorms/tstorms.htm ] from a passing storm are the origin of a strong cloud to ground lightning [ http://thunder.msfc.nasa.gov/primer/ ] strike. Small areas of rain darken portions of the orange sunset [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020729.html ], visible at the horizon above the vast prairie. The planet Venus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011209.html ] peeks below the clouds on the lower left of the image. Blue sky [ http://www.why-is-the-sky-blue.org/why-is-the-sky-blue.html ] shines high above the distant storm, streaked with high white cirrus clouds [ http://www.met.tamu.edu/class/Metr304/Exer10dir/highclouds.html ]. The bright star Arcturus [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/arcturus.html ] glitters near the image top, just left of center. Just a few minutes later, only a memory and this picture [ http://www.prairiejournal.com/2002northernlights/083002.htm ] remained. |
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The Milky Way in Infrared
| Title |
The Milky Way in Infrared |
| Explanation |
At night, from a dark location, part of the clear sky looks milky [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970517.html ]. This unusual swath of dim light is generally visible during any month and from any location. Until the invention of the telescope [ http://es.rice.edu:80/ES/humsoc/Galileo/People/lipperhey.html ], nobody really knew what the "Milky Way" was. About 300 years ago telescopes caused a startling revelation: the Milky Way [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/1920/cs_lplan.html ] was made of stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#stars ]. Only 70 years ago, more powerful telescopes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950701.html ] brought the further revelation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/debate20.html ] that the Milky Way is only one galaxy among many. Now telescopes in space allow yet deeper understanding. The above picture [ http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/html/milky_way.html ] was taken by the COBE satellite [ http://arcturus.mit.edu/gallery/cobe.html ] and shows the plane of our Galaxy in infrared light [ http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/Outreach/Edu/discovery.html ]. The thin disk of our home spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/spirals.html ] is clearly apparent, with stars appearing white and interstellar dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961119.html ] appearing red. |
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A Southern Sky View
| Title |
A Southern Sky View |
| Explanation |
From horizon to horizon, the night sky above Loomberah, New South Wales, Australia was photographed by astronomer Gordon Garradd [ http://usrwww.mpx.com.au/~gjg/ ] on March 22, 1996. Garradd used a home made all-sky camera with a fish-eye lens [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970825.html ], resulting in a circular 200 degree field of view. This gorgeous sky view [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/images/96B2/96B2_960322_gg1.txt ] is dominated by the luminous band of the Milky Way [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960503.html ] cut by dramatic, dark interstellar dust clouds. Along with the bright stars of our Galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980203.html ] is visible at the upper right (about 1 o'clock) and the long, lovely, bluish tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960502.html ] of comet Hyakutake [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/comets_long/96B2.html ] can be seen toward the bottom of the image, near the bright star Arcturus [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/hr/5340.html ]. Bright city lights from nearby Tamworth glow along the Northwestern horizon. |
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Comet Hyakutake and the Milk
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| Title |
Comet Hyakutake and the Milky Way |
| Explanation |
Two years ago, the Great Comet of 1996 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960208.html ], Comet Hyakutake [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/hyakutake/ ], inched across our northern sky during its long orbit [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960314.html ] around the Sun [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/sol.html ]. Visible above as the bright spot with the faint tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960326.html ] near the picture [ http://www.psiaz.com/polakis/gco/gco.html ]'s center, Comet Hyakutake [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/comets_long/96B2.html ] shares the stage with part of the central band of the Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970517.html ], prominent in the picture's upper right. Also visible are Antares [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980726.html ], the bright orange star in the upper right, Arcturus [ http://www.windows.umich.edu/the_universe/Arcturus.html ], the bright star on the lower left, and the Pipe Nebula [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970621.html ], which is perhaps harder to find. Comet Hyakutake [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/index/Hyakutake.html ]'s unusually close approach [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960325.html ] to the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980204.html ] allowed astronomers to learn many things, including that comets can emit much X-ray light [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960411.html ]. |
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Big Dipper Castle
| Title |
Big Dipper Castle |
| Explanation |
The stars of the big dipper, a well known asterism [ http://www.seds.org/Maps/Const/asterism.html ] in the constellation Ursa Major [ http://www.allthesky.de/various/umaumi.html ], are easy to recognize in this dramatic skyscape [ http://www.allthesky.de/various/co07umacastle28.html ]. In fact, northern hemisphere skygazers often follow along [ http://www.astropix.com/HTML/C_SPRING/URSAS.HTM ] the line indicated by the two stars at the far right. Extending off the top of this image, that line leads to Polaris, the North Star [ http://www.wcsscience.com/polaris/ thenorthstar.html ], conveniently located near the north celestial pole. Following the arc [ http://www.space.com/spacewatch/ arcturus_bootes_020510.html ] of the dipper's handle also leads to another well known celestial beacon [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/ arcturus.html ] of the northern sky - yet this dreamlike scene takes you instead to a shining mountaintop castle. Big Dipper Castle might be an appropriate name in this stunning view, but its traditional name is Castle Hohenzollern [ http://www.preussen.de/en/today/hohenzollern_castle/ history.html ]. Poised above a sea of clouds that mute the city lights below, the castle lies in the Swabian Alb [ http://www.schwaebischealb.de/english/7keys/ geology.htm ] range of southern Germany, an area that was once a reef in an ancient sea [ http://www.sedgwickmuseum.org/exhibits/jurassic.html ]. |
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