The Daily Croissant |
Eclectic Perambulations in the Noosphere |
The Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys has captured a remarkable image of a spiral in space, the formation of an unusual pre-planetary nebula in one of the most perfect geometrical spirals ever seen. The nebula, called IRAS 23166+1655, is forming around the star LL Pegasi (also known as AFGL 3068) in the constellation of Pegasus.
"The choice of laws to apply to explain a phenomenon is determined more by conformity with politically dominant interests than by criteria of truth."
Ultraluminous Gamma Ray Burst 080607
"Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are among the most energetic phenomena astronomers regularly observe. These events are triggered by massive explosions and a large amount of the energy if focused into narrow beams that sweep across the universe. These beams are so tightly concentrated that they can be seen across the visible universe and allow astronomers to probe the universe's history."
"A new batch of sharp Martian close-ups from NASA's HiRISE camera were released on Sept. 1. HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) has been circling Mars on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for four years now, taking dramatic photos of the red planet with a telephoto lens to make any paparazzi jealous. The camera can focus on objects the size of a beach ball from more than 180 miles away."
This ominous, dark shape sprawling across the face of the Sun is a coronal hole -- a low density region extending above the surface where the solar magnetic field opens freely into interplanetary space.
Astronomers continue to search for reasons why galaxies do not conform to gravitational theories.
This wide-field view of the Orion Nebula (Messier 42), lying about 1350 light-years from Earth, was taken with the VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The new telescope’s huge field of view allows the whole nebula and its surroundings to be imaged in a single picture and its infrared vision also means that it can peer deep into the normally hidden dusty regions and reveal the curious antics of the very active young stars buried there. This image was created from images taken through Z, J and Ks filters in the near-infrared part of the spectrum. The exposure times were ten minutes per filter. The image covers a region of sky about one degree by 1.5 degrees.
"This x-ray image of the churning interior of the Crab Nebula, taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, reveals both a wheel-like formation and an axial jet spanning light years. Gravitational theory never envisioned such a configuration. "
Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/F.Seward et alv
