Space and astronomy news
‘Nucleo-‘ means ‘to do with nuclei’; ‘synthesis’ means ‘to make’, so nucleosynthesis is the creation of (new) atomic nuclei. In astronomy – and astrophysics and cosmology – there are two main kinds of nucleosynthesis, Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), and stellar nucleosynthesis. In the amazingly successful set of theories which are popularly called the Big Bang …
The Big Bang timeline is basically just a list of relative times at which the major events in the history of the universe occurred, per the collection of theories, models, and hypotheses which together form what is called the Big Bang theory. The start – when time began, when t = 0 – is not …
Caption:The surface of Betelgeuse in near infrared at 1.64 micron in wavelength, obtained with the IOTA interferometer (Arizona). The image has been re-constructed with two different algorithms, which yield the same details, of 9 milliarcseconds (mas). The star diameter is about 45 milliarcseconds. Credit: Copyright 2010 Haubois / Perrin (LESIA, Observatoire de Paris) An international …
Continue reading “Unprecedented Images Show Betelgeuse Has Sunspots”
Object Name: Messier 110 Alternative Designations: M110, NGC 205 Object Type: E6p Elliptical Galaxy Constellation: Andromeda Right Ascension: 00 : 40.4 (h:m) Declination: +41 : 41 (deg:m) Distance: 2900 (kly) Visual Brightness: 8.5 (mag) Apparent Dimension: 17×10 (arc min) Locating Messier 110: M110 is easily located with smaller telescopes as the northeastern companion galaxy of …
Object Name: Messier 101 Alternative Designations: M101, NGC 5457, Pinwheel Galaxy Object Type: Type Sc Spiral Galaxy Constellation: Ursa Major Right Ascension: 14 : 03.2 (h:m) Declination: +54 : 21 (deg:m)) Distance: 27000 (kly) Visual Brightness: 7.9 (mag) Apparent Dimension: 22.0 (arc min) Locating Messier 101: M101 is easily located by finding the first star …
Object Name: Messier 97 Alternative Designations: M97, NGC 3587, Owl Nebula Object Type: Type 3a Planetary Nebula Constellation: Ursa Major Right Ascension: 11 : 14.8 (h:m) Declination: +55 : 01 (deg:m) Distance: 2.6 (kly) Visual Brightness: 9.9 (mag) Apparent Dimension: 3.4×3.3 (arc min) Locating Messier 97: Locating Messier 97 is fairly easy. You’ll find it …
Have you enjoyed our lunar studies together this year? We hope you’ve taken the time to follow the phases and to appreciate what you see. Although it would be wonderful to end our this year’s time together viewing the distant cosmos, something very cool is about to happen… In 1982, a second full Moon of …
This image shows the first flash of sunlight reflected off a lake on Saturn’s moon Titan. Credit: NASA/JPL Dear friend, Ah, yes. Another gorgeous day here in the northern lake district. It warmed up to about 94 K (-179 °C, or -290 °F) and we sat and enjoyed the sunshine gleaming off the liquid lakes …
Continue reading “Cassini Captures Sunshine Gleaming off Lake on Titan”
There are times when even the smallest decision can change everything about you and alter the course of others for life. You might not know it when it happens – because it may seem as insignificant as what to order for dinner, what Christmas present to choose, or what radio station you listened to that …
Looking deep inside the Orion Nebula, the Hubble Space Telescope has captured a stunning collection of protoplanetary disks – or proplyds – which are embryonic solar systems in the making. Using Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), researchers have discovered 42 protoplanetary blobs, which are being illuminated by a bright star cluster. These disks, which …
Continue reading “Hubble Captures Birth, Annihilation of Young Solar Systems in Orion Nebula”