Starship Asterisk*

Confused wrote:The links on the page are messed up. The "<" for going to the previous day goes to the same page instead. I have never had a problem with that link (for going to the previous day) until today and I have used it many times. When I click on the "Discuss" link it says that the page for September 3 does not exist.

nstahl wrote:I have a problem with the title "Herschel Views the Milky Way" which lead me to expect I was seeing a large chunk of the MW in IR. But that's not the case at all. Otherwise it's a nice picture.

bystander wrote:

nstahl wrote:I have a problem with the title "Herschel Views the Milky Way" which lead me to expect I was seeing a large chunk of the MW in IR. But that's not the case at all. Otherwise it's a nice picture.

It is an image of the center of the Milky Way in five bands of Infrared as explained in the link this spectacular skyscape.

this spectacular skycap wrote:One outcome is spectacular views in five different far infrared colours of an area near the galactic plane about 60 degrees away from the direction towards the centre of the Galaxy

The area imaged is about 2x2 degrees on the sky

biddie67 wrote:I'm surprised that Herschel didn't also discover ultraviolet light. But maybe he tried and his thermometer approach wasn't sensitive enough to isolate ultraviolet as he did infrared light ??

I did a search on "discovery of ultraviolet" and came up with an article on Johann Wilhelm Ritter who did discover ultraviolet light in 1801. He knew about Herschel's infrared discovery the previous year and decided to try a search at the other end of the visual color spectrum.

Neat stuff !!!!

islader2 wrote: dickhenry==I regret that no one on this "blog" picked up on your request about Caroline. She is honored in the sky. My interest in Caroline comes about because was born in Hanover, where I had the opportunity to meet distant members of never-wed Caroline. There is a wiki entry on her. Thanx.

Caroline possessed incredible dexterity [3] in polishing mirrors and mounting telescopes involving astonishing discipline and dexterity which Wilhelm did not have. Therefore he depended on her support and presence. With time, Caroline learned to copy astronomical catalogues and other publications that Wilhelm had borrowed. She also learned to record, reduce, and organize her brother’s astronomical observations. She recognized that this work demanded speed and accuracy rather than understanding. However, at William’s insistence, Caroline began to make observations on her own in 1782.[4] This insistence led to many accomplishments. Caroline no longer had to depend solely on her singing to gain satisfaction; rather she was able to contribute to society far more than she thought she would. Wilhelm was labeled an astronomer; however, Caroline Herschel was an astronomer in her own right. After taking her brother’s advice to understand astronomy, she discovered more than half a dozen comets in the 1780s and 1790s [5] that several are named after her in some way. Throughout her writings, she repeatedly makes it clear that she desires to earn an independent wage. When this is rewarded by the state for her assistance to her brother, she becomes the first woman—at a time when even men rarely received wages for scientific enterprises—to receive a salary for services to science.

Ann wrote:Where is the clap, clap smilie?

Ann wrote:Can I use them too? How?

[img]http://asterisk.apod.com/download/file.php?id=4383[/img]

Case wrote:

Ann wrote:Where is the clap, clap smilie?

Ann wrote:

Case wrote:

Ann wrote:Where is the clap, clap smilie?

Well, it appears that I can make the clappies appear by quoting your post, at least. Or else I can memorize the download/file.php?id=4382 and the download/file.php?id=4383 after the asterisk.apod.com/ address. I'm a scatterbrain, so I make no promises.

But thanks!

bystander wrote:
I can't take credit for it, it's geckzilla's fault.