by owlice » Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:32 am
_______________________________________________________________
Please vote for the TWO best Astronomy Pictures of the Day (image and text) of December 4-10, 2011.
(Repeated APODs are not included in the poll.)
All titles are clickable and link to the original APOD page.
We ask for your help in choosing an APOW as this helps Jerry and Robert create "
year in APOD images" review lectures, create APOM and
APOY polls that can be used to create a free PDF calendar at year's end, and provides feedback on which images and APODs were relatively well received. You can select two top images for the week.
We are very interested in why you selected the APODs you voted for, and enthusiastically welcome your telling us why by responding to this thread.
Thank you!
_______________________________________________________________
<- Previous week's poll
It was one of the most memorable auroras of the season. There was
green light, red light, and sometimes a mixture of the two. There were multiple
rays, distinct
curtains, and even an
auroral corona. It took up so much of the sky. In the
background were stars
too numerous to count, in the foreground a friend
trying to image the same sight. The
scene was captured with a fisheye lens around and above
Tromsø, Norway, last month. With the Sun becoming more
active, next year might bring even more
spectacular aurora.
Image Credit & Copyright: S2P / IMCCE / OPM / JL Dauvergne et al.
Observe the graceful twirl of the Solar System's largest planet. Many interesting features of
Jupiter's enigmatic atmosphere, including dark bands and light zones, can be followed in detail. A careful inspection will reveal that central clouds rotate
slightly faster than clouds toward the poles. The famous
Great Red Spot is visible at first but soon rotates out of view, only to return near the movie's end. Other smaller storm systems ocassionally appear. As large as Jupiter is, it rotates in only 10 hours. Our small Earth, by comparison, takes 24 hours to complete a
spin cycle. The
above high-resolution time-lapse movie was
captured over the past year by the one-meter Telescope at the
Pic du Midi Observatory in the
French Pyrenees. Since
hydrogen and
helium gas are colorless, and those elements compose most of Jupiter's expansive
atmosphere, what trace elements create the observed
colors of Jupiter's clouds remains unknown.
It's the closest match to Earth that has yet been found.
Recently discovered planet Kepler 22b has therefore instantly become the best place to find life outside our Solar System. The planet's host star,
Kepler 22, is actually slightly smaller and cooler than the
Sun, and lies 600
light-years from Earth toward the constellation of the Swan (
Cygnus). The planet,
Kepler 22b, is over twice the radius of the Earth and orbits slightly closer in, but lies in the
habitable zone where liquid water could exist on the surface.
Pictured above is an artist's depiction of how
Kepler 22b might appear to an
approaching spaceship, in comparison to the inner planets of our Solar System. Whether Kepler 22b actually contains water or life is currently unknown. A
SETI project, however, will
begin monitoring Kepler 22b for signs of intelligence.
The cosmic
brush of star formation
composed this alluring mix of dust and dark nebulae. Cataloged as Sh2-239 and
LDN 1551, the region lies near the southern end of the
Taurus molecular cloud complex some 450 light-years distant. Stretching for nearly 3 light-years, the canvas abounds with signs of embedded young stellar objects driving dynamic outflows into the surrounding medium. Included near the center of the frame, a compact, tell-tale red jet of shocked hydrogen gas is near the position of infrared source IRS5, known to be a
system of protostars surrounded by dust disks. Just below it are the broader, brighter wings of HH 102, one
of the region's many Herbig-Haro objects, nebulosities associated with
newly born stars. Estimates indicate that the
star forming LDN 1551 region contains a total amount of material equivalent to about 50 times the mass of the Sun.
Tomorrow, December 10, the Full Moon will
slide through planet Earth's shadow in a
total lunar eclipse. The entire
eclipse sequence, including 51 minutes of totality, will be visible from Asia and Australia, but moonwatchers in Europe and Africa will miss out on the beginning partial phases because for them, the eclipse will start before
moonrise. In central and western North America the earlier phases of the eclipse will be in progress as the
Moon sets. In fact, while those in the east will miss out, North Americans far enough west could see a scene very much like this one, with a mostly eclipsed Moon low and near the
western horizon during morning twilght.
This morning twilight view of another lunar eclipse approaching its total phase at moonset was captured in 2008 on February 21, from the Zagros Mountains of Iran.
These colorful images are of thin slices of meteorites viewed through a
polarizing microscope. Part of the group classified as HED meteorites for their mineral content (Howardite, Eucrite, Diogenite), they likely
fell to Earth from 4 Vesta, the mainbelt asteroid currently being explored by NASA's
Dawn spacecraft. Why are they thought to be from Vesta? Because the HED meteorites have visible and infrared spectra that match the spectrum of
that small world. The hypothesis of their origin on Vesta is also consistent with data from
Dawn's ongoing observations. Excavated
by impacts, the diogenites shown here would have originated deep within the crust of Vesta.
Similar rocks are also found in the lower crust of planet Earth. A sample scale is indicated by the white bars, each 2 millimeters long.
<- Previous week's poll
[size=200][color=#FF0000]_______________________________________________________________[/color][/size]
Please vote for the TWO best Astronomy Pictures of the Day (image and text) of December 4-10, 2011.
(Repeated APODs are not included in the poll.)
All titles are clickable and link to the original APOD page.
We ask for your help in choosing an APOW as this helps Jerry and Robert create "[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAQXYYbBa1s]year in APOD images[/url]" review lectures, create APOM and [url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=22695&p=141942#p141942]APOY polls[/url] that can be used to create a free PDF calendar at year's end, and provides feedback on which images and APODs were relatively well received. You can select two top images for the week.
We are very interested in why you selected the APODs you voted for, and enthusiastically welcome your telling us why by responding to this thread.
Thank you!
[size=200][color=#FF0000]_______________________________________________________________[/color][/size]
[size=110][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=26070][color=#4040FF][b]<- Previous week's poll[/b][/color][/url][/size]
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[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111205.html][size=150][b]A Memorable Aurora Over Norway (2011 Dec 05)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][img6="Image Credit & Copyright: Ole Christian Salomonsen"]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1112/aurora2_salomonsen_900h.jpg[/img6][hr][/hr][/float]It was one of the most memorable auroras of the season. There was [url=http://odin.gi.alaska.edu/FAQ/#color]green light[/url], red light, and sometimes a mixture of the two. There were multiple [url=http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF4/451.html]rays[/url], distinct [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050807.html]curtains[/url], and even an [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090201.html]auroral corona[/url]. It took up so much of the sky. In the [url=http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/auroraslook.html]background[/url] were stars [url=http://mmrr.blogspot.com/2007/08/count-cats-game.html]too numerous to count[/url], in the foreground a friend [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110115.html]trying to image[/url] the same sight. The [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/salomonsen/6424624257/]scene was captured[/url] with a fisheye lens around and above [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tromso]Tromsø, Norway[/url], last month. With the Sun becoming more [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110307.html]active[/url], next year might bring even more [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110328.html]spectacular aurora[/url].
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[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111206.html][size=150][b]Jupiter Rotation Movie from Pic du Midi (2011 Dec 06)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][vimeo6]http://vimeo.com/31747706[/vimeo6]
[size=85]Image Credit & Copyright: S2P / IMCCE / OPM / JL Dauvergne et al.[/size][/float] Observe the graceful twirl of the Solar System's largest planet. Many interesting features of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Jupiter]Jupiter's enigmatic atmosphere[/url], including dark bands and light zones, can be followed in detail. A careful inspection will reveal that central clouds rotate [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap001123.html]slightly faster[/url] than clouds toward the poles. The famous [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110502.html]Great Red Spot[/url] is visible at first but soon rotates out of view, only to return near the movie's end. Other smaller storm systems ocassionally appear. As large as Jupiter is, it rotates in only 10 hours. Our small Earth, by comparison, takes 24 hours to complete a [url=http://www.dailyhaha.com/_pics/cat_washer.jpg]spin cycle[/url]. The [url=http://vimeo.com/31747706]above high-resolution time-lapse movie[/url] was [url=http://thetys.dyndns.org/neb/jwplayer/Map5Jup0jwE.html]captured[/url] over the past year by the one-meter Telescope at the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Picdumidi.jpg]Pic du Midi Observator[/url][url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jzmOdWDpqE]y[/url] in the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees]French Pyrenees[/url]. Since [url=http://periodic.lanl.gov/1.shtml]hydrogen[/url] and [url=http://periodic.lanl.gov/2.shtml]helium[/url] gas are colorless, and those elements compose most of Jupiter's expansive [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111023.html]atmosphere[/url], what trace elements create the observed [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960803.html]colors of Jupiter's clouds[/url] remains unknown.
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[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111207.html][size=150][b]Kepler 22b: An Almost Earth Orbiting an Almost Sun (2011 Dec 07)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][img6="Illustration Credit: NASA / Ames / JPL-Caltech"]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1112/kepler22b_nasa_900.jpg[/img6][hr][/hr][/float] It's the closest match to Earth that has yet been found. [url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepscicon-briefing.html]Recently discovered[/url] planet Kepler 22b has therefore instantly become the best place to find life outside our Solar System. The planet's host star, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler_22]Kepler 22[/url], is actually slightly smaller and cooler than the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110207.html]Sun[/url], and lies 600 [url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html]light-years[/url] from Earth toward the constellation of the Swan ([url=http://www.ehow.com/how_4454684_find-swan-constellation.html]Cygnus[/url]). The planet, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-22b]Kepler 22b[/url], is over twice the radius of the Earth and orbits slightly closer in, but lies in the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitable_zone]habitable zone[/url] where liquid water could exist on the surface. [url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/images/kepler-22b-diagram.html]Pictured above[/url] is an artist's depiction of how [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en5OObU0ryU]Kepler 22b[/url] might appear to an [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100216.html]approaching spaceship[/url], in comparison to the inner planets of our Solar System. Whether Kepler 22b actually contains water or life is currently unknown. A [url=http://www.seti.org/]SETI[/url] project, however, will [url=http://www.seti.org/node/905]begin monitoring[/url] Kepler 22b for signs of intelligence.
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[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111208.html][size=150][b]Sh2-239: Celestial Impasto (2011 Dec 08)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][img6="Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, University of Arizona"]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1112/sh2_239block900c.jpg[/img6][hr][/hr][/float]The cosmic [url=http://www.moma.org/collection/theme.php?theme_id=10097]brush[/url] of star formation [url=http://skycenter.arizona.edu/gallery/Nebulae/sh2_239]composed this alluring mix[/url] of dust and dark nebulae. Cataloged as Sh2-239 and [url=http://www.naoj.org/Topics/2009/08/03/index.html]LDN 1551, the region[/url] lies near the southern end of the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111117.html]Taurus molecular cloud[/url] complex some 450 light-years distant. Stretching for nearly 3 light-years, the canvas abounds with signs of embedded young stellar objects driving dynamic outflows into the surrounding medium. Included near the center of the frame, a compact, tell-tale red jet of shocked hydrogen gas is near the position of infrared source IRS5, known to be a [url=http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2006/multidisk/]system of protostars surrounded[/url] by dust disks. Just below it are the broader, brighter wings of HH 102, one [url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009ApJ...694..582H]of the region's[/url] many Herbig-Haro objects, nebulosities associated with [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111027.html]newly born stars[/url]. Estimates indicate that the [url=http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0512351]star forming LDN 1551 region[/url] contains a total amount of material equivalent to about 50 times the mass of the Sun.
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[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111209.html][size=150][b]Eclipsed Moon in the Morning (2011 Dec 09)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][img6="Image Credit & Copyright: Babak Tafreshi (TWAN)"]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1112/MorningEclipseTafreshi950c.jpg[/img6][hr][/hr][/float][url=http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2011.html#LE2011Dec10T]Tomorrow, December 10[/url], the Full Moon will [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080220.html]slide through[/url] planet Earth's shadow in a [url=http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/LEprimer.html]total lunar eclipse[/url]. The entire [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110625.html]eclipse sequence[/url], including 51 minutes of totality, will be visible from Asia and Australia, but moonwatchers in Europe and Africa will miss out on the beginning partial phases because for them, the eclipse will start before [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081122.html]moonrise[/url]. In central and western North America the earlier phases of the eclipse will be in progress as the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110420.html]Moon sets[/url]. In fact, while those in the east will miss out, North Americans far enough west could see a scene very much like this one, with a mostly eclipsed Moon low and near the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050127.html]western[/url] horizon during morning twilght. [url=http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3001284]This morning twilight view[/url] of another lunar eclipse approaching its total phase at moonset was captured in 2008 on February 21, from the Zagros Mountains of Iran.
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[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111210.html][size=150][b]Vesta Rocks (2011 Dec 10)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][img6="Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Hap McSween (Univ. Tennessee), A. Beck and T. McCoy (Smithsonian Inst.)"]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1112/PIA15138vestarocks.jpg[/img6][hr][/hr][/float][url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA15138]These colorful images[/url] are of thin slices of meteorites viewed through a [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050226.html]polarizing[/url] microscope. Part of the group classified as HED meteorites for their mineral content (Howardite, Eucrite, Diogenite), they likely [url=http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Nov07/HEDs-Vesta.html]fell to Earth from 4 Vesta[/url], the mainbelt asteroid currently being explored by NASA's [url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/main/index.html]Dawn spacecraft[/url]. Why are they thought to be from Vesta? Because the HED meteorites have visible and infrared spectra that match the spectrum of [url=http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/June09/Vesta.granite-like.html]that small world[/url]. The hypothesis of their origin on Vesta is also consistent with data from [url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/news/dawn20111205.html]Dawn's ongoing[/url] observations. Excavated [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110919.html]by impacts[/url], the diogenites shown here would have originated deep within the crust of Vesta. [url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002aste.conf..573K]Similar rocks[/url] are also found in the lower crust of planet Earth. A sample scale is indicated by the white bars, each 2 millimeters long.
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[size=110][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=26070][color=#4040FF][b]<- Previous week's poll[/b][/color][/url][/size]