Starship Asterisk*

Intriguing video. However, I was surprised and put off by the statement at the end saying that "heights of the features have been exaggerated 10 times." For what purpose was that necessary? Without the exaggeration you would not be able to make out the different elevations. It would appea...

This image is stunning combination of scientific insight and beauty. A real work of art.

Thank you to everyone involved in bringing this image to us.

CURRAHEE CHRIS wrote:Couple questions from a novice:

1- why is it called a crab nebula? I dont really see the connection except for perhaps the orange coloring?

I imagine that it could appear more crab like using the same equipment as used by those who named the object.

A heads up to anyone tempted to click the "across the Solar System" link in the APOD description. That page caused my 7-year old iMac to bomb out, probably due to insufficient graphics resources. I had to go online in a different browser, track down arcane info on how to restart FF withou...

Maybe each APOD should have a grammar discussion thread and a science discussion thread.

There was a very nice Nova tv episode about sprites and a successful attempt to simultaneously record one from two widely spaced aircraft. From the data they captured they where able to produce a 3D rendering. As Bruce said, the NOVA did a good job showing off the science being done on this topic. ...

I would say that this discussion is a good reason for APOD to occasionally veer from strictly astronomy related mages. Very enlightening discussion.

cxd207 wrote:All these worlds are yours, except Europa

LIKE

I dub thee the "Fist Bump Nebula" ... HA!

Beyond wrote:Burr, just too chilly for me! Or... b-u-r-p! Too much chile for me!

I have been trying to figure out why the video below shows a butterfly shaped structure centered on the Milky Way at timestamp 1:25. My conclusion is the galaxies in the 'empty' region between the wings of the butterfly are obscured by our home galaxy. Correct? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rENyyRw...

Chris Peterson wrote:... decades of intensity.

Hey Chris,

Can you elaborate on what you mean by this phrase?

Beyond wrote:... neu fer sure ...

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2014/08 ... 407156386/

Microwave thrusters work but we do not know why.

Thank you Jimmy Walker , what a beautiful image.

tomatoherd wrote:This view really shows that that faint band across our sky really IS a galaxy, central bulge and all. The Milky Way. Home. Beautiful.

What difference! a change in perspective can make.

Having that 3D model on the coffee table would be a great conversation starter. "What do YOU think it is?" Ha!

The angle of that sunrise is disturbing to my north centric point of view.

I was thinking that the farthest north the sun sets is 23.5 degrees. How can this align with a street that has a bearing of 29 degrees north? The farthest north the sun sets at the equator is 23.5 degrees. On the Arctic Circle the sun can "set" at 90 degrees. Thanks, I'm such a plane guy ...

I was thinking that the farthest north the sun sets is 23.5 degrees. How can this align with a street that has a bearing of 29 degrees north?

I found a sequence of some of the stills. Even this depiction produces the illusion that material is moving but if you look closely you can see that it is not.

Happy Birthday APOD and thank you to all who make it happen.

Yikes, another threat to add to the list... Global Toasting!

Great image Geck. The smallest light source in the nebula, toward the left in the upper bottom third of the image, appears to have a bright jet and dark accretion disk surrounding it. Is this an optical illusion?

I saw the most amazing meteor I have ever witnesses during the Camelopardalids. It was just before 2am here when a brilliant streak lit the sky. It seemed that shadows from the light would have been perceptible had there been time to look. I was able to repeat the phrase "WoW..." about 4 t...