Search found 12 matches

by captainwiggins48
Tue Feb 02, 2016 4:40 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: Comet 67P from Spacecraft Rosetta (2016 Feb 02)
Replies: 18
Views: 2978

Re: APOD: Comet 67P from Spacecraft Rosetta (2016 Feb 02)

Is it possible that 67/P is not a comet at all. The amount of dust and gas escaping doesn't seem too significant, especially during perihelion, nor does there appear to be much ice on it.
by captainwiggins48
Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:51 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: Doomed Star Eta Carinae (2015 Dec 27)
Replies: 36
Views: 8515

Re: APOD: Doomed Star Eta Carinae (2015 Dec 27)

Heh, I dunno why people get so caught up on using local time to describe when astronomical events occur. I mean, I get why, but at the same time, it's a given that distant objects have a noticeable light travel time. Mentioning it over and over is just redundant. Is it a 'given' that a photon can s...
by captainwiggins48
Mon Dec 14, 2015 3:17 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: Pluto: From Mountains to Plains (2015 Dec 14)
Replies: 125
Views: 20216

Re: APOD: Pluto: From Mountains to Plains (2015 Dec 14)

Such a thought provoking image. Are those dunes on Sputnik Planum? Dunes imply wind. Here's my wild card: the last nearby super nova scoured half of Pluto, melting the nitrogen mountains and created a vast plain. Chuesz!
by captainwiggins48
Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:05 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: Pluto's Snakeskin Terrain (2015 Sep 25)
Replies: 31
Views: 5360

Re: APOD: Pluto's Snakeskin Terrain (2015 Sep 25)

The seemingly sculpted landscape of Pluto may have been caused by past supernova events of nearby stars, and/or events from our own sun, all nicely preserved for us to ponder.
by captainwiggins48
Sat Aug 15, 2015 5:43 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: Perihelion Approaches (2015 Aug 15)
Replies: 23
Views: 4204

Re: APOD: Perihelion Approaches (2015 Aug 15)

The photo is overexposed so details are lost. Can they even reduce the aperture of Rosetta's camera lens? Remembering the extreme brilliance of Comet West (1975-76) whose nucleus was clearly visible in broad daylight, this should have been anticipated. Something other than mere reflected sunlight mu...
by captainwiggins48
Thu Jul 09, 2015 5:38 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: 5 Million Miles from Pluto (2015 Jul 09)
Replies: 41
Views: 3989

Re: APOD: 5 Million Miles from Pluto (2015 Jul 09)

Sort of like Titan but I'm seeing something like Mars! Wonderful excitement reminiscent of early exploratory spacecraft. I'm thinking those who took away Pluto's planet label are feeling a bit foolish right now.
by captainwiggins48
Wed Jun 03, 2015 2:32 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: Pulsating Aurora over Iceland (2015 Jun 01)
Replies: 29
Views: 10556

Re: APOD: Pulsating Aurora over Iceland (2015 Jun 01)

When I saw pulsating aurora in Alaska the who sky was involved. I had the impression that it was the result of solar radiation interacting with the atmosphere, which we know causes aurora. However, in this case you could see the solar wind enter the atmosphere and quickly speed across the sky from h...
by captainwiggins48
Thu May 28, 2015 4:54 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945 (2015 May 28)
Replies: 22
Views: 3051

Re: APOD: Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945 (2015 May 28)

We are viewing a galaxy that is 13 million light years away, in other words the image is 13 million years old. My question, what exists of the galaxy today? Shouldn't our remarks on it's appearance be in past tense, and our observations reflect the time differential? For instance, just how accurate ...
by captainwiggins48
Mon Feb 16, 2015 5:21 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: M106: A Spiral Galaxy with a Strange... (2015 Feb 16)
Replies: 18
Views: 54125

Re: APOD: M106: A Spiral Galaxy with a Strange... (2015 Feb

Why can't we zoom in closer and see more detail around the 'black hole'?
by captainwiggins48
Tue Jan 20, 2015 4:45 pm
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: Approaching Asteroid Ceres (2015 Jan 20)
Replies: 29
Views: 38633

Re: APOD: Approaching Asteroid Ceres (2015 Jan 20)

Anticipation! How does this sound: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres...!