I love them all! I meant to post something for each image stating why I like it and why I thought it would make a good APOD, but didn't get around to it. So here's a very quick run-down....
Globular Cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) Rising
I think this is an amazing little movie! A question that is sometimes posed on the board is "What would our sky look like if we had [something very cool] much closer to us?" The answer seems to be a practical "pretty much the same as what we see now" for most things, including a globular cluster, but just imagine if it
weren't "pretty much the same" and we could really see that stupendous globular cluster rising?!! Well, we can -- in this amazing little movie!!
Have I mentioned that this is an amazing little movie? I found it thrilling!! (Ask geckzilla; she had to endure a lot of exuberance -- perfectly rational exuberance, I might add! -- from me when I got this image and wanted to post it.) Were this image an APOD, it would provide an answer for a question that I think goes through a lot of people's minds: what would our sky look like if we had [something very cool] much closer to us? The answer drives home just how BIG space is -- how much
space there is out there in space.
Stormy Seas of the Solar Chromosphere
A stormy sea, but a surface that looks absolutely pettable! I love the color and texture in this image. I like the contrast between how soft the sun looks here and how hot the sun is -- it's not pettable at all, despite that wonderfully soft-looking surface.
It's easy to think of the sun as smooth; this image shows very clearly that it isn't. There would be a number of avenues for discussion were this an APOD: the prominence, why the surface appears textured, the structure of the sun, and where one can buy fabric that resembles the surface. I'm kidding about this last one, but if anyone happens to know, I'd be interested! <g>
The Pleiades (M45)
Ah, the Pleiades! A familiar sight even for amateur stargazers, or those several steps below (which is where I am). We get to see the stars (or some do, anyway; my eyes cannot resolve them anymore, a fact which gives me almost physical pain when I think of it), but not the lovely nebula around the sisters. I like this image a lot -- it's very pretty and shows off the sisters' gowns, AND... I can see the stars!
Pits along Fractures in Crater Floor Material
Mars! What a planet! How fortunate we are to be able to SEE it, really see it, up close and almost personal! I think this image is beautiful; it looks almost organic. The shape is reminescent of leaves; the texture makes me think of coral or something similar.
What made this part of Mars like this? What IS this part of Mars, anyway? What of the cracks? I like the colors, too; that is definitely part of the appeal of this image for me. (Yes, I know: Mars isn't really this color. I can deal with that.
)
Virgo Supercluster
What can I say? I simply like the picture! It offers a lot of things at which to gawk and a lot of things to discuss, and the face -- so neutral in its expression -- captures for me the indifference of nature.
Rings, Rhea and Janus
My favorite ringed planet, and though I cannot go there (~~~ sigh ~~~), it is wonderful that Cassini can, and can show us the richness of this planet's neighborhood. Moons! Moonlets! Rings! Teeny moons hidden in rings! And on top of all that, beautiful composition, as in this image.
It offers a lot to discuss, too: Moons! Moonlets! Rings! And the wonderful project and instrument that brings us these images!!
NGC 5746
I selected this image for a number of reasons; one compelling reason is that this galaxy has not yet appeared by itself as an APOD (at least so far as I could determine). The image is nicely balanced and has an overall simplicity that appeals to me. And perhaps Jerry or Robert would learn something new in writing about it; not that they need to learn anything new, but I get the impression that one of the reasons they continue on with APOD is because it's fun to learn even more than they already know about what's out there. And if
they learn something in writing an APOD's text, it'll be all news to me, for certain!
NGC 1275
This would make a cool APOD because.... ummmm....
it's pretty and purple.
Yeah. I like the colors. I'm sure I'd learn something from whatever the APOD guys wrote about it, but ... I picked it simply because it's pretty! (And purple, which is not a very common color for astronomy pictures, this shade, anyway, and ... well, I like it!)
Quiet Lagoon
I love this image. The rock on the left is called "Pulpit Rock." To me it looks as though the rock face is singing to what I think are the Magellanic clouds. Earth singing to faraway galaxies, under the band of its home galaxy, on a peaceful night and accompanied by the sound of moving water -- what music this must be, and how I wish I could hear it!
How much beauty there is right here at home; how much more is out there! And this image so nicely combines the two, and though the soundtrack isn't available for our listening pleasure... well, I'd like to think it exists all the same.
NGC 2170: Stellar Nursery in Monoceros
Starbirth! But that's not all that's going on in this image. What else is there? Text would reveal all!
("quick run-down...." Yeah, right!)
I don't know how Robert and Jerry select images; I think I'd combust trying to decide between so many spectacular images and all there is to say about them! So if asked which ONE of these images should be an APOD, I .... I ... I'd have to say all!
As for why it's purple, well, the color has to be a mixture of red emission nebulosity and blue starlight, right?
