Starship Asterisk*

NGC 3972 jac berne (flickr) STScI Mikulski Archive | Release Date 2024-04-19 18:23 https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53669315446_4cfec79a38_b.jpg NGC 3972 is a spiral galaxy located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 14, 1789.This galaxy is...

All I can say is that purple light triggers a response from both the blue-sensitive and the red-sensitive rods in our retinas. Consider this color, ███ . The (rgb) values of this particular color is, r = 123 , g = 0, and b = 222 . So purple, at least as far as our eyes are concerned, is indeed a mi...

I had no idea that NGC 3324 referred to the Keyhole Nebula. Guess I was wrong about it referring to the Gabriela Mistral Nebula. Wikipedia wrote: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Carina_Nebula_by_Harel_Boren_%28151851961%2C_modified%29.jpg/435px-Carina_Nebula_by_Harel_Boren...

Something which perplexes me is that when I type in my brower's search engine that websites come up with different data for NGC1232 distance and size. Most webpages say 60 million light years away, 1 site said 61 million, and only APOD said 47 million light years. There was repetition of the size o...

As usual, I'm failing to place this apparent close-up in the larger image shown here: https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/heic0707a.jpg I'd guess it's the black V slightly to the left and downward from the center, but the angle of that V doesn't seem to match? APOD 19 April 2024 detail...

I also like microquasars with pigtails :evil: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53664019544_7e538f5509_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53664019544_e0caf95736_o.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53663661611_5c13ca7891_o.jpg https://www3.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/staff/abrunthaler/m82/Radio...

I'm somewhat critical of the colors of this APOD. APOD 19 April 2024 annotated.png The Great Carina Nebula. Image Credit & Copyright: Demison Lopes Carina Nebula Harel Boren annotated.png The Great Carina Nebula. Credit: Harel Boren Harel Boren's image is an RGB one, but I don't know what filter...

https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/01/WISE-M81-M82.jpg Clearly M82 is an unusual case, because if it wasn't, we'd see many more galaxies like it. Ann Looks like the Milky Way, Andromeda and the Triangulum but M82 the Cigar is passing through a baby boom phase right now and NGC 307...

Yes, I like it! :D https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/screen/eso9845d.jpg https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2404/NGC1232_Eye_of_God_Galaxy_fullsize_2024-03-28_1024.jpg What I particularly like about Neil Corke's portrait of NGC 1232 is that he shows us the pink emission nebulas in the arms. T...

I wonder what makes the comet get too close to the Sun ? I'd imagine gravity pull .. but then, how long it must have taken that comet to reach that stage (i mean how many times it must have made rounds around Sun and how many years it must have been doing it before finally getting too close and get...

[...] Interesting… not even the enlarged Hubble image is sharp or detailed enough for me to notice any individual clusters, especially around the part that Webb zoomed in on. But maybe that’s just me. Are you sure you aren’t comparing Hubble’s entire image to the close up from Webb? Yes. That is re...

That's all well and good, but why is this particular red dust "unexpected"? if it because most red dust is NOT associated with hot plasma? Dust is produced during "violence processes" in space. Star formation creates dust. High-mass stars create dust even during their main seque...

"shows, unexpectedly, that this red-glowing dust is associated with hot plasma." Is it unexpected because there is plasma inside stars, but this is plasma dust in between stars, as if chunks of plasma were blown out of stars? Plasma is just highly ionized gas. That is, a mix of neutral at...

This thread from February 23, 2024 , contained a lot of discussion about the Vela supernova remnant. I'll refer you to that thread instead of reiterating things that were said there. Still, before I go, let's take a look at today's APOD and compare it with the picture of the Pencil Nebula that is l...

Peter, I think you are right that the anti-twilight sky phenomenon, the Belt of Venus, can make the sky take on hints of a purple color. Ann Ann, I was following up on hints of a purple color and the anti-twilight sky phenomenon, the Belt of Venus, and I came across "afterglow," at the mo...

You may also know the great Deep Sky Collective: Carl Björk - @Palmito, Thomas Bähnck - newhorizonobs (instagram), Oliver Carter - @Oliver Carter, Sascha Frei - @Usernamealreadytaken, Jake Gentillon - @jake_g, Richard Hall - @Richard, Tino Heuberger - @RononDex, Jason Jacks - @jmdl101, Travis Lectu...

There is, in the upper right part of the Webb image, something that looks like a globular cluster and which is completely invisible in the Hubble image. Impressive. Alex Interesting… not even the enlarged Hubble image is sharp or detailed enough for me to notice any individual clusters, especially ...

Okay! I've given this some more thought. It is clear that the Flying Fox is not quite comparable to Hanny's Voorwerp: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53649398282_fcceba3d87_b.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Hannys_voorwerp.jpg/330px-Hannys_voorwerp.jpg Let's omside...

Okay! I've given this some more thought. It is clear that the Flying Fox is not quite comparable to Hanny's Voorwerp: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53649398282_fcceba3d87_b.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Hannys_voorwerp.jpg/330px-Hannys_voorwerp.jpg Let's conside...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53650491518_730c75c2c7_b.jpg Thanks, Jac, you know I love your images! :D 😀 🥳 A flying fox of plasma without a galaxy inside, eh? That reminds me of Hanny's Voorwerp. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Hannys_voorwerp.jpg/330px-Hannys_voorw...

This is kind of fun, an animated version of what we see in today's APOD. Frames are 30 seconds apart. (Might have to click on it to see the animation... depends on your browser.) _ prom_stack.gif Indeed, that's kind of fun, Chris. I must admit that the hydrogen alpha-bright lower right limb turns i...

Consider this image, which is exposed for the prominences, not the outer corona. _ https://asterisk.apod.com/download/file.php?id=49462&t=1 https://asterisk.apod.com/download/file.php?id=49463&t=1 Ann Which illustrates what I discussed elsewhere. "Color" is not just hue, but hue a...

When I zoom in the APOD I do see the "pink" as intense red indeed; could the impression (shared by many it seems) of having seen pink instead simply come from a residual fraction of white light blending in with the deep red? Consider this image, which is exposed for the prominences, not t...

I saw this eclipse and the bright pink prominences were stunning, and it got me reading about H alpha emission. And after some reading, I feel betrayed by every "H alpha" filtered photo of the sun I have seen. Because the prominences appeared obviously PINK to human eyes, doesn't that mea...

Very true... but possibly excepting flowers! The color of the petals of pink/red/blue/purple flowers is created by a class of molecules called anthocyanins, and the actual color can vary across that range, determined primarily by pH. So really, there is no "natural" or "real" co...