Starship Asterisk*

When the electrons in hydrogen atoms transition between levels to create a H-alpha photon we see the result in today's APOD. When this happens in the inner shell of a more complex atoms, through a series of events, it leads to the ejection of an Auger electron . Quite curiously this process may one ...

This may be tmi but there are many good reasons to wash your hands after…
or you could end up with Luckily they also have "drugs for that"

Well – maybe spiders aren't so bad after all but don't get me started on earwigs

Alternate Title - Sun Storm: A Coronal Mass Ingestion?
Sorry couldn't let this APOD go with only one post as, yes, the sun can have serious effects on those of our planet but only "if" you believe the ads.

Another book you might enjoy, Ron, is "2312" by Kim Stanley Robinson, the author of the Martian Trilogy (Red Mars, Blue Mars, Green Mars). I greatly enjoyed that trilogy, and I'm currently re-reading 2312. Lots of interesting background future tech, with truly mind-bending extrapolations ...

I don't mind at all, Ron. I found this picture amongst a whole bunch of assorted old pictures and didn't remember seeing it in the Asterisk* anywhere. Unfortunately, for me, the videos you added don't play. The white circles just go round and round and round and round and.... nothing else happens. ...

This is either a beautiful view of a rare atmospheric condition or a comet coming right at you.

Duck!

That is interesting Beyond. I was curious about the story behind the picture so I hope you don't mind if I add on to your post. I might have thought that the first picture may have originated from orbit. Fascinating that "space" is a little arbitrary.

Nitpicker wrote:Coulda been me:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-27/p ... er/6979724

Me too but at least some critters like spiders.

Planet Earth is blue

The orbital resonances of Saturn’s moons are fascinating. The orbital dance of Epimetheus and Janus, like Prometheus and Pandora’s interaction with the F-ring, will keep our curiosities perked for years to come.

There are probably many who are curious what became of this. Any chance of a future update or a suggestion on where to look?

If our galaxy is traveling en masse through space it would have been at a specific point in space in our past. Travel faster-than-light to that place, gather your information then return faster-than-light to the place where the Milky Way will be in the future. You will be able to tell future humans...

Andy Weir may have figured out how to present the concept of faster-than-light travel in his next novel but I've always enjoyed the opportunities that type of travel might provide. Besides the ability to travel through space to other star systems it might allow for traveling back in time. If our gal...

Thanks for link sources of X-rays. It was very informative piece which helped me get a better understanding of how X-rays are measured and what they represent. I will have to listen to a many more of them.

That looks more like a creature from the Blue Lagoon.

And this one might be the worst of its kind.

... I would like to know if others think better science fiction is currently at hand (even compared to the well-known oldies but goodies) ... From my recent reading, new (to me) SF authors seem able to write convincingly about near future environments, but most of the stories are not what I'd call ...

If it all started with the Big Bang maybe some sci-fi writer could, after the climax, have it deflate with black holes ending the universe. :idea: Now that there's a theme - anyone have a spare plot you're not using? I suppose it could be adapted form Much Ado about Nothing and then, though a little...

The photo is superb. :clap: In information in Gill's resume in the Network SW Consulting website that can be brought up through her Facebook section it states of Gill (Gillian) "Gillian Fry B.Ag.Sc(hons), Dip Bus Mgt" and she is "The Principal Consultant of Network SW Consulting"...

Would all planets with liquid water on the surface appear blue or are there other contributing factors? Ocean or atmospheric chemistry, sunlight, water depth or surface conditions, atmosphere only? Only answer I could find. Color might seem like a good way to spot other habitable exo-planets.

Mimicking a line from Christmas Vacation, Clark's dad says it perfectly about today's APOD.

Particle aggregation generally begins with electromagnetic processes, and only switches to gravitational processes once the particles reach a certain mass. But gravity is what brings together the vast clouds of gas that keeps together the dust we see in images like this. Remember, as impressive as ...

JohnD wrote:"Omegan"? In what sense, apart from the obvious but meaningless similarity to the Greek letter?

John

It's quite a significant term used in cosmology and is the last letter of the Greek alphabet.

Very Omegan! How appropriate a setting and the last APOD of the year.

A dust particle forming suggests a higher order of organization which seemingly violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics . It is a common misunderstanding of the Second Law of Thermodynamics to assume that systems can't move in the direction of higher organization. This rule only applies to closed...

A dust particle forming suggests a higher order of organization which seemingly violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics . I suspect cosmologists have many theories on how dust particles form . At some point gravity, a force in an awkward state of conjecture , would also come into play. At the endp...