Starship Asterisk*

Alright, I'll ask: why aren't the two "diamonds" on the same line through the center of the eclipse? The centers of the Sun and Moon are coincident at totality, so why aren't the two diamond colinear with the center? The centers of the two bodies are only coincident at mid-totality if you...

Alright, I'll ask: why aren't the two "diamonds" on the same line through the center of the eclipse? The centers of the Sun and Moon are coincident at totality, so why aren't the two diamond colinear with the center?

I had no idea that NGC 3324 referred to the Keyhole Nebula. Guess I was wrong about it referring to the Gabriela Mistral Nebula. You’re correct and the APOD text is wrong. NGC 3324 is an open cluster in the southern constellation Carina, located northwest of the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372)[3][4] at a ...

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...

As usual, I'm failing to place this apparent close-up in the larger image shown here:


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?

In a two-dimensional image, the corona extends perpendicularly but what of the part that is directed toward or away from us? The actual corona extends in all directions during a “total eclipse” image of the moon. This may entail a SOHO-like orbiter above the sun’s poles following the Cluster missio...

Yeah, because a true two-body system consists of point masses. In the real world, the two bodies aren't points or perfect, homogeneous spheres. So there are other forces involved (like tidal ones), and as you note, masses can change due to lost material. In practice, though, I don't think the chang...

To add to Ann's explanation of gravitational perturbations: it does not need to take a long time. A comet may go around for thousands of years and never get close to the Sun, and then pass too near Jupiter and be deflected so it hits it (not common, but very much possible). Orbital systems with jus...

In a two-dimensional image, the corona extends perpendicularly but what of the part that is directed toward or away from us? The actual corona extends in all directions during a “total eclipse” image of the moon. This may entail a SOHO-like orbiter above the sun’s poles following the Cluster missio...

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...

Superb image, particularly the corona which extends further than in many other images. That's right. But you should always be aware of the spatial conditions. It looks like the corona extends almost to Mercury. In reality, Mercury's orbit is still quite far away... https://live.staticflickr.com/655...

Badbubble wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 5:34 pm

Sa Ji Tario wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 2:50 pm Where is the Pons-Brooks comet?

It is labled 12P in the image.

Yes. But I have yet to be able to find out why it's alternate designation is "12P". Is it the 12th periodic comet known perhaps?

Dust is produced during "violence processes" in space. Star formation creates dust. High-mass stars create dust even during their main sequence life time, if there is gas in the vicinity. High-mass stars create a lot of dust during their gianthood period. Supernovas create a large amount ...

Plasma is just highly ionized gas. That is, a mix of neutral atoms, ions, and electrons. It can't exist in "chunks". Space is full of plasma regions (like all those glowing emission nebulas we see here). That's all well and good, but why is this particular red dust "unexpected"?...

"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...

The Hubble image shows M82 in its entirety (well, mostly), whereas the JWST image only shows the center of M82. All the bright white dots in the JWST image are star clusters, and the fainter dots are most likely individual stars. (Well, admittedly, there is a lonely-looking elongated white thing be...

The Hubble image shows M82 in its entirety (well, mostly), whereas the JWST image only shows the center of M82. All the bright white dots in the JWST image are star clusters, and the fainter dots are most likely individual stars. (Well, admittedly, there is a lonely-looking elongated white thing be...

I think it's akin to seeing photographs of the Grand Canyon and being there. The pictures are nice, the anecdotal accounts are impressive, but man oh man you don't get the immensity until you've been there. But the Grand Canyon is HUGE! Compared to a 0.5* wide Sun-Moon combo in the sky, I still can...

I had seen several partials but never a total eclipse. I brought cameras along but after about 20 seconds I decided that I wasn't going to live this experience through the lens. There are countless other photographers more able than I to document this. I needed to see this in person and more import...

I had seen several partials but never a total eclipse. I brought cameras along but after about 20 seconds I decided that I wasn't going to live this experience through the lens. There are countless other photographers more able than I to document this. I needed to see this in person and more import...

How does a total solar eclipse end? " This is the way a total eclipse ends Not with a whimper, but a FLASH-bang !" —— (with apologies to T. S. Eliot) From The Hollow Men" ( T. S. Eliot - 1925 ) This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world en...

One of the links mentions that the length of totality varies - significantly - at different locations. Why is this? Complex orbital motions or something simpler? In April, totality will last longer than it did in 2017. Seven years ago, the longest period of totality was experienced near Carbondale,...

PNG is good for graphics and text images, because it is usually written in a lossless format (but it doesn't have to be... lossy PNG creates much smaller files, more similar to JPEG). So for screen captures, PNG is usually a better format unless you actively require a small file and can accommodate...

Hello! Today's APOD image is considerably larger in file size than it needs to be, as it's been saved using the PNG format. It should likely be using JPEG instead. I am referring to the image at this path: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2404/pinholepalm1024.png I have confirmed I can download the...

One of the links mentions that the length of totality varies - significantly - at different locations. Why is this? Complex orbital motions or something simpler? In April, totality will last longer than it did in 2017. Seven years ago, the longest period of totality was experienced near Carbondale, ...