Mon-Jas Charan
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"Poena Vigoratus. Pullus cavo vix. Palma , est eternus"
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Post by Mon-Jas Charan on Oct 24, 2007 17:39:38 GMT -5
ERUPTING COMET: Astronomers in Japan and Europe report that Comet 17P/Holmes is undergoing a spectacular eruption. The 17th-magnitude comet has brightened by a factor of five hundred thousand or more during the past 24 hours becoming a naked eye object in the evening sky. This may signify a breakup of the comet's core or a rich vein of ice suddenly exposed to sunlight--no one knows. Look for a yellow 2.5th-magnitude fuzzball in the constellation Perseus after sunset. ("2.5th magnitude" means a little dimmer than the stars of the Big Dipper.) At present the comet looks more like a star than a comet; it does not have a discernable tail, but it might grow one as the outburst continues. Visit spaceweather.com for a sky map, photos and updates.
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Post by J'aii-Gun Jiinn on Oct 24, 2007 18:09:18 GMT -5
Dang clouds!
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Mon-Jas Charan
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Post by Mon-Jas Charan on Oct 27, 2007 6:40:23 GMT -5
Cold spot could be relic of Big Bang By Julie Steenhuysen Fri Oct 26, 10:03 AM ET A cold spot in the oldest radiation in the universe could be the first sign of a cosmic glitch that might have originated shortly after the Big Bang, British and Spanish scientists said on Thursday.
They think this spot -- detected on satellite maps of microwave radiation -- might be a cosmic defect or texture, a holdover from the universe's infancy. But they said their theory would need confirmation.
Such defects or textures, they theorize, reflect a flaw in the pattern of the universe as it formed -- think of a snag in pantyhose or a flaw in a diamond.
"If the cold spot is indeed proven to be a texture, it will completely change our view of how the universe evolved following the Big Bang," said Mike Hobson, of the Astrophysics Group at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, whose study appears in the journal Science.
Hobson, Neil Turok and colleagues at the Institute of Physics at Cantabria based this theory on an analysis of a large cold spot in the cosmic microwave background radiation, which is basically the heat glow left over from the formation of the universe.
The cold spot was discovered in 2003 by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite, and its presence has been the subject of many theories, said Al Kogut of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Kogut, who did not work on the paper, said if this texture theory is proven, it would offer a window into the universe shortly after the Big Bang some 14 billion years ago, showing places where the universe was expanding and cooling.
"If you imagine water cooling down in an ice cube tray, it will make a transition from a liquid state to solid crystal," Kogut said in a telephone interview.
If that occurs very slowly, he said, that transition goes very smoothly, producing crystal clear ice. But if it goes very fast, the crystal aligns in different directions. Where they don't agree, a crack appears, he said.
This paper "is basically saying this cold spot is a relic of high-energy physics that occurred immediately after the Big Bang," Kogut said.
"They're claiming they've found one of these things and it could be the tip of the iceberg," he said.
But Kogut, like the study's authors, said he would like more proof. "The evidence is encouraging, but far from compelling," he said.
Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. Copyright © 2007 Yahoo All rights reserved.Copyright/IP
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Mon-Jas Charan
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"Poena Vigoratus. Pullus cavo vix. Palma , est eternus"
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Post by Mon-Jas Charan on Oct 27, 2007 6:55:56 GMT -5
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Post by J'aii-Gun Jiinn on Oct 27, 2007 10:03:53 GMT -5
Dang CLOUDS!
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Mon-Jas Charan
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"Poena Vigoratus. Pullus cavo vix. Palma , est eternus"
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Post by Mon-Jas Charan on Nov 5, 2007 12:42:55 GMT -5
Comet draws scientific, amateur interest Sat Nov 3, 12:57 AM ET
A comet that has unexpectedly brightened in the past couple of weeks and now is visible to the naked eye is attracting professional and amateur interest.
Paul Lewis, director of astronomy outreach at the University of Tennessee, is drawing students to the roof of Nielsen Physics Building for special viewings of Comet 17P/Holmes.
The comet is exploding and its coma, a cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the sun, has grown to be bigger than the planet Jupiter. The comet lacks the tail usually associated with such celestial bodies but can be seen in the northern sky, in the constellation Perseus, as a fuzzy spot of light about as bright as the stars in the Big Dipper.
"This is truly a celestial surprise," Lewis said. "Absolutely amazing."
Until Oct. 23, the comet had been visible to modern astronomers only with a telescope, but that night it suddenly erupted and expanded.
A similar burst in 1892 led to the comet's discovery by Edwin Holmes.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event to witness, along the lines of when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter back in 1994," Lewis said.
Scientists speculate the comet has exploded because there are sinkholes in its nucleus, giving it a honeycomb-like structure. The collapse exposed comet ice to the sun, which transformed the ice into gas.
"What comets do when they are near the sun is very unpredictable," Lewis said. "We expect to see a coma cloud and a tail, but this is more like an explosion, and we are seeing the bubble of gas and dust as it expands away from the center of the blast."
Experts aren't sure how long the comet's show will last, but estimate it could be weeks — if not months. Using a telescope or binoculars help bring the comet's details into view, they said.
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Post by J'aii-Gun Jiinn on Nov 5, 2007 13:57:27 GMT -5
I finally got to see this on Fri night,but it was pretty chilly
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Post by dalailala on Nov 6, 2007 23:10:30 GMT -5
Never got to see the comet here. It rained for a week straight between the incoming cold front and the outgoing hurricane. Not that we couldn't use the rain, mind you....
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Post by dalailala on Nov 6, 2007 23:15:06 GMT -5
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Mon-Jas Charan
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Post by Mon-Jas Charan on Nov 30, 2007 9:12:03 GMT -5
Here's a composite of the comet 17P Holmes. It's cute.
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Mon-Jas Charan
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Post by Mon-Jas Charan on Dec 17, 2007 21:08:22 GMT -5
Dec. 17, 2007
Grey Hautaluoma Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668 grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov
Jennifer Morcone Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-7199 jennifer.j.morcone@nasa.gov
Megan Watzke Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass. 617-496-7998 mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu
RELEASE: 07-280
'DEATH STAR' GALAXY BLACK HOLE FIRES AT NEIGHBORING GALAXY
WASHINGTON - A powerful jet from a super massive black hole is lasting a nearby galaxy, according to new findings from NASA observatories. This never-before witnessed galactic violence may have a profound effect on planets in the jet's path and trigger a burst of star formation in its destructive wake.
Known as 3C321, the system contains two galaxies in orbit around each other. Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show both galaxies contain super massive black holes at their centers, but the larger galaxy has a jet emanating from the vicinity of its black hole. The smaller galaxy apparently has swung into the path of this jet.
This "death star" galaxy was discovered through the combined efforts of both space and ground-based telescopes. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope were part of the effort. The Very Large Array telescope, Socorro, N.M., and the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) telescopes in the United Kingdom also were needed for the finding.
"We've seen many jets produced by black holes, but this is the first time we've seen one punch into another galaxy like we're seeing there," said Dan Evans, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and leader of the study. "This jet could be causing all sorts of problems for the smaller galaxy it is pummeling."
Jets from super massive black holes produce high amounts of radiation, especially high-energy X-rays and gamma-rays, which can be lethal in large quantities. The combined effects of this radiation and particles traveling at almost the speed of light could severely damage the atmospheres of planets lying in the path of the jet. For example, protective layers of ozone in the upper atmosphere of planets could be destroyed.
Jets produced by super massive black holes transport enormous amounts of energy far from black holes and enable them to affect matter on scales vastly larger than the size of the black hole. Learning more about jets is a key goal for astrophysical research.
"We see jets all over the universe, but we're still struggling to understand some of their basic properties," said co-investigator Martin Hardcastle of the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. "This system of 3C321 gives us a chance to learn how they're affected when they slam into something like a galaxy and what they do after that."
The effect of the jet on the companion galaxy is likely to be substantial, because the galaxies in 3C321 are extremely close at a distance of only about 20,000 light years apart. They lie approximately the same distance as Earth is from the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
A bright spot in the Very Large Array and MERLIN images shows where the jet has struck the side of the galaxy, dissipating some of the jet's energy. The collision disrupted and deflected the jet.
Another unique aspect of the discovery in 3C321 is how relatively short-lived this event is on a cosmic time scale. Features seen in the Very Large Array and Chandra images indicate that the jet began impacting the galaxy about one million years ago, a small fraction of the system's lifetime. This means such an alignment is quite rare in the nearby universe, making 3C321 an important opportunity to study such a phenomenon.
It is possible the event is not all bad news for the galaxy being struck by the jet. The massive influx of energy and radiation from the jet could induce the formation of large numbers of stars and planets after its initial wake of destruction is complete.
The results from Evans and his colleagues will appear in The Astrophysical Journal. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.
Additional information and images are available at:
chandra.nasa.gov
-end-
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Mon-Jas Charan
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Post by Mon-Jas Charan on Jan 30, 2008 12:48:42 GMT -5
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Mon-Jas Charan
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"Poena Vigoratus. Pullus cavo vix. Palma , est eternus"
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Post by Mon-Jas Charan on Jan 31, 2008 21:06:26 GMT -5
Space Weather News for Jan. 31, 2008 spaceweather.com
MORNING SKY ALERT: Set your alarm for dawn. On Friday morning, February 1st, Venus and Jupiter converge in the southeastern sky less than 1 degree apart; they will beam through the rosy glow of dawn like a pair of celestial headlights. It's a spectacular view worth waking up early to see. The February 1st alignment kicks off four mornings of beautiful views as the crescent Moon moves in to join Venus and Jupiter over the weekend. Visit spaceweather.com for sky maps and photos.
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Cronto Tocrone
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Post by Cronto Tocrone on Feb 7, 2008 9:52:42 GMT -5
Some of that would be cool to see, and I need to observe the stars for my class in college this semester, should be intersting planning on doing winter sky and spring sky, and tips, since some of you seem to know a bit about astronmy, and I am in an astronmy class.
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Mon-Jas Charan
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"Poena Vigoratus. Pullus cavo vix. Palma , est eternus"
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Post by Mon-Jas Charan on Feb 7, 2008 21:45:19 GMT -5
I would start now ... Observe the constellation Orion. A very good books to use as reference are:
Turn Left at Orion: A Hundred Night Sky Objects to See in a Small Telescope--and How to Find Them by Guy Consolmagno Binocular Highlights: 99 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users (Sky & Telescope Stargazing) by Gary Seronik
Touring the Universe through Binoculars: A Complete Astronomer's Guidebook by Philip S. Harrington
Most Libraries should have these ... Orion have name great things to see and is easily found this time of year.
Mars is up right now and Saturn rises about 8pm in Leo.
There is a Full Lunar eclipse February 20th.
Good Luck.
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