Our Universe

[Mark Gardner]

Could be a staging post for deep space exploration? Or earth defence (check out UFO on utube, wonderful 80's footage).

[michaelmaclauchlan]

What's on Earth Tonight?

[BeechwoodAve]

Hate to be a Polluxian at the moment...

Great chart, Michael!!

[michaelmaclauchlan]

I was at an astronomy lecture last night (no surprise there lol) and new Hubble images of the stellar nursery 'Carina Nebula' was one of the topics discussed. The below right pix is in infrared. Infrared shows newborn stars through the hydrogen dust clouds

Nice video here too that zooms in on that region.
Video: http://www.hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2010/13/video/c/

[wadcorp]

What's on Earth Tonight?

Your star map is hilarious!

.

[Mark Gardner]

LOL I misread one star as "my arse"

[Dooley]

So Michael, what are we looking at in your new avatar picture? Whatever it is, it looks cool (and hot).

[michaelmaclauchlan]

So Michael, what are we looking at in your new avatar picture? Whatever it is, it looks cool (and hot).

It's a somewhat distorted image of last week's solar eclipse as seen from the South Pacific.


Related images:

Easter Island:

[toadie]

That last photo looks fab, really atmospheric....and so cool its just a natural event!

[Wireless]

An incredible image you have there 'Star Man'

[michaelmaclauchlan]

Comet Swift Tuttle’s Perseid meteors peak tonight 12/13 Aug 2010. Look to the northeast. Should be about 20 to 60 per hour.
http://www.tabwin.com/perseids/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseids

[michaelmaclauchlan]

I like this pix when I saw it a few days ago. It's the Arabia Terra on Mars. Dark sand and 'stepped' mesas. "Layered shelves are wide enough to drive a truck around."
The image is 3 kilometers across. Details at/photo from: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100815.html

[michaelmaclauchlan]

There is a theory that ~35M years ago, Earth had planetary rings. Given the 23.5 degree tilt of the earth, and the shade the ring(s) may have caused (by blocking out the sun), ice ages could have been enhanced leading to mass extinction(s).



Roy Prol’s animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoz5Q2rGQtQ

More at: http://tinyurl.com/2b8yeyh

[BeechwoodAve]

There is a theory that ~35M years ago, Earth had planetary rings. Given the 23.5 degree tilt of the earth, and the shade the ring(s) may have caused (by blocking out the sun), ice ages could have been enhanced leading to mass extinction(s).



Roy Prol’s animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoz5Q2rGQtQ

More at: http://tinyurl.com/2b8yeyh

That would be a sight to see, Michael! Not so keen on the stronger Ice Ages, though...

Beech

[michaelmaclauchlan]

View of Earth/Luna system from approximately Mercury's orbit (114 M miles/183 M kilometers). Probably used some magnification.

[Mark Gardner]

Wonderful, we're just a speck in space with a smaller buddy......

[michaelmaclauchlan]

Saturn's Aurora




larger image at:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/ ... ni_big.jpg

[MondoJohnny]

Michael I have been watching a program about our universe on netflix and it reminded me of you!

I can't wait for the big electrical sun storm that's going to fry every piece of electronics on earth!

[michaelmaclauchlan]

from: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/ ... 038450.htm

" NASA's Hubble space telescope has captured what scientists believe are the first images of a collision between two asteroids, the US space agency says.The images, taken from January to May with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, show a bizarre X-shaped object, the likes of which astronomers have never seen before, at the head of a comet-like trail of material. Scientists have dubbed the object in the Hubble images P/2010 A2. It was found cruising around the asteroid belt, a reservoir of millions of rocky bodies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.The 120-metre object in the image is thought to be a remnant of a larger body that collided at about 17,700 kilometres per hour with a smaller rock that the scientists think measured 3 to 5 metres across.The crash released an explosion with the force of a small atomic bomb..."

[maryann]

Roy Prol’s animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoz5Q2rGQtQ

More at: http://tinyurl.com/2b8yeyh

They will be adding this to Times Square for the tourists next

[michaelmaclauchlan]

http://vimeo.com/16917950

Flowing Auroras Over Norway Image Credit & Copyright: Tor Even Mathisen; Music: Per Wollen; Vocals: Silje Beate Nilssen

[michaelmaclauchlan]

Scale of universe:

http://primaxstudio.com/stuff/scale_of_universe/

[BeechwoodAve]

Scale of universe:

http://primaxstudio.com/stuff/scale_of_universe/

Awesome! If I'm ever feeling full of myself, this will remind me of my insignificance, thanks!

Beech

[michaelmaclauchlan]

William Castleman does some nice work.

Here is a time lapse of the recent Monday night/Tuesday morning Lunar eclipse. I went outside at about 1:30AM to see for myself and had my breath taken away by the beauty. The moon was quite orange - this is the result of the sunlight being bent by Earth's atmosphere. The moon appeared quite small - as if doubled its normal Earth-Moon distance; it was so dim that nearby stars, normally obscured by the moon's glare, were visible.
http://vimeo.com/18046748

Here is another time lapse by Mr Castleman of the Milky Way viewed from the Southern Hemisphere -- note the Magellanic Clouds appearing at about 1 min into the vid.
http://vimeo.com/14476029

[michaelmaclauchlan]

Phobos transiting/eclipsing our sun as seen from Mars

http://bcove.me/q6s5vgy8

[Dooley]

An interesting photo on NPR.com - and do check out the large version.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... se-the-sun

[demona dragon]

WOW! That is way too cool! Thanks for sharing.

[michaelmaclauchlan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N2PXdq_bWE

Fire

[carbon]

thanks MM , the SDO mission channel is a real find...
I've been looking out for the Stereo mission visuals ... if you happen to know where they are ?

[michaelmaclauchlan]

thanks MM , the SDO mission channel is a real find...
I've been looking out for the Stereo mission visuals ... if you happen to know where they are ?

try:
http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/beaco ... cchi.shtml

loads of images there including 3D movies.