保护地球，探索宇宙，发现文明
2020年11月7日 The Hercules Cluster of Galaxies Image Credit & Copyright: Howard Trottier Explanation: These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster, an archipelago of island universes a mere 500 million light-years away. Also known as Abell 2151, this cluster is loaded with gas and dust rich, star-forming spiral galaxies but has relatively few elliptical gala...
2020年11月6日 Moon over ISS Image Credit & Copyright: Derek Demeter (Emil Buehler Planetarium) Explanation: Completing one orbit of our fair planet in 90 minutes the International Space Station can easily be spotted by eye as a very bright star moving through the night sky. Have you seen it? The next time you do, you will have recognized the location of ov...
2020年11月5日 North of Orion’s Belt Image Credit & Copyright: Terry Hancock (Grand Mesa Observatory) Explanation: Bright stars, interstellar clouds of dust and glowing nebulae fill this cosmic scene, a skyscape just north of Orion’s belt. Close to the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, the wide field view spans just under 5 degrees or about 10 full...
2020年11月4日 Fifty Gravitational Wave Events Illustrated Image Credit: LIGO Virgo Collaborations, Frank Elavsky, Aaron Geller, Northwestern U. Explanation: Over fifty gravitational wave events have now been detected. These events mark the distant, violent collisions of two black holes, a black hole and a neutron star, or two neutron stars. Most of the 50 event...
2020年11月3日 Tagging Bennu: The Movie Video Credit: OSIRIS-REx, NASA’s GSFC, U. Arizona, Lockheed Martin Explanation: This is what it looks like to punch an asteroid. Last month, NASA’s robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx descended toward, thumped into, and then quickly moved away from the small near-Earth asteroid 101955 Bennu. The featured video depict...
2020年11月2日 Half Sun with Prominence Image Credit & Copyright: Rainee Colacurcio Explanation: What’s happening to the Sun? Clearly, the Sun’s lower half is hidden behind a thick cloud. Averaging over the entire Earth, clouds block the Sun about 2/3rds of the time, although much less over many land locations. On the Sun’s upper right is ...
2020年11月01日 In the Center of the Trifid Nebula Image Credit: Subaru Telescope (NAOJ), Hubble Space Telescope, Martin Pugh; Processing: Robert Gendler Explanation: What’s happening at the center of the Trifid Nebula? Three prominent dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together. Mountains of opaque dust appear near the bottom, while other d...
2020年10月31日 A Galaxy of Horrors Poster Illustration Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, The Galaxy of Horrors Explanation: Explore extreme and terrifying realms of the Universe tonight. If you dare to look, mysterious dark matter, a graveyard galaxy, zombie worlds, and gamma-ray bursts of doom are not all that awaits. Just follow the link and remember, it’s all...
2020年10月30日 Fear and Dread: The Moons of Mars Composite Image Credit & Copyright: Dennis Simmons Explanation: On Halloween fear and dread will stalk your night skies, also known as Phobos and Deimos the moons of Mars. The 2020 opposition of Mars was on October 13, so the Red Planet will still rise shortly before sunset. Near Halloween’s Full Moon ...
2020年10月29日 The Ghoul of IC 2118 Image Credit & Copyright: Casey Good/Steve Timmons Explanation: Inspired by the halloween season, this telescopic portrait captures a cosmic cloud with a scary visage. The interstellar scene lies within the dusty expanse of reflection nebula IC 2118 in the constellation Orion, the Hunter. IC 2118 is about 800 light-years...