Sunday, May 03, 2009

NEW ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOS


Boy, it pays to check in on the Hubble and NASA sites every few weeks! I'm constantly amazed at what can be found there. Above a galaxy is being stripped of its spiral arm by another galaxy. The culprit isn't the big galaxy on the bottom, but one of the smaller galaxies higher up in the picture. 



Here's a photo of stars in our own Milky Way, from the region where stars are densely packed and fast moving.
 


Here's (above) a planet only 25 light years away. It moves in the debris field from some giant explosion.



Here (above) the expanding ring from a nova breaks up into smaller shapes, forming a kind of bracelet.



A happy face in a Martian crater!



Here (above) are opalescent storm clouds on Jupiter.  Click to enlarge.



This (above) is one of the latest and best of all Saturn photos. It's a garden of hurricanes as seen by the Cassini probe. My guess is that all the white dots, even the ones that ones that aren't obvious spirals,  are swirling storms.  Long jet streams of clouds flow through the hurricanes like rivers.  Be sure to click to enlarge. 



Here's (above) a liquid ocean of hydrocarbons on Titan. The picture was taken with radar, which pierced the dense clouds.
 


One of Saturn's many moons (above).



Above, another moon of Saturn. What made the craters look like that?












Four more moons of Saturn, taken by Cassini. Click to enlarge.



14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ever look up at the sky and realise we're just flying through space on a giant rock? That rarley comes up.

Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea said...

Jupiter's and other gas giants' surfaces look like swirling paint in a vat! Love space photos.

Lester Hunt said...

Wow. It's like Jack Horkheimer used to say: the greatest show on Earth is still ... the universe! Thanks Eddie!

Anonymous said...

Cool! That happy face on mars was one of the many really important plot devices and recurring images in the Watchmen comic!

Anonymous said...

Also, Eddie, have you ever heard o this "face on mars"? Apparently it looks like a lion or something. There are all sorts of weird theories about it on the internet. I first learned about it on this odd site I went to when I was 10 years old. I wonder if that site's still up...

Unknown said...

The Saturn moon that has the funny craters makes me think of it as a hive! Space bugs can come out at any time!

John A said...

Compared to some of the other moons out there, ours is pretty boring. I have lunar envy.

I.D.R.C. said...

Great stuff. I have one giant jpeg from there with hundreds of galaxies in it. They say it is an area of sky equivalent to looking through a drinking straw. Stuff is everywhere.

The_Gnarled_Branch said...

Wonder if there are any cartoonists drawing away in a different galaxy.

I.D.R.C. said...

This galaxy has Basil Wolverton. Cartoonists in other galaxies probably look like his cartoons.

Jennifer said...

Galaxy pictures are always fascinating. Many of them are really breathtaking. Makes you think about what's out there and how insignificant you are compared to the vast universe.

BTW - Jack Horkheimer is still around and he still does his Star Gazer segments on PBS.

Craig said...

There are more galaxies that there are stars in any one galaxy.

Amir Avni said...

Great stuff Eddie!
My favorite site to get Hubble photos is Astronomy Picture of the DayHere's a few recent favorites: The Eskimo NebulaSand dunes on MarsJohn A-- I total agree :)

Jenny Lerew said...

Have you {n}ever been to any of he JPL open houses, Eddie? In La Canada Flintridge? They just had one.