ASTRONOMY PHOTOS

Sorry I haven't put up a thoughtful post for a couple of weeks. There's a sort of family reunion going on at my house and it's too hectic to do anything more on the computer than put up interesting pictures. On the other hand, what am I apologizing for? These are very interesting pictures.

The one above is the clearest view of the surface of Venus that I've ever seen. It's from the Russian Venera lander that went to Venus in the 80s. Why haven't I seen these before? These are fascinating!

Venus is in the news again with controversies about the nature of the mysterious giant domes that dot the planet. They look like bacteria, don't they? 

These domes are enormous, but what are they? There's nothing like them on Earth. The color makes the domes appear molten, but I don't think they are.

Here (above) the Dolphin Galaxy collides with an elliptical galaxy. The two galaxies will spin around each other til they merge.

High speed photography has lately revealed a lot of events in Earth's atmosphere that are common but seldom seen because they go by so fast. An example are these electrical floating "jellyfish." You may have seen them and never realized it.

Here's (above) a star-forming region in Orion. The column in the middle had the classic pillar shape until it was blown apart by shock waves from the newly igniting stars.



This (above) is an animated film showing what you'd see if you were close to a black hole. Space is warped there so what you'd see in the sky would be a total field. The view from the back of your neck would be seen simultaneously with what the front of your face is seeing. Click the YouTube icon  which is hidden beneath the lower right corner of the flat black area.



This film (above) shows the formation of a supercell. A supercell is a type of large thunderstorm that can give birth to tornadoes. This one is forming over Texas, but is thought to be a common event on other planets as well.

This video needs to be seen large, in full screen. Enlarge the frame and get rid of the bottom text bar if one appears.

Above, a giant waterspout off the coast of Florida.

One writer believes that waterspouts may be the cause of some of the accidents in the Bermuda Triangle.