Starship Asterisk*

[quote="orin stepanek"]I didn't notice NGC 2438 until I read the explanation! 8-)[/quote]

I also appreciate the enormous help provided by the captions. And I appreciate ALL the work provided by our support team. APOD is deep.

[color=#008000][i]breathe deep what lies upon our eyes
watch light fade from out of the sky
man with his vast vision must improve our sight
far above the cloud
revealing the heavens clear of misty shroud[/i][/color]

apologies to the Moody Blues

[quote="Beyond"]I like the introoder Alert in the interloper link. It goes to show that when you stick your nose in the wrong place, you could have a cattastrophy. :puppy: :kitty: :yes:[/quote]

I enjoyed the interloper as well… I can relate to the dog… curious but not in the same category as the resident

I didn't notice NGC 2438 until I read the explanation! 8-)

It's full of stars...


:---[===] *

I like the introoder Alert in the interloper link. It goes to show that when you stick your nose in the wrong place, you could have a cattastrophy. :puppy: :kitty: :yes:

[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120403.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_120403.jpg[/img] [size=150]M46 and M47: Star Clusters Young and Old[/size][/url]

[b] Explanation: [/b] Many stars form in [url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=18009]clusters[/url]. Galactic or [url=http://www.seds.org/messier/open.html]open star clusters[/url] are relatively young swarms of bright stars [url=http://universe-review.ca/F06-star-cluster.htm]born together[/url] near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Separated by about a degree on the sky, two [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111007.html]nice examples[/url] are M46 (upper left) 5,400 light-years in the distance and M47 (lower right) only 1,600 light-years away toward the nautical constellation [url=http://hawastsoc.org/deepsky/pup/index.html]Puppis[/url]. Around 300 million years [url=http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m046.html]young M46[/url] contains a few hundred stars in a region about 30 light-years across. Aged 80 million years, [url=http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m047.html]M47 is a[/url] smaller but looser cluster of about 50 stars spanning 10 light-years. But [url=http://www.baskies.com.ar/PHOTOS/M46%20M47%20LRGB%20HR.htm]this portrait[/url] of stellar youth also contains an ancient [url=http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/funny-pictures-cat-has-an-intruder.jpg]interloper[/url]. The small, colorful patch of glowing gas in [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090326.html]M46[/url] is actually the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030614.html]planetary nebula[/url] [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110407.html]NGC 2438[/url] - the final phase in the life of a sun-like star [i]billions[/i] of years old. [url=http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/n2438.html]NGC 2438[/url] is estimated to be only 3,000 light-years distant and likely represents a foreground object, only by chance appearing along our line of sight to youthful M46.

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