by Ann » Fri Dec 08, 2023 6:53 am
Yes, that's an APOD that I like!
That's a lovely color contrast between blue Vega and the greenish comet! But wait. Vega is white, didn't you know that?
Today's caption links to this description of Vega:
Jim Kaler wrote:
Vega is a classic class A (A0)
white main sequence dwarf star, like the Sun quietly running off the nuclear fusion of hydrogen deep in its core, with a sort of average effective surface temperature of about 9500 degrees Kelvin. Its
white color and apparent brightness made it a basic standard against which the apparent magnitudes of other stars are compared.
Okay, see if you can find Vega in the picture below - it must be an intensely white star, right?
The Summer Triangle and the northern Milky Way. Credit: Alan Dyer.
Well, actually - Vega is the one blue star in Alan Dyer's picture, at top center right. The blue color must be a mistake, of course, because Vega is the very definition of whiteness! Isn't it?
Anyway, enough ranting! The comet looks nice in the APOD, too.
APOD Robot wrote:
Nicknamed the Devil Comet for its hornlike appearance
Yes, you can actually see the horns in today's APOD!
So, to summarize, nice horn-adorned pale green Comet 12/Pons-Brooks and nice
blue Vega!!!
Ann
Yes, that's an APOD that I like! :D
[img3="Vega and Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks.
Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett"]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2312/_12P_Pons_Brooks_2023_12_04_184135PST_DEBartlett1024.jpg[/img3]
That's a lovely color contrast between blue Vega and the greenish comet! But wait. Vega is white, didn't you know that?
Today's caption links to this description of Vega:
[quote][url=http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/vega.html]Jim Kaler[/url] wrote:
Vega is a classic class A (A0) [size=160]white[/size] main sequence dwarf star, like the Sun quietly running off the nuclear fusion of hydrogen deep in its core, with a sort of average effective surface temperature of about 9500 degrees Kelvin. Its [size=160]white[/size] color and apparent brightness made it a basic standard against which the apparent magnitudes of other stars are compared.
[/quote]
Okay, see if you can find Vega in the picture below - it must be an intensely white star, right?
[float=left][attachment=1]Vega and the Summer Triangle Alan Dyer.png[/attachment][c][size=85][color=#0040FF]The Summer Triangle and the northern Milky Way. Credit: Alan Dyer.[/color][/size][/c][/float]
[clear][/clear]
Well, actually - Vega is the one blue star in Alan Dyer's picture, at top center right. The blue color must be a mistake, of course, because Vega is the very definition of whiteness! Isn't it? :bang:
Anyway, enough ranting! The comet looks nice in the APOD, too.
[quote]APOD Robot wrote:
Nicknamed the Devil Comet for its hornlike appearance[/quote]
Yes, you can actually see the horns in today's APOD!
[attachment=0]APOD 8 December 2023 detail Comet 12P Pons Brooks.png[/attachment]
So, to summarize, nice horn-adorned pale green Comet 12/Pons-Brooks and nice [b][size=150][color=#0066ff]b[/color][color=#0080ff]l[/color][color=#8fd3fe]u[/color][color=#00a0ff]e[/color][/size][/b] Vega!!!
Ann