________________________________________________________________
Please vote for the TWO best Astronomy Pictures of the Day (image and text) of December 12-18
(Repeated APODs are not included in the poll.)
All titles are clickable and link to the original APOD page.
We ask for your help in choosing an APOW, as this helps Jerry and Robert create "year in APOD images" review lectures, creates APOM polls that can be used to create a free PDF calendar at year's end, and provides feedback on which images and APODs were relatively well received. You can select two top images for the week.
Please do not vote repeatedly to boost the votes on a particular image; doing so invalidates the poll results.
Thank you!
________________________________________________________________
<- Previous week's poll
Have you contemplated your sky recently? Tonight will be a good one for midnight meditators at many northerly locations as
meteors from the
Geminids meteor shower will frequently streak through. The
Geminds meteor shower has slowly been building to a
crescendo and should peak tonight. Pictured above ten days ago, a group of
celestial sightseers in the Maranjab Desert in
Iran, were treated to a dark and wondrous pre-dawn sky that contained the planet
Venus and a
crescent Moon. Tonight Mars and Mercury should be
visible just above the southwestern horizon at sunset,
while the first quarter Moon will set around midnight.
It is the tallest rocket in active use. The
Delta IV Heavy is the largest of the
Delta series, packing the punch of three rocket boosters instead of the usual one. The resulting rocket, the most powerful in use by the US Air Force, is capable of lifting over 23,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit,
comparable to NASA's
Space Shuttle.
Pictured above is the second
launch of the Delta IV Heavy from
Cape Canaveral,
Florida, USA in 2007, and the first night launch. Complex
service towers are visible to each side of the soaring rocket. The rocket successfully lifted a reconnaissance satellite to
low Earth orbit. The
Delta IV Heavy has since completed several more successful lift-offs, while its next launch is currently planned from
Vandenberg Air Force Base,
California, USA, next month.
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Click the arrow and watch an unusually long filament explode out from the Sun. The
filament had been seen hovering over the
Sun's surface for over a week before it erupted earlier this month. The
image sequence was taken by the Earth-orbiting
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in a color of
ultraviolet light specifically emitted by helium.
The explosion created
Coronal Mass Ejections which dispersed high energy plasma into the Solar System. This
plasma cloud, though, missed the Earth and so did not cause auroras. The
above eruption and an
unusually expansive eruption that occurred in August are showing how widely separated areas of the
Sun can sometimes act in unison.
Explosions like this will likely become more common over the next few years as our Sun moves toward
Solar Maximum activity.
Two large telescope domes stand in the foreground of
this night sky view from
Kitt Peak National Observatory, near Tucson, Arizona, USA. The dramatic scene was recorded early Tuesday morning, near the peak of December's
Geminid Meteor Shower. With dome slit open, the building closest to the camera houses the 2.3 Meter (90 inch)
Bok Telescope operated by Steward Observatory, University of Arizona. Behind the Bok is the
Mayall 4 Meter telescope dome. Of course, no telescopes were needed to
enjoy the meteors streaking through the sky! The composite image consists of 13 exposures each 15 seconds long, taken with a wide angle lens over a period of about 2 hours during Kitt Peak's warm, clear, night. An annual celestial event, this meteor shower is the result of planet Earth plowing through dust from mysterious, asteroid-like object
3200 Phaethon.
Intensely bright,
this fireball meteor flashed through Tuesday's cold, clear, early morning skies over the Karakas Mountains in central Iran, near the peak of the annual
Geminid Meteor Shower. To capture the
meteor moment and wintery
night skyscape, the photographer's camera was fixed to a tripod, its shutter open for about 1.5 minutes. During that time, the multitude of stars slowly traced short,
arcing trails through the sky, a reflection of planet Earth's daily
rotation on its axis. The meteor's brilliant dash through the scene was brief, though. Changing color as it went, it also left a reddish swirl of hot, glowing gas near the center of its path. The mountains appear in silhouette against the steady glow of distant
city lights.
Here lie familiar shapes in
unfamiliar locations. On the left is an emission
nebula cataloged as NGC 7000, famous partly because it resembles our fair planet's continent of North America. The emission region to the right of the
North America Nebula is IC 5070, also known for its suggestive outlines as the
Pelican Nebula. Separated by a dark cloud of obscuring dust, the two bright nebulae are about 1,500 light-years away. At that distance, the 4 degree wide field of view spans 100 light-years.
This spectacular cosmic portrait combines
narrow band images of the region in a false-color palette to highlight bright
ionization fronts with fine details of dark, dusty forms in silhouette. Emission from atomic hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen is captured in the narrow band data.
These nebulae can be seen with binoculars from a dark location.
Look northeast of bright star Deneb in the constellation Cygnus the Swan.
<- Previous week's poll
[size=200][color=#FF0000]________________________________________________________________[/color][/size]
Please vote for the TWO best Astronomy Pictures of the Day (image and text) of December 12-18
(Repeated APODs are not included in the poll.)
All titles are clickable and link to the original APOD page.
We ask for your help in choosing an APOW, as this helps Jerry and Robert create "year in APOD images" review lectures, creates APOM polls that can be used to create a free PDF calendar at year's end, and provides feedback on which images and APODs were relatively well received. You can select two top images for the week.
Please do not vote repeatedly to boost the votes on a particular image; doing so invalidates the poll results.
Thank you!
[size=200][color=#FF0000]________________________________________________________________[/color][/size]
[size=110][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=22311][color=#4040FF][b]<- Previous week's poll[/b][/color][/url][/size]
[c][url=http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap101213.html][b][size=150]Contemplating the Sky (2010 Dec 13)[/size][/b][/url][/c]
[float=left][img2]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1012/moonvenus_taheri.jpg[/img2][/float]Have you contemplated your sky recently? Tonight will be a good one for midnight meditators at many northerly locations as [url=http://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-faq/]meteors[/url] from the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geminids]Geminids meteor shower[/url] will frequently streak through. The [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080103.html]Geminds meteor shower[/url] has slowly been building to a [url=http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/06dec_geminids/]crescendo[/url] and should peak tonight. Pictured above ten days ago, a group of [url=http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/galleries.asp?Sort=Spot&Value=Maranjab&page=1]celestial sightseers[/url] in the Maranjab Desert in [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran]Iran[/url], were treated to a dark and wondrous pre-dawn sky that contained the planet [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101020.html]Venus[/url] and a [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050513.html]crescent Moon[/url]. Tonight Mars and Mercury should be [url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance/]visible[/url] just above the southwestern horizon at sunset, [url=http://stardate.org/mediacenter/2010-geminid-meteor-shower]while[/url] the first quarter Moon will set around midnight. [clear][/clear]
[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101214.html][size=150][b]Launch of a Delta IV Heavy (2010 Dec 14)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][img2]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1012/deltalaunch_cooper.jpg[/img2][/float] It is the tallest rocket in active use. The [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_IV_rocket]Delta IV Heavy[/url] is the largest of the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_(rocket_family)]Delta series[/url], packing the punch of three rocket boosters instead of the usual one. The resulting rocket, the most powerful in use by the US Air Force, is capable of lifting over 23,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_super_heavy_lift_launch_systems]comparable[/url] to NASA's [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100209.html]Space Shuttle[/url]. [url=http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4-Heavy_DSP-23.html]Pictured above[/url] is the second [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvYnUbXVY_0]launch[/url] of the Delta IV Heavy from [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081001.html]Cape Canaveral[/url], [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida]Florida[/url], USA in 2007, and the first night launch. Complex [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_tower]service towers[/url] are visible to each side of the soaring rocket. The rocket successfully lifted a reconnaissance satellite to [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_earth_orbit]low Earth orbit[/url]. The [url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/11/live-delta-iv-heavy-launch-with-nrol-3/]Delta IV Heavy[/url] has since completed several more successful lift-offs, while its next launch is currently planned from [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base]Vandenberg Air Force Base[/url], [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California]California[/url], USA, next month. [clear][/clear]
[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101215.html][size=150][b]A Huge Solar Filament Erupts (2010 Dec 15)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jciUYQHa6-0[/youtube][/float]Click the arrow and watch an unusually long filament explode out from the Sun. The [url=http://solar.physics.montana.edu/ypop/Program/hfilament.html]filament[/url] had been seen hovering over the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100609.html]Sun's surface[/url] for over a week before it erupted earlier this month. The [url=http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMYTMRRJHG_index_0.html]image sequence[/url] was taken by the Earth-orbiting [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Dynamics_Observatory]Solar Dynamics Observatory[/url] (SDO) in a color of [url=http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/uv.html]ultraviolet light[/url] specifically emitted by helium. [url=http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/potw.php?v=item&id=34]The explosion[/url] created [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection]Coronal Mass Ejections[/url] which dispersed high energy plasma into the Solar System. This [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_%28physics%29]plasma[/url] cloud, though, missed the Earth and so did not cause auroras. The [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jciUYQHa6-0]above eruption[/url] and an [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100806.html]unusually[/url] [url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/global-eruption.html]expansive eruption[/url] that occurred in August are showing how widely separated areas of the [url=http://helioviewer.org/]Sun[/url] can sometimes act in unison. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQmaArGsiaA]Explosions[/url] like this will likely become more common over the next few years as our Sun moves toward [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071203.html]Solar Maximum[/url] activity. [clear][/clear]
[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101216.html][size=150][b]Geminids over Kitt Peak (2010 Dec 16)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][img2]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1012/geminidsKPNO_harvey900.jpg[/img2][/float]Two large telescope domes stand in the foreground of [url=http://davidharveyphotography.blogspot.com/2010/12/geminids.html]this night sky view[/url] from [url=http://www.noao.edu/kpno/]Kitt Peak National Observatory[/url], near Tucson, Arizona, USA. The dramatic scene was recorded early Tuesday morning, near the peak of December's [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101211.html]Geminid Meteor Shower[/url]. With dome slit open, the building closest to the camera houses the 2.3 Meter (90 inch) [url=http://james.as.arizona.edu/~psmith/90inch/90inch.html]Bok Telescope[/url] operated by Steward Observatory, University of Arizona. Behind the Bok is the [url=http://www.noao.edu/outreach/kptour/mayall.html]Mayall 4 Meter[/url] telescope dome. Of course, no telescopes were needed to [url=http://spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_14dec10.htm]enjoy the meteors[/url] streaking through the sky! The composite image consists of 13 exposures each 15 seconds long, taken with a wide angle lens over a period of about 2 hours during Kitt Peak's warm, clear, night. An annual celestial event, this meteor shower is the result of planet Earth plowing through dust from mysterious, asteroid-like object [url=http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/06dec_geminids/]3200 Phaethon[/url].
[clear][/clear]
[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101217.html][size=150][b]A Meteor Moment (2010 Dec 17)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][img2]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1012/Geminid2010Fireball_abolfath.jpg[/img2][/float]Intensely bright, [url=http://www.torgheh.ir/en/]this fireball meteor[/url] flashed through Tuesday's cold, clear, early morning skies over the Karakas Mountains in central Iran, near the peak of the annual [url=http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/06dec_geminids/]Geminid Meteor Shower[/url]. To capture the [url=http://spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_14dec10_page2.htm]meteor moment[/url] and wintery [url=http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/galleries.asp?Sort=Photographer&Value=Amir%20H.%20Abolfath&page=1]night skyscape[/url], the photographer's camera was fixed to a tripod, its shutter open for about 1.5 minutes. During that time, the multitude of stars slowly traced short, [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100618.html]arcing trails[/url] through the sky, a reflection of planet Earth's daily [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070519.html]rotation[/url] on its axis. The meteor's brilliant dash through the scene was brief, though. Changing color as it went, it also left a reddish swirl of hot, glowing gas near the center of its path. The mountains appear in silhouette against the steady glow of distant [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081005.html]city lights[/url].
[clear][/clear]
[c][url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101218.html][size=150][b]North America and the Pelican (2010 Dec 18)[/b][/size][/url][/c]
[float=left][img2]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1012/ngc7000_pugh800.jpg[/img2][/float] Here lie familiar shapes in [url=http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/nebclust.html]unfamiliar locations[/url]. On the left is an emission [url=http://seds.org/messier/nebula.html]nebula[/url] cataloged as NGC 7000, famous partly because it resembles our fair planet's continent of North America. The emission region to the right of the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081028.html]North America Nebula[/url] is IC 5070, also known for its suggestive outlines as the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061130.html]Pelican Nebula[/url]. Separated by a dark cloud of obscuring dust, the two bright nebulae are about 1,500 light-years away. At that distance, the 4 degree wide field of view spans 100 light-years. [url=http://www.martinpughastrophotography.id.au/Nebulae/NGC7000.htm]This spectacular cosmic portrait[/url] combines [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060324.html]narrow band images[/url] of the region in a false-color palette to highlight bright [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100819.html]ionization fronts[/url] with fine details of dark, dusty forms in silhouette. Emission from atomic hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen is captured in the narrow band data. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtKUuAM3zDY]These nebulae can be seen[/url] with binoculars from a dark location. [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101119.html]Look northeast[/url] of bright star Deneb in the constellation Cygnus the Swan.
[clear][/clear]
[size=110][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=22311][color=#4040FF][b]<- Previous week's poll[/b][/color][/url][/size]