Starship Asterisk*

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100907.jpg Space Shuttle Tribute Poster: Endeavour Explanation: They are some of the most complex machines ever built. From a standing start they can launch a school - bus sized object up so high and moving so fast that it won't fall back down. They have launche...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100906.jpg A Laser Strike at the Galactic Center Explanation: Why are these people shooting a powerful laser into the center of our Galaxy? Fortunately, this is not meant to be the first step in a Galactic war . Rather, astronomers at the Very Large Telescope (V...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100905.jpg GRO J1655 40: Evidence for a Spinning Black Hole Explanation: In the center of a swirling whirlpool of hot gas is likely a beast that has never been seen directly: a black hole . Studies of the bright light emitted by the swirling gas frequently indic...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100904.jpg Young Suns of NGC 7129 Explanation: Young suns still lie within dusty NGC 7129 , some 3,000 light-years away toward the royal constellation Cepheus . While these stars are at a relatively tender age, only a few million years old, it is likely that our...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100903.jpg The Small Cloud of Magellan Explanation: Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew had plenty of time to study the southern sky during the first circumnavigation of planet Earth. As a result, two celestial wonders easily visible for souther...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100902.jpg The Bubble Nebula Explanation: Blown by the wind from a massive star, this interstellar apparition has a surprisingly familiar shape . Cataloged as NGC 7635, it is also known simply as The Bubble Nebula . Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year ...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100901.jpg Earth and Moon from MESSENGER Explanation: What does Earth look like from the planet Mercury? The robotic spacecraft MESSENGER found out as it looked toward the Earth during its closest approach to the Sun about three months ago. The Earth and Moon ar...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100831.jpg The Annotated Galactic Center Explanation: The sky toward the center of our Galaxy is filled with a wide variety of celestial wonders , many of which are visible from a dark location with common binoculars . Constellations near the Galactic Center inc...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100830.jpg Comanche Outcrop on Mars Indicates Hospitable Past Explanation: Could life once have survived on Mars? Today, neither animal nor plant life from Earth could survive for very long on Mars because at least one key ingredient -- liquid water -- is essent...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100829.jpg The Local Fluff Explanation: The stars are not alone. In the disk of our Milky Way Galaxy about 10 percent of visible matter is in the form of gas, called the interstellar medium (ISM). The ISM is not uniform , and shows patchiness even near our Sun ....

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100828.jpg Hole in the Sun Explanation: This ominous, dark shape sprawling across the face of the Sun is a coronal hole -- a low density region extending above the surface where the solar magnetic field opens freely into interplanetary space. Studied extensively...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100827.jpg Brighter Than Mars Explanation: Even though you may have just read an email claiming Mars will be incredibly bright tonight, the brightest star on the horizon is not Mars. From central Iran on August 24th, the brightest star in this twilight desert sk...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100826.jpg M27: Not a Comet Explanation: While hunting for comets in the skies above 18th century France, astronomer Charles Messier diligently kept a list of the things he encountered that were definitely not comets. This is number 27 on his now famous not-a-co...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100825.jpg HD 10180: Richest Yet Planetary System Discovered Explanation: Do other rich planetary systems exist? Our Solar System has the most planets of any known star, most probably because it is so hard to detect planets around other stars . Sensitive measure...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100824.jpg Galaxy Cluster Abell 1689 Magnifies the Dark Universe Explanation: What's the matter with this cluster of galaxies? To find out what forms matter takes in the Abell 1689 cluster requires not only deep images from telescopes like the Hubble Space Teles...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100823.jpg A Milky Way Shadow at Loch Ard Gorge Explanation: Have you ever seen the Milky Way's glow create shadows? To do so, conditions need to be just right. First and foremost, the sky must be relatively clear of clouds so that the long band of the Milky Way...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100822.jpg Hoags Object: A Strange Ring Galaxy Explanation: Is this one galaxy or two? This question came to light in 1950 when astronomer Art Hoag chanced upon this unusual extragalactic object . On the outside is a ring dominated by bright blue stars, while ne...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100821.jpg Perseid Storm Explanation: Storms on the distant horizon and comet dust raining through the heavens above are combined in this alluring nightscape . The scene was recorded in the early hours of August 13 from the Keota Star Party site on the Pawnee Na...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100820.jpg NGC 1365: Majestic Island Universe Explanation: Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the chemical constellation Fornax , NGC 1365 is a domi...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100819.jpg Pelican Nebula Close Up Explanation: The prominent ridge of emission featured in this intensely colorful skyscape is designated IC 5067 . Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive shape, popularly called The Pelican Nebula , the ridge spans ...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100818.jpg Crescent Moon and Planets Over Portugal Explanation: Sometimes, it's fun to share the sky. Although it might appear that the two sky enthusiasts on the ridge are sharing only a crescent moon between them, three bright planets also stand before them. T...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100817.jpg NGC 4755: A Jewel Box of Stars Explanation: The great variety of star colors in this open cluster underlies its name: The Jewel Box . One of the bright central stars is a red supergiant , in contrast to the many blue stars that surround it. The cluste...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100816.jpg Meteors Over Quebec Explanation: Meteors streaked through the sky above many of Earth's cities last week, but nobody was hurt, and no damage has been reported. The assault from space appeared to originate from someplace in the constellation of Perseus...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100815.jpg Layered Hills in Arabia Terra on Mars Explanation: Why are some hills on Mars so layered? The answer is still under investigation. Clearly, dark windblown sand surrounds outcropping of light sedimentary rock across the floor of crater Arabia Terra . T...

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100814.jpg Night of the Perseids Explanation: On the night of August 12, from moonset until dawn was a good time to see meteors. Enthusiasts watched as comet dust rained on planet Earth, streaking through dark skies during the annual Perseid Meteor Shower . Anti...