http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronom ... s-neptune/New Storm Makes Surprise Appearance on Neptune
http://www.keckobservatory.org/recent/e ... on_neptune
Extremely large, bright storm system caught on camera at W. M. Keck Observatory Maunakea, Hawaii – Striking images of a storm system nearly the size of Earth have astronomers doing a double-take after pinpointing its location near Neptune’s equator, a region where no bright cloud has ever been seen before.
“Seeing a storm this bright at such a low latitude is extremely surprising,” said Ned Molter, a graduate student at University of California, Berkeley, who spotted the storm complex during a test run of twilight observing at W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaii. “Normally, this area is really quiet and we only see bright clouds in the mid-latitude bands, so to have such an enormous cloud sitting right at the equator is spectacular.”
Keck Observatory: New Storm Makes Surprise Appearance on Neptune
- MargaritaMc
- Look to the Evenstar
- Posts: 1836
- Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:14 pm
- Location: 28°16'7"N 16°36'20"W
Keck Observatory: New Storm Makes Surprise Appearance on Neptune
"In those rare moments of total quiet with a dark sky, I again feel the awe that struck me as a child. The feeling is utterly overwhelming as my mind races out across the stars. I feel peaceful and serene."
— Dr Debra M. Elmegreen, Fellow of the AAAS
- geckzilla
- Ocular Digitator
- Posts: 9180
- Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:42 pm
- Location: Modesto, CA
- Contact:
Re: Keck Observatory: New Storm Makes Surprise Appearance on Neptune
Huh, I had no idea that's what Neptune looked like from Keck. That's rather incredible.
Just call me "geck" because "zilla" is like a last name.
- MargaritaMc
- Look to the Evenstar
- Posts: 1836
- Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:14 pm
- Location: 28°16'7"N 16°36'20"W
Re: Keck Observatory: New Storm Makes Surprise Appearance on Neptune
Yes, I was pretty impressed. It is astounding what can now be achieved by terrestrial telescopes with adaptive optics.geckzilla wrote:Huh, I had no idea that's what Neptune looked like from Keck. That's rather incredible.
The W. M. Keck Observatory operates the most scientifically productive telescopes on Earth. The two, 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes on the summit of Maunakea on the Island of Hawaii feature a suite of advanced instruments including imagers, multi-object spectrographs, high-resolution spectrographs, integral-field spectrometers, and world-leading laser guide star adaptive optics systems. The Observatory is a private 501(c) 3 non-profit organization and a scientific partnership of the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and NASA
http://www.keckobservatory.org/recent/e ... on_neptune
"In those rare moments of total quiet with a dark sky, I again feel the awe that struck me as a child. The feeling is utterly overwhelming as my mind races out across the stars. I feel peaceful and serene."
— Dr Debra M. Elmegreen, Fellow of the AAAS