Starship Asterisk*

Stardust in Perseus

Explanation: This cosmic expanse of dust, gas, and stars covers close to 3 degrees on the sky in the heroic constellation Perseus. Right of center in the gorgeous skyscape is the dusty blue reflection nebula NGC 1333, about 1,000 light-years away. At that estimated distance, the field of view is about 50 light-years across. Next to NGC 1333 is the reddish glow of shocked hydrogen gas created by energetic jets and winds from stars in the process of formation. Other reflection nebulae are scattered around, along with remarkable dark dust nebulae. Near the edge of a large molecular cloud, they tend to hide the newly formed stars and young stellar objects or protostars from prying optical telescopes. Collapsing due to self-gravity, the protostars form around dense cores embedded in the molecular cloud.

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I love the picture. I'll use it as a background some day.

orin stepanek wrote:I love the picture. I'll use it as a background some day.

But when you clean your screen how will you know when it's clean?

When I see pictures like this I always wonder - I've heard theories linking mass extinctions and/or climate changes to our solar system passing through dust clouds like these, but has anyone ever tried to figure out how much sunlight would actually be blocked out by such an event?

There is a yellow star in the upper right of the photo that appears to have 'spiral arms'. Is this an artifact or due to stellar rotation?

Erebus wrote:When I see pictures like this I always wonder - I've heard theories linking mass extinctions and/or climate changes to our solar system passing through dust clouds like these, but has anyone ever tried to figure out how much sunlight would actually be blocked out by such an event?

I haven't heard that; but the solar winds create a bubble around the sun and I believe that would keep most of the dust out. Might be an interesting research project.

Erebus wrote:When I see pictures like this I always wonder - I've heard theories linking mass extinctions and/or climate changes to our solar system passing through dust clouds like these, but has anyone ever tried to figure out how much sunlight would actually be blocked out by such an event?

orin stepanek wrote:I haven't heard that; but the solar winds create a bubble around the sun and I believe that would keep most of the dust out. Might be an interesting research project.

From inside the cloud, it probably wouldn't be too noticeable. It's an interstellar dust cloud, and still a hard vaccuum, with densities in the range of maybe hundreds of atoms per cc. In fact the Solar System is passing through the Local Interstellar Cloud.

bystander wrote:From inside the cloud, it probably wouldn't be too noticeable. It's an interstellar dust cloud, and still a hard vaccuum, with densities in the range of maybe hundreds of atoms per cc. In fact the Solar System is passing through the Local Interstellar Cloud.

from your wiki reference... wrote:The Local Interstellar Cloud's potential effects on Earth are prevented by the solar wind and the Sun's magnetic field.[3] This interaction with the heliosphere is under study by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), a NASA satellite mapping the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space.

I am learning that it’s amazing how much interstellar space effects life on Earth.

When I was a child, I thought that when it rained… it rained EVERYWHERE. Then one day at my Uncle’s farm it rained in the backyard but not the front yard. What a revelation for me! I spent several minutes running around and around the house at the wonder in it all.

I've always felt secure and taken for granted that the Earth continues to spin and the Sun continues to shine. Now I am learning that I could have burned up except for the solar wind. It feels a little like that day on my uncle's farm.

May the wonder never cease

zulu127 wrote:There is a yellow star in the upper right of the photo that appears to have 'spiral arms'. Is this an artifact or due to stellar rotation?

May be a galaxy that you've spotted but my astro mapping is way below most of the folks in this forum. I did find this interesing image posted on the NASA news today... I think it looks a bit like the "star" you're pointing out.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chand ... 0-009.html

zulu127 wrote:There is a yellow star in the upper right of the photo that appears to have 'spiral arms'. Is this an artifact or due to stellar rotation?

emc wrote:May be a galaxy that you've spotted but my astro mapping is way below most of the folks in this forum.

I agree, it's probably a galaxy.

emc wrote: I did find this interesing image posted on the NASA news today...

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... 31&t=18176

Hi Bystander,

Sorry, looks like I missed your earlier post of the Quasar Pair!

Seems you and I are sometimes on the same road (post).

BTW - I recall you teaching me how to link to another post but I have forgotten now... I would need to go back you your "how to" post to remember.

zulu127 wrote:There is a yellow star in the upper right of the photo that appears to have 'spiral arms'. Is this an artifact or due to stellar rotation?

The star is the giant K-type star HD 21110 (Henry Draper Catalog), 680 lightyears away, illuminating a reflection nebula.

http://www.sky-map.org/?ra=3.4232959201 ... ource=DSS2

emc wrote:Hi Bystander,

Sorry, looks like I missed your earlier post of the Quasar Pair!

Seems you and I are sometimes on the same road (post).

BTW - I recall you teaching me how to link to another post but I have forgotten now... I would need to go back you your "how to" post to remember.

I believe what you need to do is to Click on the Blue Title line at the top of the particular post. This will alter the HTTP address at the top of your browser. Copy and paste the URL link into your post/reply with the "URL" delimiters example, at the top of your post it reads "Re: Stardust in Perseus (2010 Feb 04)"

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... 77#p115355

Thanks BMAONE23 - I would forget my head if it... now where'd that thing get off to?

orin stepanek wrote:I love the picture. I'll use it as a background some day.

LOL That is what I do as well.

I wonder how many APOD viewers capture one or some of these images for an interesting desktop? I would venture that it was close to 90% if not more.

BTW I know own a large 17" Laptop with a 16:9 ratio and find most of the images do not fit nicely with my new monitor. Oh, well!

DonAVP wrote:

orin stepanek wrote:I love the picture. I'll use it as a background some day.

LOL That is what I do as well.

I wonder how many APOD viewers capture one or some of these images for an interesting desktop? I would venture that it was close to 90% if not more.

BTW I know own a large 17" Laptop with a 16:9 ratio and find most of the images do not fit nicely with my new monitor. Oh, well!

Oh Ya! Here is another nice place for wallpapers as well.
http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/wallpaper/

DonAVP wrote:I wonder how many APOD viewers capture one or some of these images for an interesting desktop? I would venture that it was close to 90% if not more.

I have 110 shots of Mars in one image folder, and 117 shots of stars, nebulae, etc. in another. I pick a new desktop image from them almost daily, as the mood strikes. Many came from APODs, but many others from other sites, sometimes found through links from this forum.

My monitor is 1680 x 1050 pixels, so many of these shots didn't originally fit it, though they're usually big enough to allow me to carve them a little. My graphics editor (GraphicConverter) allows me to set the proportions of the selection rectangle, so I can quickly drag a monitor-shaped selection out of a larger image and save it as another of my desktop images.

A big thank you goes out to The Asterisk, and all the other sources I've found.

Rob

A good and interesting photo. Maximo also makes nice model ships judged by the images of some in his website.

orin stepanek wrote:Oh Ya! Here is another nice place for wallpapers as well.

For all you wallpaper hangers.

Wallpaper