Starship Asterisk*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared wrote:Infrared radiation (IR) is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength between 0.7 and 300 micrometres

geckzilla wrote:Things which emit or reflect 22-micron light.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H_II_region wrote:
<<The actual birth of stars within H II regions is hidden from us by the dense clouds of gas and dust which surround the nascent stars. It is only when the radiation pressure from a star drives away its 'cocoon' that it becomes visible. Before then, the dense regions which contain the new stars are often seen in silhouette against the rest of the ionised nebula—these dark patches are known as Bok globules, after astronomer Bart Bok, who proposed in the 1940s that they might be stellar birthplaces. Confirmation of Bok's hypothesis had to wait until 1990, when infrared observations finally penetrated the thick dust of Bok globules to reveal young stellar objects within. It is now thought that a typical Bok globule contains about 10 solar masses of material in a region about a light-year or so across, and that Bok globules most commonly result in the formation of double or multiple star systems.>>

Michel P wrote:I wonder what the night sky would look like for a planet in M110 or M32. Would M31 be seen edge on, as a full disc or something in between? Would Andromeda block out a considerable part of the night sky, and how bright would it be? What insights on the structure and evolution of galaxies would be available from such a view that aren't accessible to astronomers on earth?

Chris Peterson wrote:

Michel P wrote:I wonder what the night sky would look like for a planet in M110 or M32. Would M31 be seen edge on, as a full disc or something in between? Would Andromeda block out a considerable part of the night sky, and how bright would it be? What insights on the structure and evolution of galaxies would be available from such a view that aren't accessible to astronomers on earth?

I think their night skies would look very similar to our own. From M110, M32 would probably resemble the Milky Way- a faint glowing band across the sky. From M32, M110 would probably resemble the Large Magellanic Cloud- one of our own satellite galaxies.

I don't think astronomers in those locations would see anything we couldn't see from here, in terms of understanding the nature of the cosmos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canis_Major_Dwarf_Galaxy wrote:
<<The Canis Major Dwarf galaxy was first discovered in November 2003 by an international team of astronomers. Although closer to the Earth than the centre of the galaxy itself, the Canis Major Dwarf galaxy was difficult to detect as it is located behind the plane of the Milky Way, where concentrations of stars, gas and dust are densest. This, along with its small size, explains why it was not discovered sooner. The team of astronomers that discovered it were collaborating on analysis of data from the Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), a comprehensive survey of the sky in infrared light, which is not blocked by gas and dust as severely as visible light. Because of this technique, scientists were able to detect a very significant over-density of class M giant stars in a part of the sky occupied by the Canis Major constellation, along with several other related structures composed of this type of star, two of which form broad, faint arcs.>>

kjardine wrote:The Wikipedia article you cite has one paragraph remarking on this controversy - in my view this article should be rewritten to make it clearer that a "Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy" is a controversial hypothesis rather than a confirmed object, or still better, given the level of scientific controversy, it should just be deleted.

rstevenson wrote:Wikipedia has a process for making these sorts of changes, if needed. Register and participate. It's a Good Thing.