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APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:08 am
by APOD Robot
The Dark Tower in Scorpius
Explanation: In silhouette against a crowded star field toward the constellation
Scorpius, this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of an
ominous dark tower. In fact, clumps of dust and molecular gas
collapsing to form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula, a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across this
gorgeous telescopic portrait. Known as a
cometary globule, the swept-back cloud, extending from the lower right to the head (top of the tower) left and above center, is shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from the
OB association of very hot stars in
NGC 6231, off the upper edge of the scene. That energetic ultraviolet light also powers the globule's bordering reddish glow of
hydrogen gas. Hot stars embedded in the dust can be seen as bluish
reflection nebulae. This dark tower,
NGC 6231, and associated nebulae are about 5,000 light-years away.
[/b]
Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:41 am
by NoelC
Ooh, what a beautiful image, Don! Well done!
-Noel
Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:50 am
by bystander
Child Rowland to the dark tower came,
His word was still 'Fie, foh, and fum
I smell the blood of a British man.
- King Lear, Act 3, scene 4
Childe Rowland
English Fairy Tail
Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:59 am
by neufer
---------------------------------------------
- ____ King Lear > Act III, scene IV
.
EDGAR: Child Rowland to the dark tower came,
___ His word was still,--Fie, foh, and fum,
___ I smell the blood of a British man.
-----------------------------------------------
- <<"Childe Rowland (or Roland) is a hero of an old Scottish ballad.
(The word "child" is used here with the force of a title. It is applied
to a youth of good birth who has not yet attained knighthood.)
From such references as are preserved, it would seem that the ballad
tells of a young lad, guided by Merlin, seeking in Elf-land his kidnapped
sister and gaining her through great peril. The actual ballad is lost and
"Poor Tom"/Edgar may here be reciting the first line. If so, it's the
only line that still exists. (Robert Browning wrote a Gothic poem
entitled "Child Roland to the Dark Tower Came" inspired by this line
in King Lear, but this poem has no connection with the old ballad.)
From the heroic old ballad, "poor Tom" passes to the stock exclamation
attributed to villainous giants on the track of a hiding hero.>>
.
-- p.36, Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare Part II.
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Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 5:25 am
by BMAONE23
This
Child Roland also hastened to the Dark Tower
![Image](http://bks9.books.google.com/books?id=5-KzpXSW2O0C&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&sig=ACfU3U2bNXz0dvSTkb9L6oQd0YukzmewSg&h=160)
Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 7:46 am
by petsie
Hi,
I did not read the link to "OB association", sorry. Has it something in common with "Oh, Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me Right Now!" or in short: "OBAFGKMRN"? I remember that I read this some 25 years ago. Is OB meanwhile a new classification of stars (sth. between O and B)?
Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:20 pm
by Ann
petsie wrote:Hi,
I did not read the link to "OB association", sorry. Has it something in common with "Oh, Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me Right Now!" or in short: "OBAFGKMRN"? I remember that I read this some 25 years ago. Is OB meanwhile a new classification of stars (sth. between O and B)?
It means O stars
and B stars. In other words, it means the two hottest, brightest and most massive types of stars. An OB association always contains several B-type stars, and often it contains at least one O-type star, too. I'm not sure if O stars are absolutely required. But if there are not O-type stars present, there should at least be several stars of early class B (B0, B1, B2 and B3).
Ann
Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:09 pm
by mexhunter
Lovely image, deserved selection.
Congratulations amigo Don!!!
Greetings
César
Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:21 pm
by Ann
Indeed, great image. This is a very fascinating structure. It is really interesting to see how the top of the structure seems to consist of several layers with the same general outline. It is like watching a cosmic structure wearing clothes.
I like how blue stars seem to cluster around a part of this dark tower, as if the blue stars were born there. Maybe they were, too.
Ann
Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 12:11 am
by Hmmm
Does anyone know the significance of the planets aligning on this date, April 27th, 2011?
Re: APOD: The Dark Tower in Scorpius (2011 Apr 27)
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 12:32 am
by bystander
Coincidence?