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Astronomy Picture of the Day
NASA ^ | 6/14/09 | Susan Stolovy (SSC/Caltech) et al.

Posted on 06/14/2009 4:29:07 AM PDT by sig226


Stars at the Galactic Center
Credit: Susan Stolovy (SSC/Caltech) et al., JPL-Caltech, NASA

Explanation: The center of our Milky Way Galaxy is hidden from the prying eyes of optical telescopes by clouds of obscuring dust and gas. But in this stunning vista, the Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared cameras, penetrate much of the dust revealing the stars of the crowded galactic center region. A mosaic of many smaller snapshots, the detailed, false-color image shows older, cool stars in bluish hues. Reddish glowing dust clouds are associated with young, hot stars in stellar nurseries. The very center of the Milky Way was only recently found capable of forming newborn stars. The galactic center lies some 26,000 light-years away, toward the constellation Sagittarius. At that distance, this picture spans about 900 light-years.


TOPICS: Astronomy Picture of the Day
KEYWORDS: apod
My God. It's full of stars.
1 posted on 06/14/2009 4:29:07 AM PDT by sig226
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To: fnord; Number57; KevinDavis; rdb3; MNJohnnie; RightWhale; proudofthesouth; hattend; ...

2 posted on 06/14/2009 4:29:31 AM PDT by sig226 (Real power is not the ability to destroy an enemy. It is the willingness to do it.)
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To: sig226

“my god it’s full of stars”

That is a line from 2010 Space Odyssey II


3 posted on 06/14/2009 4:43:53 AM PDT by Osnome (Moderation in all things)
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To: sig226
This picture should be added to that classic astronomy picture book: GALAXIES

When I first saw that book it in the 1980’s it cost $75 in the better bookstores.

4 posted on 06/14/2009 4:46:45 AM PDT by Osnome (Moderation in all things)
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To: sig226
My God. It's full of stars.

Beautiful! Thanks for posting these pictures. Very often, they make my day.

How anyone could look at a picture like that and believe we are alone in the universe is beyond my comprehension....

5 posted on 06/14/2009 4:48:33 AM PDT by Thermalseeker (Fight Fascism - Buy a Ford!)
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To: Thermalseeker

“They are beyond my comprehension!”

Correction!:

No! They are below Your Limits of Comprehension because they are for the most part, LIBERALS more accurately labeled PROGRESSIVES which some of Us call RETARDED:-)


6 posted on 06/14/2009 6:17:13 AM PDT by True Republican Patriot (GOD BLESS AMERICA and Our Last Great President George W. Bush)
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To: sig226

Does anyone else see a giant shark, facing left, fins and all?

Beautiful!


7 posted on 06/14/2009 9:07:50 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: TheOldLady

Yes, but it looks like it has legs and feet !


8 posted on 06/14/2009 4:29:19 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)
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To: fieldmarshaldj

Those are um... ah... schools of little fishies trying to escape the giant predator? Or it’s a bit of sand kicked up by the speedy passage of the shark? Uh...

Yeah, I kind of see legs and feet too.

But the shark part is still cool.


9 posted on 06/15/2009 3:43:07 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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