Posted on 06/28/2012 6:12:55 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: The glare of Alpha Centauri, one of the brightest stars in planet Earth's night sky, floods the left side of this southern skyscape. A mere 4.3 light-years distant, Alpha Centauri actually consists of two component stars similar in size to the Sun, locked in a mutual orbit. Much smaller and cooler, a third member of the same star system, Proxima Centauri, lies outside this field of view. Still, the telescopic scene does reveal often overlooked denizens of the Milky Way's crowded galactic plane that lie beyond the glare of Alpha Centauri, including a planetary nebula cataloged as Hen 2-111, an estimated 7,800 light-years away. The gaseous shroud of a dying star, the nebula's brighter core and fainter halo of reddish ionized gas span over twenty light-years, seen just right of picture center. Farther right are two notable open clusters of stars, the compact Pismis 19 also nearly 8,000 light-years away whose light is reddened by intervening dust, and the looser, closer NGC 5617. Just visible in the glare of Alpha Centauri is the dim glow of a shell-like supernova remnant, above and right of the closest star system's bright core.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit & Copyright: Marco Lorenzi (Glittering Lights)]
There's a revolt going on there, that's what I read anyway.
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Awesome Pic! :-)
Its been nearly 40 years since I read about the revolt. Its gotta be over by now.
That is a really fantastic photo.
You must have an awesome memory!
I read that book as well, but didn’t recall it until you jogged my own memory.
Thanks for bringing them back to the surface.
At the Voyager 1 spacecraft velocity of 10.72 miles/sec it should only take about 73,600 years to get there!
4.3 light years.
What would the crew of a space ship do with their time en route?
And what would they do when they got there?
When they arrive, they will be welcomed by their descendents who figured out a much faster way to get there.
Note: this topic is from 6/28/2012.
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have you met Gully Foyle?
So, that Centauri place is mad dogging (glaring at) us because it’s called the Alpha? Thinks it’s a tough guy, huh?
No. I googled him (he didn’t mind) and found that I hadn’t even heard of that series of books. Are they good?
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