Astronomy Picture of the Day 4-7-02

NASA ^ | 4-7-02 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 April 7

The Eskimo Nebula from Hubble
Credit: Andrew Fruchter (STScI) et al., WFPC2, HST, NASA

Explanation: In 1787, astronomer William Herschel discovered the Eskimo Nebula. From the ground, NGC 2392 resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood. In 2000, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged the Eskimo Nebula. From space, the nebula displays gas clouds so complex they are not fully understood. The Eskimo Nebula is clearly a planetary nebula, and the gas seen above composed the outer layers of a Sun-like star only 10,000 years ago. The inner filaments visible above are being ejected by strong wind of particles from the central star. The outer disk contains unusual light-year long orange filaments. The Eskimo Nebula lies about 5000 light-years away and is visible with a small telescope in the constellation of Gemini.

[petuniasevan]

This is by far the most detail I've ever seen in the Eskimo Nebula.

The big image (the one you get by clicking on this image) is HUGE and takes a while to load. Be patient; it's worth it.

As always, ask to be added to the APOD PING list OR
subscribe to the General Interest topic "Astronomy Picture of the Day"!

[petuniasevan]

APOD PING!

[glock rocks]

astounding photo. thank goodness for T-1.

please add me to your ping list. thanks!

[petuniasevan]

I use Roadrunner cable access myself. Quick!

You're on the list!

[Not now, Not ever!]

That picture was worth it at 30kb!!

[Helix]

That's incredible. It's even more amazing to me that hubble transmits numerical data which are then translated to these pictures.

[Helix]

I forgot to ask. Would you add me to the ping list, too?

Thanks

[petuniasevan]

Sure thing!

[ValerieUSA]

It's GORGEOUS!

[petuniasevan]

Yep, it is!

And to think it's the last gasp of a dying star...

[LurkerNoMore!]

Thanks for letting me know about this.... It is beautiful.

[petuniasevan]

I'm always happy to turn people on to the beauty throughout the universe!

More info:

The picture was taken Jan. 10 and 11, 2000, with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The nebula's glowing gases produce the colors in this image: nitrogen (red), hydrogen (green), oxygen (blue), and helium (violet).

[aomagrat]

Now that's interesting!

[glock rocks]

check out this photo!

[sistergoldenhair]

Wow!

[RightWhale]

the last gasp of a dying star

At the same time as it creates the heavier elements magnesium, copper, and iron, necessary constituents of chlorophyll and hemoglobin and thereby initiates the birth of the next cycle -- life.

[MozartLover]

Oh. My. Goodness.

Thank you so much for doing this. There is beauty out there that I could never have imagined!

[ValerieUSA]

Strange lights in the sky baffle Bavarians

MUNICH, Germany, April 7 (Reuters) - Strange lights in the sky baffled Bavarians late on Saturday as hundreds of panicked callers jammed police telephone lines seeking an explanation for the phenomenon.
Reports of an unsettling late-night natural light show came from all over the southern German state as well as the neighbouring region of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
"It had nothing to do with the weather. But I don't think little green men from Mars have landed in Bavaria. It was something burning out in the atmosphere," a meteorologist said.
"It was like a huge firework," a Reuters TV correspondent in Munich said, describing the display. "You could even see it through half-closed blinds. It lasted around three seconds," she said.
Pilots flying into Munich airport radioed the control tower with reports of unusual lights in the sky.
The German police said NASA scientists initially thought the light was caused by space junk -- floating debris in the Earth's atmosphere -- but later said they were still unsure.
The German army reported no unusual movements on its radar.
Scientists said the lights may have the result of a meteor breaking through the Earth's atmosphere.
"There are no signs of impact or damage. We can't say what it was," a police spokesman said.