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.
2003 February 12 
Posted on 02/11/2003 9:43:32 PM PST by petuniasevan
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.
2003 February 12
Explanation: Analyses of a new high-resolution map of microwave light emitted only 380,000 years after the Big Bang appear to define our universe more precisely than ever before. The eagerly awaited results from the orbiting Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe resolve several long-standing disagreements in cosmology rooted in less precise data. Specifically, present analyses of above WMAP all-sky image indicate that the universe is 13.7 billion years old (accurate to 1 percent), composed of 73 percent dark energy, 23 percent cold dark matter, and only 4 percent atoms, is currently expanding at the rate of 71 km/sec/Mpc (accurate to 5 percent), underwent episodes of rapid expansion called inflation, and will expand forever. Astronomers will likely research the foundations and implications of these results for years to come.
(Universe expansion rate) "71 km/sec/Mpc": 71 kilometers per second per Megaparsec. Mega means million; parsec is a unit of distance equal to about 3.26 light-years.
Does anyone you know live in a foreign country? Maybe they would like to see the APOD in their own language! Here are some APOD mirror links for various countries/languages!
APOD now available in Portuguese from Brazil.
APOD now also available from Japan in Japanese.
APOD now also available from Czech Republic in Czech.
Product Review by Filippo Salviati J
The Trashmeadtron 115mm f/10 Deep Sky computer controlled telescope has become a minor sensation overnight. Handcrafted in Botswana by Southern Africa's most distinguished optical house. Containing flawless soda ash glass, seasoned cellulose fiber tubing and recycled AK47 cartridge cases, this telescope has entered the computer age. The four-element, semi-fraunhofer / apochromat mates flawlessly with the full range of ten simplified Huygens eyepieces, the 2mm version giving a dramatic 2,300 times magnification, with the field wide enough to show the whole of Callisto, while the mega wide-field 40mm at 28 times magnification, fully displays half of Mare Crisium.
The specifications of the Computer drive are still a trade secret, assisted by the fact that the operating manual is written in medieval Swahili, but pointing the Trashmeadtron in the general direction of any star using the 5 x 5 finder, will result in a star (though usually not the one in the finder) making its way into the field of view of the eyepiece, providing of course that the eyepiece doesn't fall out of the focuser during this process.
Want to see color in the Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, Sirius, and The Moon ? The Trashmeadtron will astound you with its range of colors, which no other telescope comes close to displaying, especially with the shorter focal length eyepieces.
With a suggested retail price of only $995.99, (street price of $10) these scopes are selling fast. Unconditionally guaranteed for the life of any good alkaline battery, this is a great scope for the unwitting amateur astronomer or anyone who has daydreamed of owning that beautiful telescope that stood before him or her at their local WAL-MART store.
The Bulgarian and Israeli links still have the Columbia crew page up.
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