[RadioAstronomer]

bttt and a Merry Christmas to you all.

My very best wishes,

RA

[Jen]

Merry Christmas RA! {{{{hugs}}}}

[JustAmy]

Thanks for the ping. That is an interesting article.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

[mikegi]

Do astronomers ever sit back and simply be amazed at what they're looking at? Most of the time, I imagine, you're too busy with the nuts and bolts to really take in the effect these images have on layman like me.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get into a little backyard astronomy in a few years. My daughter is five but is already interested in looking through a telescope at the moon, etc.

Merry Christmas.

[King Prout]

coolie.

I still don't buyt the BBT - I prefer the plasma explanation - but these long-delayed visual data on young galaxies are welcome additions to the database.

[PatrickHenry]

Christmas greetings from PatrickHenry: Christmas 1776.

[Captain Beyond]

Hey new galaxies are always a good Christmas present. I always wanted one of my very own.(But wrapping it might pose a problem)8-)

Merry Christmas Radio Astronomer and Happy New Year!!

Best Wishes

Captain Beyond

[trussell]

Merry Christmas RadioAstronomer!!
Hugs!!

[Neuromancer]

A very Merry Christmas to you and yours....

[Boiler Plate]

Simply incredible, right under our noses whole new galaxies are found. Kinda like finding the winning $500,000,000 powerball ticket in your coat pocket. You know it's this kind of stuff that makes you realize that we really don't know that much about the place we live in.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Thanks for the ping Radio Astronomer!

I thought I'd share this. It may not be Hubble quality, but it's mine.

This is my most recent image of M-42 Nebula in Orion that was taken on 11/13/04.

This image was prime focus, 3 minute exposure film format, 20 minute exposure, and was processed with Adobe Photoshop, as the raw image had slight light pollution fogging, was slightly out of focus and there were some tracking problems. For those that are interested

At at distance of about 1600 light years from earth, the Orion Nebula owes its appearance to a grouping of four young, hot stars known as the Trapezium. The brightest member produces enough radiation to cause the surrounding shell of hydrogen gas to glow so brightly that we can see it from a distance of 1,600 light-years.

The gas clouds are actually a stellar nursery where new stars are being formed. The bright part of the nebula is the glow of many luminous, newborn stars shining on the surrounding gas cloud. The nebula and the brighter stars are very young by astronomical standards, at about 30,000 years old. Compare this to our own Sun, which is a middle-aged star at over four billion years!

And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and all.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Whoops, correction This was a 20 minute exposure. M-42 was 3 minutes.

My latest shot of star cluster below is M3. I am pretty proud of this one.

Its one of the most outstanding globular clusters, containing an estimated 500,000 stars. At a distance of about 33,900 light years, it is further away than the center of our Galaxy. The age of globular cluster predates earth and has been estimated at about 20 billion years old.

It was not visible to the unaided eye at my location due to moderate light pollution. This image is a 20 minute exposure, film format, and was processed with Adobe Photoshop, as the raw image had slight light pollution fogging, was slightly out of focus and there were tracking problems

Thought I'd share this too. Merry Christmas and a safe new year to all!

[djf]

Merry Christmas to you, my friend. Always a wonder to watch the skies, ain't it!

[Aracelis]

bttt and a Merry Christmas to you all.
My very best wishes,
RA

That's it? Just a ping and a "bttt"??? Santa's gonna fill your stocking with coal, Sir!

[AndrewC]

Thanks!

A merry and blessed Christmas to you and your family.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

[Shryke]

Thanks, RA, MC to you as well. No photographs have ever moved me more than the deep field ones. Beyond breathtaking.

[G.Mason]

Thank you.

From my home to yours, Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

[edwin hubble]

All the best for a peaceful Christmas, RA

Thanks for the Christmas wishes.

PS
The Geminids were a surprise hit here. All over the sky.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Thanks for the ping! This is interesting.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[VadeRetro]

bttt and a Merry Christmas to you all.

Merry Christmas to you!

Just back from blasting from the middle of the Delmarva Peninsula to good ol' West Virginia in ... Let's just say the police should be catching up to me in about 20 minutes. Frazzled, grumpy, and family-reunioned out.

That's what Christmas is supposed to be.

[bjs1779]

One of my favorites is M16

Star Birth Clouds in M16

This eerie, dark structure, resembling an imaginary sea serpent's head, is a column of cool molecular hydrogen gas (two atoms of hydrogen in each molecule) and dust that is an incubator for new stars. The stars are embedded inside finger-like protrusions extending from the top of the nebula. Each "fingertip" is somewhat larger than our own solar system.