Not a planet, still interesting February 7, 2010
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Despite Mike Brown’s best efforts, Pluto is not dead (yet). These cool new images of the tiny non-planet taken with the Hubble Space Telescope show that it is by no means a boring lump of icy rock. When comparing these images, taken in 2002-2003, to a previous set dating back to 1994, scientists noticed some striking changes. This would suggest that Pluto, just like many bodies in the solar system, shows seasonal activity and all kinds of interesting chemistry as it moves along its looong orbit around the Sun.
Image: NASA, ESA, and M. Buie (Southwest Research Institute)
Oh My Herschel December 17, 2009
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Herschel stares into Aquila
Scientists have gathered in Madrid this week to discuss for the first time the data they have received from the new infrared telescope Herschel that was launched in May of this year. Some fantastic images have been produced as part of the first observing programmes, like the one above of an active star forming region in the constellation Aquila. The region was known as a ‘dark cloud’ – meaning that dust was blocking any visible or near-infrared radiation coming from its interior. Until Herschel came along, and switched on the lights. Observing at longer infrared wavelengths, the telescope is sensitive to radiation from cooler and dusty material, allowing it to peer into the cloud’s interior. The image, created from data from two of Herschel’s images, PACS and SPIRE, shows up to 700 dense pockets of cold and dusty material that may eventually condense into stars; around 100 of them have progressed to the protostellar stage where they begin to resemble a young forming star.
ESA has launched a new site to showcase the Herschel images. A little sparsely populated so far, but the first postings are very promising indeed.
Image credit: ESA and the SPIRE & PACS consortia, Ph. André (CEA Saclay) for the Gould’s Belt Key Programme Consortia
Magazine FAIL! October 23, 2009
Posted by sarah in: pics, random, women . 3comments
Rubens couldn't get designers to send him size 12 samples either
What is it about women’s magazines these days that makes me want to set fire to something? Or, you know, write a great big angry blog post. They used to be a welcome diversion after a hard day at work but these days, the few times that I still read them, usually on long flights, they just irritate me.
Star formation as seen by Herschel October 3, 2009
Posted by sarah in: new astronomy, pics, science, space . 1 comment so far
The great images from Herschel continue to come in. This week ESA released the first image that combines data from two of its instruments, PACS and SPIRE.While each instrument has its own unique functionality, the true power of a multi-mode observatory like Herschel is often the ability the observe the same region of sky with several of its instruments simultaneously, to offer a richer view of the target than possible with a single instrument.
Hubble lives, long live Hubble! September 9, 2009
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Following months of commissioning and calibrating Hubble’s new instruments installed during the servicing mission earlier this year, NASA today released the first set of images from the revamped observatory. Each of the images show one of the gourmet pieces of the visible Universe, like the group of interacting galaxies known as Stephan’s Quintet, above. The image is a composite made up of many from different filters all taken with the new wide-field camera, WFC3. Brilliant!
For the full set of images released today, hop over here.
