APOD: Cold dust, Hot image March 22, 2010
Posted by sarah in: astronomy, pics . 1 comment so far
Today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day is this stunning image of a section of the Galaxy as seen at far-infrared wavelengths. The high-resolution parts come from the recently launched Planck satellite, the rest from the older infrared satellite IRAS. The bright material shown in the image is very cold gas and dust, whose radiation peaks at these long infrared wavelengths.
Image: ESA, Planck HFI Consortium, IRAS
Space, Not Safe For Work March 18, 2010
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Astropixie has started a new post on her blog called Dirty Space News, inspired by a rather unfortunate-looking figure in a paper she was reading from astro-ph. There have been lots of contributions with more suggestively shaped figured and images. I wonder if Sarah Gallagher, the paper’s lead author, knows the new movement her last paper has sparked?
I spotted the poster shown above in our corridor – its designers have amazingly managed to make the XMM satellite look even more phallic than it already did…. I’m starting to think X-ray astronomers have had a lot of fun with this over the years.
Go check it out here and send her your own Dirty Space images!
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
Posted by sarah in: new astronomy, pics . 1 comment so far
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.
