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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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The Christmas decorations are appearing in the stores, along with a selection of yuletide gift wraps, cards, place settings, etc. So Halloween must be coming along soon! Halloween Halloween falls midway between an equinox and a solstice. In the ancient Celtic world it was the new year's eve and start of winter - time to prepare for survival in the darkening days. But also a time when the boundary between our world and the otherworld weakened. Who knew what might cross it?
Last edited by Mona - Astronomy; 10/23/16 01:20 PM.
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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The Witch Head Nebula. It's catalogued as IC2118, but it does rather look like the profile of a stereotypical witch. She's looking towards the bright star Rigel in the constellation Orion. The nebula doesn't give out any light on its own, but it's illuminated by Rigel.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,133 Likes: 52
Chimpanzee
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Chimpanzee
Joined: Apr 2002
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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Is this a cosmic witch's preferred transportation? It's NGC 6960, also known as the [ i]Witch Broom[/i], a part of the Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant about 9000 years old. Credit: Fred Herrmann, Owl Mountain Observatory on Blue Mountain in Huntsville, Alabama. Photo dated 2013.
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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OP
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30 |
Cosmic Halloween Tour Join me on a Halloween astronomical tour. See a cosmic witch and cosmic ghosts, spiders and snakes, and fiery skull. But have no fear. It's a virtual tour and all these objects are a very long way away.
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30 |
Spectral hand and ring of fire? No, it's pulsar PSR B1509-58, a spinning neutron star imaged by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. It's located in the constellation Circinus. The rapid spin is sending charged matter into a strongly magnetized nebula, and creating these amazing shapes.
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Joined: Jan 2013
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Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
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Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
Joined: Jan 2013
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,133 Likes: 52
Chimpanzee
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Chimpanzee
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,133 Likes: 52 |
Mona, Nancy, WOW is right - incredible.
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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OP
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30 |
Here is apparently a ghostly apparition. Although it looks like the popular image of a ghost, it's actually the nebula vdB 152, a reflection nebulae where dust is absorbing red light and scattering blue light from nearby stars.
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30
BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
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BellaOnline Editor Renaissance Human
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 11,948 Likes: 30 |
Here is the Ghost Nebula (vdB 141), which is a strangely unsettling vision. It's a reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus. The light of stars embedded in the nebula give it the brown color that looks a bit liked dried blood. (Image credit: Ivan dot astroeder)
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