Cool astronomy photos

[Fid]

There is still plenty of time for catastrophic failure. Be patient.

[Anaxagoras]

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/telescope_alignment_evaluation_image_labeled.png

This is from the Webb. You can click to embiggen.

It's basically in pretty good focus now although there is more fine tuning and calibration of the various instruments to be done.

Amazing that nothing really went wrong. Has Murphy taken a holiday? :notsure:

The star in the center of the image is 100 times dimmer than anything that could be discerned with the naked eye, even under the most favorable stargazing conditions. Here, it's almost too bright.



https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa ... ccessfully

[Anaxagoras]

https://www.universetoday.com/wp-conten ... 0x1200.jpg

New Radio Images of Bizarre “Odd Radio Circles” Which are Vastly Bigger Than the Milky Way

Known as Odd Radio Circles, or ORCs, they are roughly a million light-years across, which is about ten times wider than the Milky Way. Observations show that ORCs are centered around an elliptical galaxy, which suggests a galactic connection. It has been suggested that ORCs are formed by shock waves triggered by a powerful event such as a gamma-ray burst or fast radio burst, but given the size of ORCs, these events would need to have been triggered very far in the past. And shock waves can typically be seen in other wavelengths such as infrared and x-rays, but ORCs are only seen in radio light.

But a new study suggests other possible origins. Using the MeerKAT radio telescope, the team captured new data from one of the six confirmed ORCs, creating the highest resolution image so far. This revealed ring structures not previously seen. The team also measured the polarization of light from the ORC, which helped them narrow down possible causes.

Based on the observations, the light is consistent with that of synchrotron radiation. This occurs when charged particles are caught within a magnetic field. As the particles spiral along magnetic field lines, they emit a faint radio light. This often occurs with diffuse plasma, and it suggests a spherical shell gas was pushed away from the galaxy either through a rapid period of star production or the merger of supermassive black holes.

[Bruce]

No one wants to say it, but I will.

Those look like plasma arcs following magnetic field lines, except the magnetic field surrounds a galaxy, making it profoundly huge.

I don't mind calling out what I see. I remember telling my high school science teacher that spiral galaxies looked just like water going down a drain and asking if that could mean there is a huge black hole in the center of each spiral galaxy. This was before anyone was taking black holes seriously as real objects. The teacher and my classmates all laughed, but who's laughing now?








No one. No one is laughing because super massive black holes and super huge magnetic fields surrounding galaxies still don't pay the bills, which is why I didn't pursue astro physics as a career.

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disne ... tzFull.jpg

And unlike Heinz Doofenshmirtz, I don't have alimony from a rich ex-wife to fund my mad scientist interests, but I wish I did. :(

[sparks]

Always good to hear from you Bruce! Thanks.

[robinson]

No one is laughing because super massive black holes and super huge magnetic fields surrounding galaxies still don't pay the bills, which is why I didn't pursue astro physics as a career.

Same here.

My "most hated" hypothesis was that unseen dust and gas was the real dark matter, and of course my objection to the solution to Olber's paradox did not make me popular with my betters.

https://spaceinsider.com/wp-content/upl ... 90x490.jpg

[robinson]

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/godd ... ctic-wings

[Anaxagoras]

https://archive.ph/MyWrW

[Doctor X]

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpspr ... 85_top.jpg

This is the gargantuan black hole that lives at the centre of our galaxy, pictured for the very first time.

Known as Sagittarius A*, the object is a staggering four million times the mass of our Sun.

What you see is a central dark region where the hole resides, circled by the light coming from super-heated gas accelerated by immense gravitational forces.

For scale, the ring is roughly the size of Mercury's orbit around our star.

That's about 60 million km, or 40 million miles, across.

Bugger'd by Colonists

– J.D.

[Pyrrho]

I am sure someone has already 'shopped it into goatse.

[Ben Trovado]

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpspr ... 85_top.jpg

– J.D.

Big deal. ALL the pictures at my eye doctor's place look like that.

They have for the last 6-7 years. Before that, he had nice ones.

[Hotarubi]

I am sure someone has already 'shopped it into goatse.

Challenge accept'd.


https://i.ibb.co/kHyHXdg/BySOiyW.png

[Doctor X]

All you did was take a self-portrait.

– J.D.

[Hotarubi]

Only the internet generation feels a sense of superiority and pride about posting a goatsee first.

[Hotarubi]

All you did was take a self-portrait.

– J.D.

You never complained about my gaseous ring.

[Doctor X]

Except when you lit it.

– J.D.

[Hotarubi]

It wasn't my fault. It was the gravity in ma cavity.

[Hotarubi]

Yessssss. I thought of that one last night.

I was hoping...hoping someone would answer.