ASTRONOMY - LDN 43: The Cosmic Bat Nebula

 2022 October 31

LDN 43: The Cosmic Bat Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby; Text: Michelle Thaller (NASA's GSFC)

Explanation: What is the most spook-tacular nebula in the galaxy? One contender is LDN 43, which bears an astonishing resemblance to a vast cosmic bat flying amongst the stars on a dark Halloween night. Located about 1400 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus, this molecular cloud is dense enough to block light not only from background stars, but from wisps of gas lit up by the nearby reflection nebula LBN 7. Far from being a harbinger of death, this 12-light year-long filament of gas and dust is actually a stellar nursery. Glowing with eerie light, the bat is lit up from inside by dense gaseous knots that have just formed young stars.

ASTRONOMY - Seven Years of Halley Dust

 2022 October 28

Seven Years of Halley Dust
Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horalek / Institute of Physics in Opava

Explanation: History's first known periodic comet Halley (1P/Halley) returns to the inner Solar System every 75 years or so. The famous comet made its last appearance to the naked-eye in 1986. But dusty debris from Comet Halley can be seen raining through planet Earth's skies twice a year during two annual meteor showers, the Eta Aquarids in May and the Orionids in October. Including meteors near the shower maximum on October 21, this composite view compiles Orionid meteors captured from years 2015 through 2022. About 47 bright meteors are registered in the panoramic night skyscape. Against a starry background extending along the Milky Way, the Orionid meteors all seem to radiate from a point just north of Betelgeuse in the familiar constellation of the Hunter. In the foreground are mountains in eastern Slovakia near the city of Presov.

ASTRONOMIE - Comprendre Mars

La planète rouge est considérée par certains experts comme une solution potentielle à la survie de l'humanité. Mais connaissez-vous réellement cette planète ?

ASTRONOMY - Sunset, Moonset, Taj Mahal

 2022 October 27

Sunset, Moonset, Taj Mahal
Image Credit & Copyright: Neelam and Ajay Talwar (TWAN)

Explanation: On October 25th, Sun and New Moon set together as seen from Agra, India. Their close conjunction near the western horizon, a partial solar eclipse, was captured in this elevated view in hazy skies near the solitary dome of the Taj Mahal. Of course, the partial solar eclipse was also seen from most of Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, and western parts of Asia. This eclipse was the last of two solar eclipses (both partial eclipses) in 2022. But the next Full Moon will slide through planet Earth's shadow on November 7/8, in a total lunar eclipse.

MICROPHOTOGRAPHIE - Granulite et graphite

 

Granulite comportant du graphite. La granulite est une roche métamorphique composée de quartz et de feldspath. L'échantillon provient de l'État de Kerala, au sud ouest de l'Inde. Image réalisée en lumière polarisée. Grossissement 2,5x.

Dr. Bernardo Cesare

Département de géosciences, Padoue, Italie

FuturaSciences

MACROPHOTOGRAPHIE - Miki Asai - En attendant que vienne une fourmi

La photographe japonaise Miki Asai a choisi la macrophotographie pour révéler à nos yeux ce que la nature a l'habitude de nous dissimuler avec pudeur. Ainsi, elle se refuse à manipuler les insectes qu'elle prend pour modèles. Au lieu de cela, elle prône la patience. Elle peut parfois attendre ainsi plusieurs heures que la scène parfaite se dessine sous son objectif.

FuturaSciences

AVIATION IMAGINEE - La voiture volante individuelle

Hildebrands, une célèbre marque de chocolat allemand dans les années 1900, nous imaginait chacun en possession d'une voiture volante. Ces dessins suggèrent différents types d'appareils, allant des ailes de chauve-souris à la baignoire surmontant quatre ailes improbables. Ils nous font aujourd'hui sourire par leur optimisme mais sont surtout révélateurs de l'époque des pionniers de l'aviation qui laissait présager un futur aérien...

© Hildebrands

FuturaSciences

ASTRONOMIE - Mars arrive !

Bien visible à l’œil nu, Mars est sans doute le monde planétaire qui excite le plus notre imaginaire. Observable tous les deux ans, elle est au plus près de nous le 8 décembre 2022 et s’observe facilement tout le long de l’automne 2022 et de l’hiver 2023

Stelvision

ASTRONOMY - Jupiter Rotates as Moons Orbit

 2022 October 25

Jupiter Rotates as Moons Orbit
Video Credit & Copyright: Makrem Larnaout

Explanation: Jupiter and its moons move like our Sun and its planets. Similarly, Jupiter spins while its moons circle around. Jupiter’s rotation can be observed by tracking circulating dark belts and light zones. The Great Red Spot, the largest storm known, rotates to become visible after about 15 seconds in the 48-second time lapse video. The video is a compilation of shorts taken over several nights last month and combined into a digital recreation of how 24-continuous hours would appear. Jupiter's brightest moons always orbit in the plane of the planet's rotation, even as Earth’s spin makes the whole system appear to tilt. The moons Europa, Ganymede, and Io are all visible, with Europa's shadow appearing as the icy Galilean moon crosses Jupiter's disk. Jupiter remains near opposition this month, meaning that it is unusually bright, near to its closest to the Earth, and visible nearly all night long.

ASTRONOMY - Milky Way and Zodiacal Light over Australian Pinnacles

 2022 October 23

Milky Way and Zodiacal Light over Australian Pinnacles
Image Credit & Copyright: Jingyi Zhang

Explanation: What strange world is this? Earth. In the foreground of the featured image are the Pinnacles, unusual rock spires in Nambung National Park in Western Australia. Made of ancient sea shells (limestone), how these human-sized picturesque spires formed remains a topic of research. The picturesque panorama was taken in 2017 September. A ray of zodiacal light, sunlight reflected by dust grains orbiting between the planets in the Solar System, rises from the horizon near the image center. Arching across the top is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. The planets Jupiter and Saturn, as well as several famous stars are also visible in the background night sky.