Astronomy Picture of the Day: 01/09/13 - Orion"s Sword in the Winter Sky

This epic picture was captured by Mike Berenson at Colorado Captures. It reveals the splendor of one of the night sky"s biggest attractions - the Sword of Orion. This region of the sky houses the Orion nebula (the very bright pinkish/blue one), among other interesting objects and features. Altogether, this little region of sky is one of the most viewed regions and best studied regions in the entire celestial hemisphere.



The Orion nebula is the closest nebula to Earth, residing at a distance of 1300 light years. This makes it a hot destination for professional astronomers who want to study the nebula"s intricate detail. Amateur astronomers turn their eye to Orion because it is one of the most stunning objects in the night sky.

http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-010913-orions-sword-in-the-winter-sky/

Image Credit: Mike Berenson (Colorado Captures)

Introduction to the Anti-matter Mystery:

Apart from dark matter, dark energy, black holes, and the missing-baryons of the universe, one of the most captivating mysteries in modern day physics centers on antimatter. Particularly, it focuses on the metaphorical fight between regular matter and antimatter, which were both created in equal proportions during the inception of the universe about 14 billion years ago.

It"s as much of a philosophical question as it is a question of general physics. If antimatter had won out, none of our physical universe (including us) would exist, since both would have annihilated each other in bursts of pure radiation, leaving behind energy and a bright but featureless universe. So, to what exactly do we owe the extended presence of normal matter?

Find out at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/introduction-to-the-anti-matter-mystery/

Image via CERN

Behemoths of the Universe: Hypergiant Stars

We’ve told you about all about VY Canis Majoris, the most sizable star in the known universe. Lurking in the cosmos some 4,900 light-years from earth (about 28.8 quadrillion miles from our home), Canis Majoris is a mammoth without compare. If this star were in the center of our solar system, it would extend far beyond the orbit of Saturn (so let’s be glad that it’s a few quadrillion miles away).

To give you some hard figures, the circumference of our Sun is approximate 2.7 million miles (4.3 million km), while Canis Majoris is approximately 1.9 billion miles (3 billion km). This means that, when circling around the sun, light clocks in at about 14.58 seconds. However, it takes almost 8 hours for photons to travel around Canis Majoris.

Learn about the biggest known stars at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/behemoths-of-the-universe-hypergiant-stars/

Image via NASA/wikimedia

What is a Quasar?

Perhaps one of the most perplexing mysteries in current astrophysics is the science behind Quasars. Quasars, or "quasi-stellar radio sources" are the brightest and most distant star-like objects in the known universe. In fact, they are so bright and they emit so much energy, some of them are believed to be producing 10 to 100 times more energy than the entire Milky Way Galaxy in an area that"s comparable to the size of our solar system.

Learn all about these objects at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/quasars/

Image:
NASA

Timeline of the Future: Part I

Science allows us to do many amazing things. It enables us to analyze the bones of the ancients in order to better understand where we came from; it allows us to glimpse the microscopic organisms that currently share our planet, and it even lets us peek into the future -- foreseeing events like the Sun’s expansion and the death of Earth. Of course, we can never say what will happen with 100% certainty, but we can use our data to make solid predictions about the future.

So join us on a journey to the furthest reaches of time, and see what the future has in store. Here is Part I of the Timeline of the Future.
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/timeline-of-the-future-part-i/

Image source:
Wikimedia

Gamma Ray Bursts and The Fireball Model

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are some of the most energetic events in the universe. The energy that is released during a GRB is impressively high (the most powerful bursts can eject energy equal to over 9000 supernovae). These energy levels are so extreme that they cannot be created by thermal processes. So, what causes these high energy levels?

Find out at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-fireball-model/

Image source before editing:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/bursts/short_burst_oct5.html

Harlow Shapley: The Accidental Astronomer

Read more about this incredible story, here: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/harlow-shapley-the-accidental-astronomer/

Image Source (Before Editing): http://ow.ly/rhk2e

Astronomy Picture of the day; 11/24/13 - NGC 7027

It"s absolutely fascinating to me that nebulae that form in the same fashion (also from the same general size and type of star) can create structures that look absolutely nothing alike. This is a great example of such, a planetary nebula, located approximately 3,000 light-years from Earth (in the Cygnus constellation). These nebulae form after sun-like stars exhaust their supply of hydrogen found in their core, causing the stars to balloon in size whilst the process of helium consumption begins. Throughout this process, the outer-layers of material peel off (similar to an onion), forming a planetary nebula (a fate our sun will experience eventually.).

Sources & Additional Reading: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-112413-ngc-7027/

Image by Arnie Rosner (Additional Credit: W. B. Latter (SIRTF /Caltech) et al., NICMOS, HST, NASA)

How Does the Sun Appear on Other Planets?

Question: "I was recently thinking about how big the sun looks on our planet. I then started to wonder how big it would look on Mars then Jupiter, Saturn. So on so forth until we reached little Pluto. So I ask, how big would our personal star look on all the planets? Including Mercury and Venus."

To see what the Sun would look like from Pluto, see: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/how-does-the-sun-appear-on-other-planets/