Aimless In Space

My own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.
--J.B.S. Haldane--


Rachael - Detroit - WSU

Mad Scientist-in-Training

Clastrophysicist (Classics/Astronomy/Physics)

This is my super spectacular (mostly) space blog!! I also enjoy math, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, jellyfish, Detroit, Futurama, and cats.
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Posts tagged "science"

Twisting Solar Eruption

On May 3, 2013, a magnetic “active region” on the Sun erupted in a small solar flare. This triggered a towering prominence, a huge blast of superheated plasma into space. This footage, created from ultraviolet observations by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, shows the event, compressing three hours of real time into 19 seconds.

Video: NASA/SDO/Helioviewer.org
Audio: Kevin MacLeod, “Epic Unease”, incompetech.com

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NASA | Earth from Orbit 2012

A look back at the best views of our planet from space in the last year, including true color satellite images, Earth science data visualizations, time lapses from the International Space Station, and computer models

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Astronomers have long known that a spectacular barred spiral galaxy named NGC 6872 is a behemoth, but by compiling data from several space- and ground-based observatories and running a few computer simulations, they have now determined this is the largest spiral galaxy we know of. This composite of the giant barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 combines visible light images from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope with far-ultraviolet data from NASA’s GALEX and 3.6-micron infrared data acquired by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/ESO/JPL-Caltech/DSS Read more 

Astronomers have long known that a spectacular barred spiral galaxy named NGC 6872 is a behemoth, but by compiling data from several space- and ground-based observatories and running a few computer simulations, they have now determined this is the largest spiral galaxy we know of.

This composite of the giant barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 combines visible light images from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope with far-ultraviolet data from NASA’s GALEX and 3.6-micron infrared data acquired by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/ESO/JPL-Caltech/DSS

Read more 

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In many ways, the ongoing eruption of Shiveluch is typical of the activity that occurs along a volcanic arc. Thick lava rises from the interface between two convergent tectonic plates. In this case, the relatively light continental crust of the Kamchatka Peninsula is overriding dense oceanic crust, which is being pulled into the Earth’s interior. Instead of flowing down Shiveluch’s steep slopes, the thick, pasty lava builds upwards in a formation known as a lava dome. <full article>

In many ways, the ongoing eruption of Shiveluch is typical of the activity that occurs along a volcanic arc. Thick lava rises from the interface between two convergent tectonic plates. In this case, the relatively light continental crust of the Kamchatka Peninsula is overriding dense oceanic crust, which is being pulled into the Earth’s interior. Instead of flowing down Shiveluch’s steep slopes, the thick, pasty lava builds upwards in a formation known as a lava dome.

<full article>

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Bopha continued moving toward the Philippines on December 3, 2012. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite(VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite acquired this natural-color image the same day. Over the previous day, Bopha moved west of Palau, and by December 3, storm clouds were skirting the island of Mindanao. The same day that VIIRS acquired this image, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Bopha packed sustained winds of 140 knots (260 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 170 knots (315 kilometers per hour). The storm was located about 630 nautical miles (1,170 kilometers) southeast of the Philippine capital of Manila, and was moving toward the west-northwest, JTWC reported.

Bopha continued moving toward the Philippines on December 3, 2012. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite(VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite acquired this natural-color image the same day. Over the previous day, Bopha moved west of Palau, and by December 3, storm clouds were skirting the island of Mindanao.

The same day that VIIRS acquired this image, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Bopha packed sustained winds of 140 knots (260 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 170 knots (315 kilometers per hour). The storm was located about 630 nautical miles (1,170 kilometers) southeast of the Philippine capital of Manila, and was moving toward the west-northwest, JTWC reported.

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theoneaboutscience: Saturn’s north polar vortex (an animation) Cassini took 14 images of Saturn’s north polar vortex on November 27, 2012 over a period of many hours as the planet rotated beneath it. The 14 images have been processed to remove the geometric effects of Cassini’s oblique viewpoint and of Saturn’s rotation, holding the outer bright ring of white clouds fixed. With these motions removed, you can see individual vortices rotating and shearing, and the central clouds rotating faster than the outer ones. (via That amazing image of Saturn’s north pole just got better: now, it moves! | The Planetary Society)

theoneaboutscience:

Saturn’s north polar vortex (an animation)

Cassini took 14 images of Saturn’s north polar vortex on November 27, 2012 over a period of many hours as the planet rotated beneath it. The 14 images have been processed to remove the geometric effects of Cassini’s oblique viewpoint and of Saturn’s rotation, holding the outer bright ring of white clouds fixed. With these motions removed, you can see individual vortices rotating and shearing, and the central clouds rotating faster than the outer ones.

(via That amazing image of Saturn’s north pole just got better: now, it moves! | The Planetary Society)

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universetoday: This is a newly released picture from NASA showing Mercury’s North Pole. This is just a smaller portion of a much larger image that shows off the whole northern region.. #astronomy #space #mercury

universetoday:

This is a newly released picture from NASA showing Mercury’s North Pole. This is just a smaller portion of a much larger image that shows off the whole northern region.. #astronomy #space #mercury

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aimlessinspace: Happy Birthday, Edwin Hubble! Edwin Powell Hubble (November 20, 1889 – September 28, 1953)[1] was an American astronomer who profoundly changed the understanding of the universe by confirming the existence of galaxies other than our own, the Milky Way. He also considered the idea that the degree of “Doppler shift” (specifically “redshift”) observed in the light spectra from other galaxies increased in proportion to a particular galaxy’s distance from Earth. This relationship became known as Hubble’s law. The Doppler shift interpretation of the observed redshift had been proposed earlier by Vesto Slipher, whose data Hubble used. Edwin Hubble himself, however, doubted the interpretation of these data which lead to the theory of the Metric expansion of space.

aimlessinspace:

Happy Birthday, Edwin Hubble!

Edwin Powell Hubble (November 20, 1889 – September 28, 1953)[1] was an American astronomer who profoundly changed the understanding of the universe by confirming the existence of galaxies other than our own, the Milky Way. He also considered the idea that the degree of “Doppler shift” (specifically “redshift”) observed in the light spectra from other galaxies increased in proportion to a particular galaxy’s distance from Earth. This relationship became known as Hubble’s law. The Doppler shift interpretation of the observed redshift had been proposed earlier by Vesto Slipher, whose data Hubble used.

Edwin Hubble himself, however, doubted the interpretation of these data which lead to the theory of the Metric expansion of space.

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huffpostscience:

In case you missed it, there was an awesome total solar eclipse in northern Australia earlier today (er, I guess, technically yesterday).

See more photos here and our live blog here.

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Sandy Makes Landfall Over Cuba Early in the morning on Oct. 25, 2012, the Suomi NPP satellite passed over Hurricane Sandy after it made landfall over Cuba and Jamaica, capturing this highly detailed infrared imagery, showing areas of deep convection around the central eye. Besides the highly detailed infrared imagery, the satellite shows visible-like imagery of the cloud tops, along with the city lights of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.Image Credit: NOAA/NASA

Sandy Makes Landfall Over Cuba

Early in the morning on Oct. 25, 2012, the Suomi NPP satellite passed over Hurricane Sandy after it made landfall over Cuba and Jamaica, capturing this highly detailed infrared imagery, showing areas of deep convection around the central eye. Besides the highly detailed infrared imagery, the satellite shows visible-like imagery of the cloud tops, along with the city lights of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Image Credit: NOAA/NASA

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ohsoquickly: Gogogogogo! (Taken with Instagram)

ohsoquickly:

Gogogogogo! (Taken with Instagram)

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