Today in pretty space pics: The active star birthing region Cygnus-X, a chaotic complex of gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus, otherwise known as the Swan. Captured by the far infrared sensors of the ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, the image gives astronomers a unique view of massive star birth perviously unavailable at these wavelengths.
Yesterday - at least in the northeast US - was a picture-perfect, sun-shine day. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for much of the east coast of Australia. But as many Americans took a few extra minutes at lunch to soak up one of the first nice spring days of the season, the sun overhead was in the midst of some serious violence. At around 1:30pm in America yesterday (most Australians were fast asleep), a huge and beautiful eruption took place on the east limb of our local star, sending a massive prominence looping out into space.
Earthshine is light that’s reflected from the Earth to the moon, then back to the Earth again. Now scientists have discovered a way to use this shine to determine the amount of vegetation, water and cloud on our planet. Of course we already know this - but what’s significant is this technique could be used to analyse the surface of other far-off planets too.
Today in Pretty Space Pics: The Carina Nebula, detailed as never before in the infrared spectrum. The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) snapped the above image from its perch at Paranal in Chile, revealing features of Carina's space-scape that are hidden in the visible spectrum. Even the ESO's press machine is impressed with this one, calling it "one of the most dramatic images ever created by the VLT."
There was a time when one rarely had to worry about incoming doom born of outer space, but that time is not now. Between mysterious space balls, falling satellite after falling satellite, and the buildup to 2013's solar maximum, the sky seems more threatening all the time these days. Just ask NOAA, which is today warning of the strongest solar storm since 2005 currently en route to Earth, spawned by a massive M8.7 class flare that erupted from the solar surface late last night.
Does the image above look familiar? It shouldn't, because it's brand new. But the subject should certainly ring a bell for any space buff - it's the same vast nebula that became one of the most beloved, coffee-table-booked, computer-wallpapered images in astronomical history. This new image of the Eagle Nebula shows the value of having space observatories that span the light spectrum.
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