Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 30 - Apollo 17 VIP Site Anaglyph

Apollo 17 VIP Site Anaglyph 
Image Credit: Gene Cernan, Apollo 17, NASA; Anaglyph by Erik van Meijgaarden

Explanation: Get out your red/blue glasses and check out this stereo scene from Taurus-Littrow valley on the Moon! The color anaglyph features a detailed 3D view of Apollo 17's Lunar Rover in the foreground -- behind it lies the Lunar Module and distant lunar hills. Because the world was going to be able to watch the Lunar Module's ascent stage liftoff via the rover's TV camera, this parking place was also known as the VIP Site. In December of 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours on the Moon, while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead. The crew returned with 110 kilograms of rock and soil samples, more than from any of the other lunar landing sites. Cernan and Schmitt are still the last to walk (or drive) on the Moon.

Salvador Sobral - "Boas festas venho desejar-te" - Video - Musica - Ao vivo

"Boas festas venho desejar-te"

And now, like yesterday and tomorow so, it's time to say goodbye... Ciao !

CIAO, CIAO, CIAO !!!

Martin - "Caruso" - Video - Musica - En vivo

"Caruso"

(impressionante como este jovem argentino (?) interpreta de forma magistral um classico da musica italiana)

Il Divo - "Caruso" - Video - Musica - Live

"Caruso"

Los 3 tenores - "La traviata" - Video - Musica - Live

"La traviata"

Andrea Bocelli - "Ave Maria" - Video - Musica - Live

"Ave Maria" (Schubert)

Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli - "Time to say goodbye" - Video - Music - Live

"Time to say goodbye"

Ed Sheeran - "Perfect" - Video - Music

"Perfect"

Now, it's time to say goodbye... Ciao, ciao, ciao !

CIAO, CIAO, CIAO...

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 26 - Grand Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232

Grand Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232 
Image Credit: FORS, 8.2-meter VLT Antu, ESO

Explanation: Galaxies are fascinating not only for what is visible, but for what is invisible. Grand spiral galaxy NGC 1232, captured in detail by one of the Very Large Telescopes, is a good example. The visible is dominated by millions of bright stars and dark dust, caught up in a gravitational swirl of spiral arms revolving about the center. Open clusters containing bright blue stars can be seen sprinkled along these spiral arms, while dark lanes of dense interstellar dustcan be seen sprinkled between them. Less visible, but detectable, are billions of dim normal stars and vast tracts of interstellar gas, together wielding such high mass that they dominate the dynamics of the inner galaxy. Leading theories indicate that even greater amounts of matter are invisible, in a form we don't yet know. This pervasive dark matter is postulated, in part, to explain the motions of the visible matter in the outer regions of galaxies.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 25 - Fireball in the Arctic

Fireball in the Arctic 
Image Credit & Copyright: Yang Sutie

Explanation: Something very bright suddenly lit up the arctic -- what was it? The original idea was to take a series of aurora images that could be made into a time-lapse video. But when night suddenly turned into day, the astrophotographer quickly realized that he was seeing something even more spectacular. Moving through the sky -- in front of the Big Dipper no less -- was a Geminid meteor so bright it could be called a fireball. The meteor brightened and flashed for several seconds as it went. By a stroke of good fortune, the aurora camera was able to capture the whole track. Taken the night after the Geminids Meteor Shower peaked, the astrophotographer's location was nearLovozero Lake in Murmansk, Russia, just north of the Arctic Circle.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 24 - SpaceX Rocket Launch Plume over California

SpaceX Rocket Launch Plume over California 
Image Credit & Copyright: Craig Bobchin

Explanation: What's happened to the sky? On Friday, the photogenic launch plume from a SpaceX rocket launch created quite a spectacle over parts of southern California and Arizona. Looking at times like a giant space fish, the impressive rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California, was so bright because it was backlit by the setting Sun. Lifting off during a minuscule one-second launch window, the Falcon 9 Heavy rocket successfully delivered to low Earth orbit ten Iridium NEXT satellites that are part of a developing global communications network. The plume from the first stage is seen on the right, while the soaring upper stage rocket is seen at the apex of the plume toward the left. Several good videos of the launch were taken. The featured image was captured from Orange County, California, in a 2.5 second duration exposure.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 23 - Phaethon's Brood

Phaethon's Brood 
Image Credit & Copyright: Mikiya Sato (Nippon Meteor Society)

Explanation: Based on its well-measured orbit, 3200 Phaethon (sounds like FAY-eh-thon) is recognized as the source of the meteroid stream responsible for the annual Geminid meteor shower. Even though most meteor showers' parents are comets, 3200 Phaethon is a known and closely tracked near-Earth asteroid with a 1.4 year orbital period. Rocky and sun-baked, its perihelion or closest approach to the Sun is well within the orbit of innermost planet Mercury. In this telescopic field of view, the asteroid's rapid motion against faint background stars of the heroic constellation Perseus left a short trail during the two minute total exposure time. The parallel streaks of its meteoric children flashed much more quickly across the scene. The family portrait was recorded near the Geminid meteor shower's very active peak on December 13. That was just before 3200 Phaethon's historic December 16 closest approach to planet Earth.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 21 - Solstice Sun and Milky Way

Solstice Sun and Milky Way 
Composite Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Seip (TWAN)

Explanation: Welcome to December's solstice, first day of winter in the north and summer for the southern hemisphere. Astronomical markers of the seasons, solstice and equinox dates are based on the Sun's place in its annual journey along the ecliptic, through planet Earth's sky. At this solstice, the Sun reaches its maximum southern declination of -23.5 degrees today at 16:28 UTC, while its right ascension coordinate on the celestial sphere is 18 hours. That puts the Sun in the constellation Sagittarius in a direction near the center of our Milky Way galaxy. In fact, if you could see today's Solstice Sun against faint background stars and nebulae (that's really hard to do, especially in the daytime ...) your view might look something like this composited panorama. To make it, images of our fair galaxy were taken under dark Namibian night skies, then stitched together in a panoramic view. From a snapshot made on December 21, 2015, the Sun was digitally overlayed as a brilliant star at today's northern winter solstice position, close to the center of the Milky Way.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 22 - Gemini's Meteors

Gemini's Meteors 
Composite Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

Explanation: From dark skies above Heilongjiang province in northeastern China, meteors rain down on a wintry landscape in this beautiful composited night scene. The 48 meteors are part of last week's annual Geminid meteor shower. Despite temperatures of -28 degrees C, all were recorded in camera exposures made during the peak hour of the celestial spectacle. They stream away from the shower's radiant high above the horizon near the two bright stars of the zodiacal constellation of the Twins. A very active shower, this year the December 13-14 peak of the Geminids arrived just before the December 16 closest approach of asteroid 3200 Phaethon to planet Earth. Mysterious 3200 Phaethon is the Geminid shower's likely parent body.

Il Divo - "Halleluja" - Video - Musica - En vivo

"Halleluja"

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 20 - How to Wash Your Hair in Space

How to Wash Your Hair in Space 
Video Credit: NASA, Expedition 36 Crew

Explanation: How can you wash your hair in space -- without gravity? Long a bother for space-faring astronauts, Karen Nyberg, a flight engineer on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2013, gave a tutorial. Key components are a squirt package of water, no-rinse shampoo, and vigorous use of a towel and comb. Even so, the featured video shows that the whole process should take only a few minutes. Residual water will eventually evaporate from your hair, be captured by the space station's air conditioning system, and be purified into drinking water. After returning from a total of 180 days in space, Nyberg has worked for NASA in several capacities including as the Chief of Roboticsbranch.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 19 - The Spiral North Pole of Mars

The Spiral North Pole of Mars 
Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin; NASA MGS MOLA Science Team

Explanation: Why is there a spiral around the North Pole of Mars? Each winter this pole develops a new outer layer about one meter thick composed of carbon dioxide frozen out of the thin Martian atmosphere. This fresh layer is deposited on a water-ice layer that exists year round. Strong winds blow down from above the cap's center and swirl due to the spin of the red planet -- contributing to Planum Boreum's spiral structure. The featured image is a perspective mosaic generated earlier this year from numerous images taken by ESA's Mars Express and elevations extracted from the laser altimeter aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor mission. New missions to Mars planned in the next few years include Insight with plans to drill into Mars, and ExoMars and the Mars 2020 Rover with plans to search for signs of microscopic Martian life -- past and present.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 18 - The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens

The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens 
Image Credit & Copyright: J. Rhoads (Arizona State U.) et al., WIYN, AURA, NOAO, NSF

Explanation: Most galaxies have a single nucleus -- does this galaxy have four? The strange answer leads astronomers to conclude that the nucleus of the surrounding galaxy is not even visible in this image. The central cloverleaf is rather light emitted from a background quasar. The gravitational field of the visible foreground galaxy breaks light from this distant quasar into four distinct images. The quasar must be properly aligned behind the center of a massive galaxy for a mirage like this to be evident. The general effect is known as gravitational lensing, and this specific case is known as the Einstein Cross. Stranger still, the images of the Einstein Cross vary in relative brightness, enhanced occasionally by the additional gravitational microlensing effect of specific stars in the foreground galaxy.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 17 - A Wintry Shower

A Wintry Shower 
Image Credit & Copyright: Jack Fusco

Explanation: Four Geminids flash through northern skies in this wintry night skyscape. The bright fireball and 3 fainter meteors were captured in a single 10 second exposure, near the peak of December's Geminid meteor shower. Reflecting the fireball's greenish light, a partially frozen Lake Edith in Alberta Canada's Jasper National Park lies in the foreground, with the Canadian Rocky Mountains ranging along the northern horizon. Of course, the glacial lake is cold even in summer. But photographer Jack Fusco reports that he experienced -9 degree C temperatures that night while enjoying one of the most active meteor showers he's ever seen.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 13 - Meteors over Inner Mongolia

Meteors over Inner Mongolia 
Image Credit & Copyright: Haitong Yu

Explanation: Did you ever get caught in a meteor shower? If yes, then every minute or so the sky sparked with fleeting flashes of light. This was the fate of the pictured astrophotographer during last year's Perseids meteor shower. During the featured three-hour image composite, about 90 Perseids rained down above Lake Duolun of Inner Mongolia, China. If you trace back the meteor streaks, you will find that most of them appear to radiate from a single constellation -- in this case Perseus. In fact, you can even tell which meteors are not Perseids because they track differently. Tonight promises to be another good night to get caught in a meteor shower because it is the peak for the Geminids. Gemini, the shower radiant, should rise shortly after sunset and be visible most of the night.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 12 - Highlights of the Winter Sky

Highlights of the Winter Sky 
Illustration Credit & Copyright: Universe2go.com

Explanation: What's up in the sky this winter? The featured graphic gives a few highlights for Earth's northern hemisphere. Viewed as a clock face centered at the bottom, early winter sky events fan out toward the left, while late winter events are projected toward the right. Objects relatively close to Earth are illustrated, in general, as nearer to the cartoon figure with the telescope at the bottom center -- although almost everything pictured can be seen without a telescope. Highlights of this winter's sky include the Geminids meteor shower peaking this week, the constellation of Orion becoming notable in the evening sky, and many planets being visible before sunrise in February. As true in every season, the International Space Station (ISS) can be sometimes be found drifting across your sky if you know just when and where to look.

Imagens do mundo - "Derrocada em São Pedro de Moel", Portugal

"Derrocada em São Pedro de Moel"

Astronomy picture of the day - 11-12-2017 - Mercury Visualized from MESSENGER

2017 December 11
Mercury Visualized from MESSENGER 
Video Credit: NASA, JHUAPL, CIW; Processing: Roman Tkachenko; Music: Open Sea Morning by Puddle of Infinity

Explanation: What would it be like to fly over the planet Mercury? Images and data taken from NASA's robotic MESSENGER spacecraft that orbited Mercury from 2011 to 2015 have been digitally combined to envision a virtual flight that highlights much of the hot planet's surface. In general, the Solar System's innermost world appears similar to Earth's Moon as it is covered by a heavily cratered gray terrain. MESSENGER discovered much about Mercury including that shadows near its poles likely host water ice. The featured video opens as Mercury is viewed from the Sun-facing side and concludes with the virtual spacecraft retreating into Mercury's night. Mercury actually rotates so slowly that it only completes three rotations for every two trips around the Sun. In 2018, Europe and Japan plan to launch BepiColombo to better map Mercury's surface and probe its magnetic field.

Drawings from my mind - "A stairway to Hell"

"A stairway to Hell"

10-04-2015

JoanMira

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 10 - In Green Company: Aurora over Norway

In Green Company: Aurora over Norway 
Image Credit & Copyright: Max Rive

Explanation: Raise your arms if you see an aurora. With those instructions, two nights went by with, well, clouds -- mostly. On the third night of returning to same peaks, though, the sky not only cleared up but lit up with a spectacular auroral display. Arms went high in the air, patience and experience paid off, and the creative featured image was captured as a composite from three separate exposures. The setting is a summit of the Austnesfjorden fjord close to the town of Svolvear on the Lofoten islands in northern Norway. The time was early 2014. Although our Sun is nearing Solar Minimum and hence showing relatively little surface activity, holes in the upper corona have provided some niceauroral displays over the last few months.

Images du monde - Un hibou au Canada

En survolant la rivière d'Ottawa, au Canada, ce grand hibou gris plonge sur sa proie à travers la neige.

Par Rick Dobson

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 9 - Stardust in Aries

Stardust in Aries 
Image Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (Deep Sky Colors)

Explanation: This composition in stardust covers over 8 degrees on the northern sky. The mosaicked field of view is west of the familiar Pleiades star cluster, toward the zodiacal constellation Aries and the plane of our Milky WayGalaxy. At right in the deep skyscape is bluish Epsilon Arietis, a star visible to the naked-eye and about 330 light-years away. Reflecting starlight in the region, dusty nebulae LBN762, LBN753, and LBN743 sprawl left to right across the field, but are likely some 1,000 light-years away. At that estimated distance, the cosmic canvas is over 140 light-years across. Near the edge of a large molecular cloud, their dark interiors can hide newly formed stars and young stellar objects or protostars from prying optical telescopes. Collapsing due to self-gravity, the protostars form around dense cores embedded in the molecular cloud.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 8 - Alpine Superga Moonset

Alpine Superga Moonset 
Image Credit & Copyright: Stefano De Rosa

Explanation: December's Full Moon phase occurred near perigee, the closest point in its orbit around our fair planet. Big and bright, the fully illuminated lunar disk sets over rugged mountains in this early morningscape from Turin, Italy. Captured just before sunrise on the opposite horizon, scattered sunlight near the edge of Earth's shadow provides the beautiful reddish glow of the alpine peaks. Hills in the foreground are still in shadow. But the scattered sunlight just illuminates the dome and towers of Turin's historic Basilica of Superga on a hilltop near the lower right in the telephoto frame.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 7 - All the Eclipses of 2017

All the Eclipses of 2017 
Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek

Explanation: As seen from planet Earth, all the lunar and solar eclipses of 2017 are represented at the same scale in these four panels. The year's celestial shadow play was followed through four different countries by one adventurous eclipse chaser. To kick off the eclipse season, at top left February's Full Moon was captured from the Czech Republic. Its subtle shading, a penumbral lunar eclipse, is due to Earth's lighter outer shadow. Later that month the New Moon at top right was surrounded by a ring of fire, recorded on film from Argentina near the midpoint of striking annular solar eclipse. The August eclipse pairing below finds the Earth's dark umbral shadow in a partial eclipse from Germany at left, and the vibrant solar corona surrounding a totally eclipsed Sun from the western USA. If you're keeping score, the Saros numbers (eclipse cycles) for all the 2017 eclipses are at bottom left in each panel.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 5 - A Horizon with Blue and Red

A Horizon with Blue and Red 
Image Credit & Copyright: Sergio Montúfar (Planetario Ciudad de La Plata)

Explanation: What's happening on the horizon? The horizon itself, past a spinach field in Guatemala, shows not only trees but a large volcano: the Volcán de Fuego (Volcano of Fire). The red glow at the top of the volcano is hot lava. But your eye may also be drawn to the blue circle above the horizon on the left. This circle surrounds the Moon and, together with other colors, is called a corona. A corona is caused by diffraction of light -- here moonlight -- by small water droplets in the Earth's intervening atmosphere. A break in the clouds on the right shows stars and even the planet Saturn far beyond the volcano. Although Volcán de Fuego frequently undergoes low-level activity, the astrophotographer considered himself lucky to capture the scene just during an explosive eruption in late September.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 6 - HH 666: Carina Dust Pillar with Jet

HH 666: Carina Dust Pillar with Jet 
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Processing & Copyright: Domingo Pestana

Explanation: To some, it may look like a beehive harboring an evil bee. In reality, the featured Hubble image captures a cosmic pillar of dust, two-light years long, inside of which is Herbig-Haro 666 -- a young star emitting powerful jets. The structure lies within one of our galaxy's largest star forming regions, the Carina Nebula, shining in southern skies at a distance of about 7,500 light-years. The pillar's layered outline are shaped by the winds and radiation of Carina's young, hot, massive stars, some of which are still forming inside the nebula. A dust-penetrating view in infrared light better shows the two, narrow, energetic jets blasting outward from a still hidden infant star.

Fotos - "Arrabida", Portugal

"Arrabida"

07-09-2014

JoanMira

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 3 - Full Moon Silhouettes

Full Moon Silhouettes 
Video Credit & Copyright: Mark Gee; Music: Tenderness (Dan Phillipson)

Explanation: Have you ever watched the Moon rise? The slow rise of a nearly full moon over a clear horizon can be an impressive sight. One impressive moonrise was imaged in early 2013 over Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington,New Zealand. With detailed planning, an industrious astrophotographer placed a camera about two kilometers away and pointed it across the lookout to where the Moon would surely soon be making its nightly debut. The featured single shot sequence is unedited and shown in real time -- it is not a time lapse. People on Mount Victoria Lookout can be seen in silhouette themselves admiring the dawn of Earth's largest satellite. Seeing a moonrise yourself is not difficult: it happens every day, although only half the time at night. Each day the Moon rises about fifty minutes later than the previous day, with a full moon always rising at sunset. A good time to see a full moonrise will occur tonight at sunset as the Moon's relative closeness to Earth during a full phase -- called a supermoon -- will cause it to appear slightly larger and brighter than usual.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 December 2 - Messier Craters in Stereo

Messier Craters in Stereo 
Image Credit: Apollo 11, NASA; Stereo Image Copyright Patrick Vantuyne

Explanation: Many bright nebulae and star clusters in planet Earth's sky are associated with the name of astronomer Charles Messier, from his famous 18th century catalog. His name is also given to these two large and remarkable craters on the Moon. Standouts in the dark, smooth lunar Sea of Fertility or Mare Fecunditatis, Messier (left) and Messier A have dimensions of 15 by 8 and 16 by 11 kilometers respectively. Their elongated shapes are explained by a left-to-right moving, extremely shallow-angle trajectory followed by an impactor that gouged out the craters. The shallow impact also resulted in two bright rays of material extending along the surface to the right, beyond the picture. Intended to be viewed with red/blue glasses (red for the left eye), this striking stereo picture of the crater pair was recently created from high resolution scans of two images (AS11-42-6304, AS11-42-6305) taken during the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

Fotos - Sesimbra, Portugal

"Sesimbra"

30-03-2017

JoanMira

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 30 - M33: Triangulum Galaxy

M33: Triangulum Galaxy
Image Credit & Copyright: Peter Nagy

Explanation: The small, northern constellation Triangulum harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, M33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy. M33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter, third largest in the Local Group of galaxies after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and our own Milky Way. About 3 million light-years from the Milky Way, M33 is itself thought to be a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy andastronomers in these two galaxies would likely have spectacular views of each other's grand spiral star systems. As for the view from planet Earth, this sharp composite image nicely shows off M33's blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions along the galaxy's loosely wound spiral arms. In fact, the cavernous NGC 604 is the brightest star forming region, seen here at about the 7 o'clock position from the galaxy center. Like M31, M33's population of well-measured variable stars have helped make this nearby spiral a cosmic yardstick for establishing the distance scale of the Universe.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 29 - M42: The Great Orion Nebula

M42: The Great Orion Nebula 
Image Credit & Copyright: Francesco Battistella

Explanation: Few astronomical sights excite the imagination like the nearby stellar nursery known as the Orion Nebula. The Nebula's glowing gas surrounds hot young stars at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud. Many of the filamentary structures visible in the featured image are actually shock waves - fronts where fast moving material encounters slow moving gas. The Orion Nebula spans about 40 light years and is located about 1500 light years away in the same spiral arm of our Galaxy as the Sun. The Great Nebula in Orion can be found with the unaided eye just below and to the left of the easily identifiable belt of three stars in the popular constellation Orion. The featured image, taken last month, shows a two-hour exposure of the nebula in three colors. The whole Orion Nebula cloud complex, which includes the Horsehead Nebula, will slowly disperse over the next 100,000 years.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 28 - Juno Spots a Complex Storm on Jupiter

Juno Spots a Complex Storm on Jupiter 
Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, SwRI, MSSS; Processing: Gerald Eichstädt & Seán Doran

Explanation: Some storms on Jupiter are quite complex. The swirling storm was captured late last month by the NASA's robotic Juno spacecraft currently orbiting the Solar System's largest planet. The featured image spans about 30,000 kilometers, making this storm system just about as wide as planet Earth. The disturbance rotates counter-clockwise and shows a cloud pattern that includes light-colored updrafts thought to be composed predominantly ofammonia ice. These light clouds are the highest up and even cast discernable shadows toward the right. Juno will continue to orbit and probe Jupiter over the next few years as it tries to return data that help us to better understand Jupiter's atmospheric water abundance and if the planet has a solid surface underneath these fascinating clouds.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 27 - Hurricane Season Animated

Hurricane Season Animated 
Video Credit: M. R. Radcliff (USRA) et al., NASA's GSFC, SVS; Music: Elapsing Time by C. Telford & R. A. Navarro (ASCAP)

Explanation: Where do hurricanes go? To better understand dangerous storms, NASA compiled data from several satellites into a supercomputer simulation of this past year's hurricane season. Specifically, the featured video shows how smoke (white), sea salt (blue), and dust (brown) tracked from 2017 August through October across the northern half of Earth's Western Hemisphere. These aerosols usefully trace sometimes invisible winds. In the midst of the many mesmerizing flows, hurricanes can be seen swirling across the Atlantic Ocean on the right. Some of these hurricanes lashed islands and coastal regions in North America before dissipating in the northern Atlantic. Studying this year's weather patterns may bolster more accurate storm forecasts as soon as next year.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 26 - Our Story in One Minute

Our Story in One Minute 
Video Credit & Copyright: MelodySheep, Symphony of Science, John Boswell; Music Credit: Our Story

Explanation: Do you have a minute -- to see the entire backstory of human existence? This thrilling video culls together multiple teasing video snippets in an attempt to succinctly summarize our history. And sets it to music. Briefly depicted, from start to finish, is an artistic animation of the Big Bang, a trip across the early universe, the formation of the Earth and Moon, the emergence of multi-celled life and plants, the rise of reptiles and dinosaurs, a devastatingmeteor strike, the rise of mammals and humans, and finally the rise of modern civilization. The minute movie ends with a flyover of the modern skyscraper and a human standing atop a snow covered mountain.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 25 - Crossing Horizons

Crossing Horizons 
Image Credit & Copyright: Jean-Francois Graffand

Explanation: Follow this vertical panoramic view from horizon to horizon and your gaze will sweep through the zenith of a dark night sky over Pic du Midi mountaintop observatory. To make the journey above a sea of clouds, 19 single exposures were taken near the end of night on October 31 and assembled in a mercator projection that renders the two horizons flat. Begin at the top and you're looking east toward the upsidedown dome of the observatory's 1 meter telescope. It's easy to follow the plane of our Milky Way galaxy as it appears to emerge from the dome and angle down toward the far horizon. Just to its right, the sky holds a remarkable diffuse glow of zodiacal light along our Solar System's ecliptic plane. Zodiacal light and Milky Way with star clusters, cosmic dust clouds and faint nebulae, cross near the zenith. Both continue down toward the airglow in the west. They disappear near the western horizon at the bottom, beyond more Pic du Midi observatory domes and a tall communications relay antenna.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 24 - Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater

Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater 
Image Credit: Apollo 17 Crew, NASA

Explanation: In December of 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours on the Moon in the Taurus-Littrow valley, while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead. This sharp image was taken by Cernan as he and Schmitt roamed the valley floor. The image shows Schmitt on the left with the lunar rover at the edge of Shorty Crater, near the spot where geologist Schmitt discovered orange lunar soil. The Apollo 17 crew returned with 110 kilograms of rock and soil samples, more than was returned from any of the other lunar landing sites. Forty five years later, Cernan and Schmitt are still the last to walk on the Moon.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 23 - 'Oumuamua: Interstellar Asteroid

'Oumuamua: Interstellar Asteroid 
Illustration Credit: European Southern Observatory, M. Kornmesser

Explanation: Nothing like it has ever been seen before. The unusual space rock 'Oumuamua is so intriguing mainly because it is the first asteroid ever detected from outside our Solar System -- although likely many more are to follow given modern computer-driven sky monitoring. Therefore humanity's telescopes -- of nearly every variety -- have put 'Oumuamua into their observing schedule to help better understand this unusual interstellar visitor. Pictured is anartist's illustration of what 'Oumuamua might look like up close. 'Oumuamua is also intriguing, however, because it has unexpected parallels to Rama, a famous fictional interstellar spaceship created by the late science fiction writerArthur C. Clarke. Like Rama, 'Oumuamua is unusually elongated, should be made of strong material to avoid breaking apart, is only passing through our Solar System, and passed unusually close to the Sun for something gravitationally unbound. Unlike a visiting spaceship, though, 'Oumuamua's trajectory, speed, color, and even probability of detection are consistent with it forming naturally around a normal star many millions of years ago, being expelled after gravitationally encountering a normal planet, and subsequently orbiting in our Galaxy alone. Even given 'Oumuamua's likely conventional origin, perhaps humanity can hold hope that one day we will have the technology to engineer 'Oumuamua -- or another Solar System interloper -- into an interstellar Rama of our own.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 21 - Big Dipper over Pyramid Mountain

Big Dipper over Pyramid Mountain 
Image Credit & Copyright: Steve Cullen

Explanation: When did you first learn to identify this group of stars? Although they are familiar to many people around the world, different cultures have associated this asterism with different icons and folklore. Known in the USA as the Big Dipper, the stars are part of a constellation designated by the International Astronomical Union in 1922 as the Great Bear (Ursa Major). The recognized star names of these stars are (left to right) Alkaid, Mizar/Alcor, Alioth,Megrez, Phecda, Merak, and Dubhe. Of course, stars in any given constellation are unlikely to be physically related. But surprisingly, most of the Big Dipper stars do seem to be headed in the same direction as they plough through space, a property they share with other stars spread out over an even larger area across the sky. Their measured common motion suggests that they all belong to a loose, nearby star cluster, thought to be on average only about 75 light-years away and up to 30 light-years across. The cluster is more properly known as the Ursa Major Moving Group. The featured image captured the iconic stars recently above Pyramid Mountain in Alberta, Canada.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 19 - NGC 7822: Stars and Dust Pillars in Infrared

NGC 7822: Stars and Dust Pillars in Infrared 
Image Credit: WISE, IRSA, NASA; Processing & Copyright : Francesco Antonucci

Explanation: Young stars themselves are clearing out their nursery in NGC 7822. Within the nebula, bright edges and complex dust sculptures dominate this detailed skyscape taken in infrared light by NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite. NGC 7822 lies at the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward the northern constellation Cepheus, a glowing star forming region that lies about 3,000 light-years away. The atomic emission of light by the nebula's gas is powered by energetic radiation from the hot stars, whose powerful winds and light also sculpt and erode the denser pillar shapes. Stars could still be forming inside the pillars by gravitational collapse, but as the pillars are eroded away, any forming stars will ultimately be cut off from their reservoir of star stuff. This field spans around 40 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 7822.

Article - Portugal : un requin préhistorique découvert par des chercheurs

Les mers et océans de ce monde sont vastes et bien mystérieux. De nombreuses espèces se cachent dans les profondeurs des eaux, et parfois, certains spécimens préhistoriques remontent à la surface. C’est le cas de ce requin-lézard, découvert par des chercheurs au Portugal.

Ce requin-lézard aux 300 dents n’aurait pas évolué depuis au moins 80 millions d’années. Il a été découvert par des chercheurs au Portugal, au large de Portimao. Cette espèce préhistorique semble être sortie tout droit d’un film de science-fiction, et pourtant, l’animal est bien réel.

Un animal discret, vieux d’au moins 80 millions d’années

Le requin-lézard, ou Chlamydoselachus anguineus, est un véritable fossile vivant pour les chercheurs. Toujours selon eux, l’espèce n’aurait pas évolué depuis au moins 80 millions d’années. Il mesure plus d’un mètre, sa tête ressemble à celle d’un serpent, sa gueule ouverte a de quoi effrayer, mais ce sont ses 300 dents qui sont certainement la partie la plus impressionnante de son anatomie.

Cette prise est totalement inédite, puisqu’il est presque impossible de croiser cette créature marine qui vit entre 500 et 1.000 mètres de profondeur sous la mer. Les chercheurs, qui étaient à l’origine sur une toute autre mission, l’ont trouvé à 700 mètres de profondeur.

La Depêche - France

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 18 - Friday, the Moon Smiled

Friday, the Moon Smiled 
Image Credit & Copyright: Tunç Tezel (TWAN)

Explanation: Friday, an old Moon smiled for early morning risers. Its waning sunlit crescent is captured in this atmospheric scene from clear skies near Bursa, Turkey, planet Earth. In the subtle twilight hues nearby celestial lights are Jupiter (top) and Venus shining close to the eastern horizon. But today, Saturday, the Moon will be new and early next week its waxing crescent will follow the setting Sun as it sinks in the west. Then, a young Moon's smile will join Saturn and Mercury in early evening skies.

Igrejas maravilhosas do Brasil - Igreja de São Francisco – Califórnia – PR

Construída por migrantes mineiros em 1957, a história da Igreja de São Francisco começou juntamente com a cidade de Califórnia, quando o local foi registrado como um município. Hoje é considerada o principal ponto turístico da região, e conhecida por ter uma das maiores torres do Paraná. Seu estilo possui predominância gótica e barroca, com destaque para o mosaico instalado em sua fachada representando o seu padroeiro.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 17 - Major Fireball Meteor

Major Fireball Meteor 
Image Credit & Copyright: Ollie Taylor

Explanation: The sky glows with soft pinkish colors of fading twilight in this serendipitous mountaintop vista. Taken in subfreezing temperatures, the thoughtfully composed photo shows snowy, rugged peaks seen from a mountain pass on November 14. Below lies the village of La Villa, Alta Badia in Italy's Dolomite Alps. Above the nestled village lights, the constellation Ursa Major hangs over the northern horizon. But most stunning is the intense fireball meteor. It was captured during the camera's exposure by chance as it flashed east to west across the northern horizon, under Ursa Major's familiar Big Dipper asterism. In fact, sightings of this major fireball meteor were widely reported in European skies, the most reported fireball event ever for planet Earth's American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization. The meteor's measured track over Germany is consistent with its origin near the active radiant of November's Taurid Meteor Shower. Taurid meteors are associated with dust from Encke's comet.

Grupo Coral de Cantares Regionais de Portel - "Se fores ao Alentejo" - Slides - Musica

"Se fores ao Alentejo"

Igrejas maravilhosas do Brasil - Basílica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Iguape – Iguape -SP

Construída entre os séculos, XVIII e XIX, a Basílica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Iguape demorou 80 anos para ser finalizada. Os materiais incorporados em sua obra, como pedra portuguesa, arga massa e óleo de baleia, juntamente com a riqueza de detalhes de seu interior e sua história, chamam a atenção de qualquer visitante. Várias imagens estão dispostas pela Basílica, entre elas a Nossa Senhora das Neves e Bom Jesus de Iguape, padroeiros do município.

Grandes Pintores Portugueses - José Malhoa - "O fado"

O Fado, 1910

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 November 15 - The Tarantula Nebula

The Tarantula Nebula 
Image Credit & Copyright: Ignacio Diaz Bobillo

Explanation: The Tarantula Nebula is more than a thousand light-years in diameter, a giant star forming region within nearby satellite galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud, about 180 thousand light-years away. The largest, most violent star forming region known in the whole Local Group of galaxies, the cosmic arachnid sprawls across this spectacular view composed with narrowband data centered on emission from ionized hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Within the Tarantula (NGC 2070), intense radiation, stellar winds and supernova shocks from the central young cluster of massive stars, cataloged as R136, energize the nebular glow and shape the spidery filaments. Around the Tarantula are other star forming regions with young star clusters, filaments, and blown-out bubble-shaped clouds. In fact, the frame includes the site of the closest supernova in modern times, SN 1987A, right of center. The rich field of view spans about 1 degree or 2 full moons, in the southern constellation Dorado. But were the Tarantula Nebula closer, say 1,500 light-years distant like the local star forming Orion Nebula, it would take up half the sky.