Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 31 -

Black Hole Accreting with Jet 
Illustration Credit: NASA, Swift, Aurore Simonnet (Sonoma State U.)

Explanation: What happens when a black hole devours a star? Many details remain unknown, but recent observations are providing new clues. In 2014, a powerful explosion was recorded by the ground-based robotic telescopes of the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) project, and followed up by instruments including NASA's Earth-orbiting Swift satellite. Computer modeling of these emissions fit a star being ripped apart by a distantsupermassive black hole. The results of such a collision are portrayed in the featured artistic illustration. The black hole itself is a depicted as a tiny black dot in the center. As matter falls toward the hole, it collides with other matter and heats up. Surrounding the black hole is an accretion disk of hot matter that used to be the star, with a jet emanating from the black hole's spin axis.

Chico Buarque & João Maria - Video - Musica - Ao vivo

Caetano Veloso - "Sozinho" - Video - Musica

"Sozinho"

Foto - Sesimbra (Portugal) - 30-03-2017

"Sesimbra"

30-03-2017

JoanMira

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 30 - Young Stars and Dusty Nebulae in Taurus

Young Stars and Dusty Nebulae in Taurus 
Image Credit & Copyright: Lloyd L. Smith, Deep Sky West

Explanation: This complex of dusty nebulae lingers along the edge of the Taurus molecular cloud, a mere 450 light-years distant. Stars are forming on the cosmic scene. Composed from almost 40 hours of image data, the 2 degree wide telescopic field of view includes some youthful T-Tauri class stars embedded in the remnants of their natal clouds at the right. Millions of years old and still going through stellar adolescence, the stars are variable in brightness and in the late phases of their gravitational collapse. Their core temperatures will rise to sustain nuclear fusion as they grow into stable, low mass, main sequence stars, a stage of stellar evolution achieved by our middle-aged Sun about 4.5 billion years ago. Another youthful variable star, V1023 Tauri, can be spotted on the left. Within its yellowish dust cloud, it lies next to the striking blue reflection nebula Cederblad 30, also known as LBN 782. Just above the bright bluish reflection nebula is dusty dark nebula Barnard 7.

The Rumjacks - "An irish pub song" - Video - Music

"An irish pub song"

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 29 - Nebula with Laser Beams

Nebula with Laser Beams 
Image Credit & Copyright: Stéphane Guisard (Los Cielos de America, TWAN)

Explanation: Four laser beams cut across this startling image of the Orion Nebula, as seen from ESO's Paranal Observatory in the Atacama desert on planet Earth. Not part of an interstellar conflict, the lasers are being used for an observation of Orion by UT4, one of the observatory's very large telescopes, in a technical test of an image-sharpening adaptive optics system. This view of the nebula with laser beams was captured by a small telescope from outside the UT4 enclosure. The beams are visible from that perspective because in the first few kilometers above the observatory the Earth's dense lower atmosphere scatters the laser light. The four small segments appearing beyond the beams are emission from an atmospheric layer of sodium atoms excited by the laser light at higher altitudes of 80-90 kilometers. Seen from the perspective of the UT4, those segments form bright spots or artificial guide stars. Their fluctuations are used in real-time to correct for atmospheric blurring along the line-of-sight by controlling a deformable mirror in the telescope's optical path.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 28 - King of Wings Hoodoo under the Milky Way

King of Wings Hoodoo under the Milky Way 
Image Credit & Copyright: Wayne Pinkston (LightCrafter Photography

Explanation: This rock structure is not only surreal -- it's real. The reason it's not more famous is that it is, perhaps, smaller than one might guess: the capstone rock overhangs only a few meters. Even so, the King of Wings outcrop, located in New Mexico, USA, is a fascinating example of an unusual type of rock structure called a hoodoo. Hoodoos may form when a layer of hard rock overlays a layer of eroding softer rock. Figuring out the details of incorporatingthis hoodoo into a night-sky photoshoot took over a year. Besides waiting for a suitably picturesque night behind a sky with few clouds, the foreground had to be artificially lit just right relative to the natural glow of the background. After much planning and waiting, the final shot, featured here, was taken in May 2016. Mimicking the horizontal bar, the background sky features the band of our Milky Way Galaxy stretching overhead.

Maria de Lurdes Resende - "Cantares do Minho" - Slides - Music

"Cantares do Minho"

Texto - Carta aberta ao Senhor Provedor da RTPI:

Senhor Provedor da PTPT (Pobre Televisão Para Tugas),

Dirijo esta mensagem a V. Exa. na minha qualidade de Português no Estrangeiro e, também como Vice-Cônsul de Portugal.

Já há muito venho denunciando certo reclame difundido pelo canal RTPI…

Sem qualquer resultado posto que aquele canal televisivo insiste em difundir uma publicidade tão caricata que se torna motivo de chacota de indígenas franceses relativamente aos “tugas” emigrados…

Bem sabemos que a comunicação social depende, também, dos anúncios para sobreviver; mas franca e foneticamente “Lé Zal dû Portougal” é, como dizem os nossos irmãos “brazucas”, “djimaisss”!

…Sendo que em francês correcto (e foneticamente também) deve pronunciar-se “Lé alle du Portugal”!

Bem sabemos que a lusa televisão precisa do “carcanhol” dos anunciantes; mas por favor ponha ordem nessa gente e, sobretudo, a bem falar na língua do Pais onde vivem ...

Também poderia referir, Senhor Provedor, a “Agência funerária Dias”; outro "monumento" da lingua tuga emigrada...mas fica para outra ocasião, pois que neste momento nem sequer jeito tenho para gracejolas...

Entretanto peço-lhe não aceite mais esse tipo de publicidade que seria, porventura, cómica se não ofendesse os Portugueses residentes fora de Portugal. Agradeço.

Amigo “Cara do Corcovado”, diz-lhes tudo isto ; eles a mim não me ouvem…

Bordeaux, 26 de março de 2016

JoanMira

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 26 - Tardigrade in Moss

Tardigrade in Moss 
Image Credit & Copyright: Nicole Ottawa & Oliver Meckes / Eye of Science / Science Source Images

Explanation: Is this an alien? Probably not, but of all the animals on Earth, the tardigrade might be the best candidate. That's because tardigrades are known to be able to go for decades without food or water, to survive temperatures from near absolute zero to well above the boiling point of water, to survive pressures from near zero to well above that on ocean floors, and to survive direct exposure to dangerous radiations. The far-ranging survivability of theseextremophiles was tested in 2011 outside an orbiting space shuttle. Tardigrades are so durable partly because they can repair their own DNA and reduce their body water content to a few percent. Some of these miniature water-bearsalmost became extraterrestrials recently when they were launched toward to the Martian moon Phobos on board the Russian mission Fobos-Grunt, but stayed terrestrial when a rocket failed and the capsule remained in Earth orbit.Tardigrades are more common than humans across most of the Earth. Pictured here in a color-enhanced electron micrograph, a millimeter-long tardigrade crawls on moss.

Expressões populares portuguesas - "Sangria desatada"

Significado: 

Diz-se de qualquer coisa que requer uma solução ou realização imediata.

Origem:

Esta expressão, julga-se, teve origem nas guerras, onde se verificava a necessidade de cautelas acrescidas a ter com os soldados sangrados. É que, se por qualquer motivo, se desprendesse a atadura posta sobre as feridas, a morte sobreviria inevitavelmente se não lhe acudissem a tempo, visto dar-se uma perda de sangue fatal.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 25 - Ganymede's Shadow

Ganymede's Shadow 
Image Credit & Copyright: Damian Peach, Chilescope

Explanation: Approaching opposition early next month, Jupiter is offering some of its best telescopic views from planet Earth. On March 17, this impressively sharp image of the solar system's ruling gas giant was taken from a remote observatory in Chile. Bounded by planet girdling winds, familiar dark belts and light zones span the giant planet spotted with rotating oval storms. The solar system's largest moon Ganymede is above and left in the frame, its shadow seen in transit across the northern Jovian cloud tops. Ganymede itself is seen in remarkable detail along with bright surface features on fellow Galilean moon Io, right of Jupiter's looming disk.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 24 - The Comet, the Owl, and the Galaxy

The Comet, the Owl, and the Galaxy 
Image Credit & Copyright: Barry Riu

Explanation: Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak poses for a Messier moment in this telescopic snapshot from March 21. In fact it shares the 1 degree wide field-of-view with two well-known entries in the 18th century comet-hunting astronomer's famous catalog. Sweeping through northern springtime skies just below the Big Dipper, the faint greenish comet was about 75 light-seconds from our fair planet. Dusty, edge-on spiral galaxy Messier 108 (bottom center) is more like 45 million light-years away. At upper right, the planetary nebula with an aging but intensely hot central star, the owlish Messier 97 is only about 12 thousand light-years distant though, still well within our own Milky Way galaxy. Named for its discoverer and re-discoverers, this faint periodic comet was first sighted in 1858 and not again until 1907 and 1951. Matching orbit calculations indicated that the same comet had been observed at widely separated times. Nearing its best apparition and closest approach to Earth in over 100 years on April 1, comet 41P orbits the Sun with a period of about 5.4 years.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 23 - SH2-155: The Cave Nebula

SH2-155: The Cave Nebula 
Image Credit & Copyright: Eric Coles and Mel Helm

Explanation: This skyscape features dusty Sharpless catalog emission region Sh2-155, the Cave Nebula. In the telescopic image, data taken through a narrowband filter tracks the reddish glow of ionized hydrogen atoms. About 2,400 light-years away, the scene lies along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy toward the royal northern constellation of Cepheus. Astronomical explorations of the region reveal that it has formed at the boundary of the massive Cepheus B molecular cloud and the hot, young stars of the Cepheus OB 3 association. The bright rim of ionized hydrogen gas is energized by radiation from the hot stars, dominated by the brightest star above and left of picture center. Radiation driven ionization fronts are likely triggering collapsing cores and new star formation within. Appropriately sized for a stellar nursery, the cosmic cave is over 10 light-years across.

Fotografia - Lisboa nocturna Praça dos Restauradores

Estúdio Horácio Novais, Praça dos Restauradores, Lisboa, sem data Colecções da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa, Portugal (Flickr Commons)

Teresa Salgueiro - "Você e eu" - Video - Musica

"Você e eu"

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 22 - Central Cygnus Skyscape

Central Cygnus Skyscape 
Image Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler, DSS, BYU

Explanation: In cosmic brush strokes of glowing hydrogen gas, this beautiful skyscape unfolds across the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy near the northern end of the Great Rift and the center of the constellation Cygnus the Swan. A 36 panel mosaic of telescopic image data, the scene spans about six degrees. Bright supergiant star Gamma Cygni (Sadr) to the upper left of the image center lies in the foreground of the complex gas and dust clouds and crowded star fields. Left of Gamma Cygni, shaped like two luminous wings divided by a long dark dust lane is IC 1318 whose popular name is understandably the Butterfly Nebula. The more compact, bright nebula at the lower right is NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula. Some distance estimates for Gamma Cygni place it at around 1,800 light-years while estimates for IC 1318 and NGC 6888 range from 2,000 to 5,000 light-years.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 21 - Fast Stars and Rogue Planets in the Orion Nebula

Fast Stars and Rogue Planets in the Orion Nebula 
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble

Explanation: Start with the constellation of Orion. Below Orion's belt is a fuzzy area known as the Great Nebula of Orion. In this nebula is a bright star cluster known as the Trapezium, marked by four bright stars near the image center. The newly born stars in the Trapezium and surrounding regions show the Orion Nebula to be one of the most active areas of star formation to be found in our area of the Galaxy. In Orion, supernova explosions and close interactions between stars have created rogue planets and stars that rapidly move through space. Some of these fast stars have been found by comparing different images of this region taken by the Hubble Space Telescope many years apart. Many of the stars in the featured image, taken in visible and near-infrared light, appear unusually red because they are seen through dust that scatters away much of their blue light.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 20 - The Aurora Tree

The Aurora Tree 
Image Credit & Copyright: Alyn Wallace Photography

Explanation: Yes, but can your tree do this? Pictured is a visual coincidence between the dark branches of a nearby tree and bright glow of a distant aurora. The beauty of the aurora -- combined with how it seemed to mimic a treeright nearby -- mesmerized the photographer to such a degree that he momentarily forgot to take pictures. When viewed at the right angle, it seemed that this tree had aurora for leaves! Fortunately, before the aurora morphed into adifferent overall shape, he came to his senses and capture the awe-inspiring momentary coincidence. Typically triggered by solar explosions, aurora are caused by high energy electrons impacting the Earth's atmosphere around 150 kilometers up. The unusual Earth-sky collaboration was witnessed earlier this month in Iceland.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 19 - Equinox on a Spinning Earth

Equinox on a Spinning Earth 
Image Credit: NASA, Meteosat, Robert Simmon

Explanation: When does the line between day and night become vertical? Tomorrow. Tomorrow is an equinox on planet Earth, a time of year when day and night are most nearly equal. At an equinox, the Earth's terminator -- the dividing line between day and night -- becomes vertical and connects the north and south poles. The featured time-lapse video demonstrates this by displaying an entire year on planet Earth in twelve seconds. From geosynchronous orbit, the Meteosat satellite recorded these infrared images of the Earth every day at the same local time. The video started at the September 2010 equinox with the terminator line being vertical. As the Earth revolved around the Sun, the terminator was seen to tilt in a way that provides less daily sunlight to the northern hemisphere, causing winter in the north. As the year progressed, the March 2011 equinox arrived halfway through the video, followed by the terminator tilting the other way, causing winter in the southern hemisphere -- and summer in the north. The captured year ends again with the September equinox, concluding another of billions of trips the Earth has taken -- and will take -- around the Sun.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 18 - JWST: Ghosts and Mirrors

JWST: Ghosts and Mirrors 
Image Credit: Chris Gunn, NASA

Explanation: Ghosts aren't actually hovering over the James Webb Space Telescope. But the lights are out as it stands with gold tinted mirror segments and support structures folded in Goddard Space Flight Center's Spacecraft Systems Development and Integration Facility clean room. Following vibration and acoustic testing, bright flashlights and ultraviolet lights are played over the stationary telescope looking for contamination, easier to spot in a darkened room. In the dimness the camera's long exposure creates the ghostly apparitions, blurring the moving lights and engineers. A scientific successor to Hubble, the James Webb Space Telescope is optimized for the infrared exploration of the early Universe. Its planned launch is in 2018 from French Guiana on a European Space Agency Ariane 5 rocket.

Fotografia - Lisboa nocturna - Padrão dos descobrimentos

Estúdio Mário Novais, padrão dos Descobrimentos e espelho de água, lisboa, 1940 Colecções da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa, Portugal (Flickr Commons)

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 17 - Phases of Venus

Phases of Venus 
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Herron

Explanation: Just as the Moon goes through phases, Venus' visible sunlit hemisphere waxes and wanes. This composite of telescopic images illustrates the steady changes for the inner planet, seen in the west as the evening star, as Venus grows larger but narrows to a thin crescent from December 20, 2016 through March 10. Gliding along its interior orbit between Earth and Sun, Venus grows larger during that period because it is approaching planet Earth. Its crescent narrows, though, as Venus swings closer to our line-of-sight to the Sun. Closest to the Earth-Sun line but passing about 8 degrees north of the Sun on March 25, Venus will reach a (non-judgmental) inferior conjunction. Soon after, Venus will shine clearly above the eastern horizon in predawn skies as planet Earth's morning star.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 16 - Mimas in Saturnlight

Mimas in Saturnlight
Image Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA

Explanation: Peering from the shadows, the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Mimas lies in near darkness alongside a dramatic sunlit crescent. The mosaic was captured near the Cassini spacecraft's final close approach on January 30, 2017. Cassini's camera was pointed in a nearly sunward direction only 45,000 kilometers from Mimas. The result is one of the highest resolution views of the icy, crater-pocked, 400 kilometer diameter moon. An enhanced version better reveals the Saturn-facing hemisphere of the synchronously rotating moon lit by sunlight reflected from Saturn itself. To see it, slide your cursor over the image (or follow this link). Other Cassini images of Mimas include the small moon's large and ominous Herschel Crater.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 15 - The Cone Nebula from Hubble

The Cone Nebula from Hubble 
Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA - Processing & Licence: Judy Schmidt

Explanation: Stars are forming in the gigantic dust pillar called the Cone Nebula. Cones, pillars, and majestic flowing shapes abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from newborn stars. The Cone Nebula, a well-known example, lies within the bright galactic star-forming region NGC 2264. The Cone was captured in unprecedented detail in this close-up composite of several observations from the Earth-orbitingHubble Space Telescope. While the Cone Nebula, about 2,500 light-years away in Monoceros, is around 7 light-years long, the region pictured here surrounding the cone's blunted head is a mere 2.5 light-years across. In our neck of the galaxy that distance is just over half way from our Sun to its nearest stellar neighbors in the Alpha Centauri star system. The massive star NGC 2264 IRS, seen by Hubble's infrared camera in 1997, is the likely source of the wind sculpting the Cone Nebula and lies off the top of the image. The Cone Nebula's reddish veil is produced by glowing hydrogen gas.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 14 - A Dark Winter Sky over Monfragüe National Park in Spain

A Dark Winter Sky over Monfragüe National Park in Spain 
Image Credit & Copyright: José Luis Quiñones (Entre Encinas y Estrellas)

Explanation: You, too, can see a night sky like this. That is because Monfragüe National Park in Spain, where this composite image was created, has recently had its night sky officially protected from potential future light pollution. Icons of the night sky that should continue to stand out during northern winter -- and are visible on the featured image -- include very bright stars like Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Procyon, bright star clusters like the Pleiades, and, photographically, faint nebulas like the California and Rosette Nebulas. Even 100 years ago, many people were more familiar with a darker night sky than people today, primarily because of the modern light pollution. Other parks that have been similarly protected as dark-sky preserves include Death Valley National Park (USA) and Grasslands National Park (Canada). Areas such as the city of Flagstaff, Arizona and much of the Big Island of Hawaii also have theirnight skies protected.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 13 - At the Heart of Orion

At the Heart of Orion 
Image Credit & Copyright: Christoph Kaltseis, CEDIC 2017

Explanation: Near the center of this sharp cosmic portrait, at the heart of the Orion Nebula, are four hot, massive stars known as the Trapezium. Tightly gathered within a region about 1.5 light-years in radius, they dominate the core of the dense Orion Nebula Star Cluster. Ultraviolet ionizing radiation from the Trapezium stars, mostly from the brightest star Theta-1 Orionis C powers the complex star forming region's entire visible glow. About three million years old, the Orion Nebula Cluster was even more compact in its younger years and a dynamical study indicates that runaway stellar collisions at an earlier age may have formed a black hole with more than 100 times the mass of the Sun. The presence of a black hole within the cluster could explain the observed high velocities of the Trapezium stars. The Orion Nebula's distance of some 1,500 light-years would make it the closest known black hole to planet Earth.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 12 - Reflections on vdB 31

Reflections on vdB 31 
Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona

Explanation: Riding high in the constellation of Auriga, beautiful, blue vdB 31 is the 31st object in Sidney van den Bergh's 1966 catalog of reflection nebulae. It shares this well-composed celestial still life with dark, obscuring clouds recorded in Edward E. Barnard's 1919 catalog of dark markings in the sky. All are interstellar dust clouds, blocking the light from background stars in the case of Barnard's dark nebulae. For vdB 31, the dust preferentially reflects the bluish starlight from embedded, hot, variable star AB Aurigae. Exploring the environs of AB Aurigae with the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the several million year young star is itself surrounded by flatteneddusty disk with evidence for the ongoing formation of a planetary system. AB Aurigae is about 470 light-years away. At that distance this cosmic canvas would span about four light-years.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2nd - 2017 March 9 - Centaurus A

Centaurus A 
Image Credit & Copyright: Fabian Neyer

Explanation: Only 11 million light-years away, Centaurus A is the closest active galaxy to planet Earth. Spanning over 60,000 light-years, the peculiar elliptical galaxy also known as NGC 5128, is featured in this sharp telescopic view.Centaurus A is apparently the result of a collision of two otherwise normal galaxies resulting in a fantastic jumble of star clusters and imposing dark dust lanes. Near the galaxy's center, left over cosmic debris is steadily being consumed by a central black hole with a billion times the mass of the Sun. As in other active galaxies, that process likely generates the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy radiated by Centaurus A. The remarkably deep, visible light image offers further evidence of the ensuing cosmic violence in the faint shells and extended features surrounding the active galaxy.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 9 - 1st - Dust, Gas, and Stars in the Orion Nebula

Dust, Gas, and Stars in the Orion Nebula 
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Reprocessing & Copyright: Jesús M.Vargas & Maritxu Poyal

Explanation: The Great Nebula in Orion, an immense, nearby starbirth region, is probably the most famous of all astronomical nebulas. Here, filaments of dark dust and glowing gas surround hot young stars at the edge of an immenseinterstellar molecular cloud only 1500 light-years away. In the featured deep image shown in assigned colors, part of the nebula's center is shown as taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Great Nebula in Orion can be found with the unaided eye near the easily identifiable belt of three stars in the popular constellation Orion. In addition to housing a bright open cluster of stars known as the Trapezium, the Orion Nebula contains many stellar nurseries. These nurseries contain much hydrogen gas, hot young stars, proplyds, and stellar jets spewing material at high speeds. Also known as M42 and M43, the Orion Nebula spans about 40 light years and is located in the same spiral arm of our Galaxy as the Sun.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 6 - Colorful Aurora over Iceland

Colorful Aurora over Iceland 
Image Credit & Copyright: Sigurdur William Brynjarsson; Annotation Advice: Sævar Helgi Bragason

Explanation: You don't always see a scene this beautiful when you hike to an ancient volcano -- you have to be lucky. When the astrophotographer realized that aurora were visible two-weeks ago, he made a night-time run for the top of the caldera to see if he could capture them also reflected in the central lake. When he arrived, he found that ... the northern lights were even brighter and more impressive than before! And his image of them is the featured 13-frame panoramic mosaic. The crater lake in the center is called Kerid (Icelandic: Kerið) and is about 3,000 years old. The aurora overhead shows impressive colors and banding, with the red colors occurring higher in the Earth's atmospherethan the green. The background sky is filled with icons of the northern night including Polaris, the Pleiades star cluster, and the stars that compose the handle of the Big Dipper.

Himno do Vasco da Gama - Video - Musica

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 4 - NGC 2170: Still Life with Reflecting Dust

NGC 2170: Still Life with Reflecting Dust 
Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona

Explanation: In this beautiful celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170 shines at the upper left. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae, a compact red emission region, and streamers of obscuring dust against a backdrop of stars. Like the common household items still life painters often choose for their subjects, the clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars pictured here are also commonly found in this setting - a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). The giant molecular cloud, Mon R2, is impressively close, estimated to be only 2,400 light-years or so away. At that distance, this canvas would be about 15 light-years across.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 3 - Sivan 2 to M31

Sivan 2 to M31 
Image Credit & Copyright: MDW Sky Survey (David Mittelman, Dennis di Cicco, Sean Walker)

Explanation: From within the boundaries of the constellation Cassiopeia (left) to Andromeda (right), this telescopic mosaic spans over 10 degrees in planet Earth's skies. The celestial scene is constructed of panels that are part of a high-resolution astronomical survey of the Milky Way in hydrogen-alpha light. Processing the monochromatic image data has brought out the region's faintest structures, relatively unexplored filaments of hydrogen gas near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Large but faint and also relatively unknown nebula Sivan 2 is at the upper left in the field. The nearby Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is at center right, while the faint, pervasive hydrogen nebulosities stretch towards M31 across the foreground in the wide field of view. The broad survey image demonstrates the intriguing faint hydrogen clouds recently imaged by astronomer Rogelio Bernal Andreo really are within the Milky Way, along the line-of-sight to the Andromeda Galaxy.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 2 - Annular Eclipse After Sunrise

Annular Eclipse After Sunrise 
Image Credit & Copyright: Vincent Bouchama

Explanation: From northern Patagonia, morning skies were clear and blue on Sunday, February 26. This sweeping composite scene, overlooking Hermoso Valle, Facundo, Chubut, Argentina, follows the Sun after sunrise, capturing an annular solar eclipse. Created from a series of exposures at three minute intervals, it shows the year's first solar eclipse beginning well above the distant eastern horizon. An exposure close to mid-eclipse recorded the expected ring of fire, the silhouette of the New Moon only slightly too small to cover the bright Sun. At that location on planet Earth, the annular phase of the eclipse lasted a brief 45 seconds.

Fotografia - Lisboa nocturna - Exposição do Mundo Português, Lisboa, 1940

Estúdio Horácio Novais, Vista aérea da Exposição do Mundo Português, Lisboa, 1940 Colecções da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa, Portugal (Flickr Commons).

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 March 1 - A Solar Eclipse with a Beaded Ring of Fire

A Solar Eclipse with a Beaded Ring of Fire 
Image Credit & Copyright: Stephen Bedingfield

Explanation: What kind of eclipse is this? On Sunday, visible in parts of Earth's southern hemisphere, the Moon blocked part of the Sun during a partial solar eclipse. In some locations, though, the effect was a rare type of partialeclipse called an annular eclipse. There, since the Moon is too far from the Earth to block the entire Sun, sunlight streamed around the edges of the Moon creating a "ring of fire". At some times, though, the effect was a rare type ofannular eclipse. Then, an edge of the Moon nearly aligned with an edge of the Sun, allowing sunlight to stream through only low areas on the Moon. Called a "Baily's bead" or a "diamond ring", this doubly rare effect was captured Sunday in the feature photograph from Chubut, Argentina, in South America. This summer a total solar eclipse will swoop across North America.