Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 31 - Approaching the Bubble Nebula

Approaching the Bubble Nebula 
Visualization Credit: NASA, ESA, and F. Summers, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, and L. Frattare (Viz 3D Team, STScI);
Acknowledgment: T. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, H. Schweiker/WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF, NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Explanation: What would it look like to approach the Bubble Nebula? Blown by the wind and radiation from a massive star, this bubble now spans seven light-years in diameter. The hot star inside is thousands of times more luminous than our Sun, and is now offset from the nebula's center. The visualization starts with a direct approach toward the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) and then moves around the nebula while continuing the approach. The featured time-lapse visualization is extrapolated from images with the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and the WIYN telescope on Kitt Peak in Arizona, USA. The 3D-computer model on which this visualization is based includes artistic interpretations, and distances are significantly compressed.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 30 - Beneath Jupiter

Beneath Jupiter 
Image Credit: NASA, Juno, SwRI, MSSS, Gerald Eichstädt & Seán Doran

Explanation: Jupiter is stranger than we knew. NASA's Juno spacecraft has now completed its sixth swoop past Jupiter as it moves around its highly elliptical orbit. Pictured, Jupiter is seen from below where, surprisingly, the horizontal bands that cover most of the planet disappear into swirls and complex patterns. A line of white oval clouds is visible nearer to the equator. Recent results from Juno show that Jupiter's weather phenomena can extend deep below its cloud tops, and that Jupiter's magnetic field varies greatly with location. Juno is scheduled to orbit Jupiter 37 times with each orbit taking about six weeks.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 28 - Collapse in Hebes Chasma on Mars

Collapse in Hebes Chasma on Mars 
Image Credit & Copyright: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

Explanation: What's happened in Hebes Chasma on Mars? Hebes Chasma is a depression just north of the enormous Valles Marineris canyon. Since the depression is unconnected to other surface features, it is unclear where the internal material went. Inside Hebes Chasma is Hebes Mensa, a 5 kilometer high mesa that appears to have undergone an unusual partial collapse -- a collapse that might be providing clues. The featured image, taken by ESA's roboticMars Express spacecraft currently orbiting Mars, shows great details of the chasm and the unusual horseshoe shaped indentation in the central mesa. Material from the mesa appears to have flowed onto the floor of the chasm, while a possible dark layer appears to have pooled like ink on a downslope landing. A recent hypothesis holds that salty rock composes some lower layers in Hebes Chasma, with the salt dissolving in melted ice flows that drained through holes into an underground aquifer.

Barry White - "Never gonna give you up" - Slides - Music

"Never gonna give you up" 

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 27 - Comet Clark is near the Edge

Comet Clark is near the Edge 
Image Credit & Copyright: Raul Villaverde Fraile

Explanation: Sweeping through this stunning field of view, Comet 71P/Clark really is in the foreground of these cosmic clouds. The 2 panel telescopic mosaic is color enhanced and is about 5 degrees (10 full moons) across. It captures the faint comet's position on the night of May 23/24 over 5 light-minutes from Earth, very near the line-of-sight to bright star Antares and the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. In the frame Antares, also known as Alpha Scorpii, is at bottom center surrounded by a dusty cosmic cloud reflecting the cool giant star's yellowish light. Globular star cluster M4 shines just right of Antares, but M4 lies some 7,000 light-years away compared to Antares' 500 light-year distance. Slightly closer than Antares, Rho Ophiuchi's bluish starlight is reflected by the dust in molecular clouds toward the top. You can spot the small coma and short tail of the comet as a faint smudge near the center of the left edge of the frame. Just look for the comet's striking greenish color, produced as diatomic carbon molecules fluoresce in sunlight.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 26 - Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744

Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744 
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Verschatse

Explanation: Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 6744 is nearly 175,000 light-years across, larger than our own Milky Way. It lies some 30 million light-years distant in the southern constellation Pavo appearing as a faint, extended object in small telescopes. We see the disk of the nearby island universe tilted towards our line of sight. This remarkably distinct and detailed galaxy portrait covers an area about the angular size of the full moon. In it, the giant galaxy's yellowish core is dominated by the light from old, cool stars. Beyond the core, spiral arms filled with young blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions sweep past a smaller satellite galaxy at the lower left, reminiscent of the Milky Way's satellite galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Fotos - "Contemplando o luar"

"Contemplando o luar"

12-05-2017

JoanMira

Imagens - La Terre vue de l'Espace - Lisboa

Une des premières images de 2017 est pour Lisbonne, que Thomas Pesquet l'astronaute décrit comme une de ses destinations préférées quand il était pilote.

Imagens - Lugares lindos do Porto - Átrio da estação de S. Bento

O Átrio da estação de S. Bento faz que os inúmeros turistas que ali entram, dispararem as suas cameras fotográficas.

Este belíssimo espaço revestido de imensos painéis de azulejos pintados que mostram algumas cenas importantes da história de Portugal, nomeadamente do norte do país, faz com que esta estação, seja considerada uma das mais belas do mundo...

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 25 - Star Cluster, Spiral Galaxy, Supernova

Star Cluster, Spiral Galaxy, Supernova 
Image Credit & Copyright: Paolo Demaria

Explanation: A cosmic snapshot from May 19, this colorful telescopic field of view spans about 1 degree or 2 full moons on the sky. Spiky in appearance, foreground Milky Way stars are scattered toward the royal constellationCepheus while stars of open cluster NGC 6939 gather about 5 thousand light-years in the distance near the top of the frame. Face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946 is toward the lower left nearly 22 million light-years away. The helpful red lines identify recently discovered supernova SN 2017eaw, the death explosion of a massive star nestled in the galaxy's bluish spiral arms. In fact in the last 100 years, 10 supernovae have been discovered in NGC 6946. By comparison, the average rate of supernovae in our Milky Way is about 1 every 100 years or so. Of course, NGC 6946 is also known as The Fireworks Galaxy.

Imagens - Lugares lindos do Porto - Torre dos Clérigos

Torre dos Clérigos, a torre mais alta de Portugal, construída pelo famoso arquiteto Nicolau Nasoni. Subir os aproximadamente 240 degraus da torre e ver toda a cidade lá do alto, vale mesmo a pena!

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 24 - NGC 4565: Galaxy on Edge

NGC 4565: Galaxy on Edge 
Image Credit & Copyright: Lóránd Fényes

Explanation: Is our Galaxy this thin? We believe so. Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky, in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp, colorful image reveals the galaxy's bulging central core cut by obscuring dust lanes that lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane. An assortment of other background galaxies is included in the pretty field of view, with neighboring galaxy NGC 4562 at the upper left. NGC 4565 itself lies about 40 million light-years distant and spans some 100,000 light-years. Easily spotted with small telescopes, sky enthusiasts consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed.

SLB "Hino do Benfica - Benfica's anthem" - Video - Musica

"Somos Benfica e por isso respeitamos os adversarios" !

Imagens - Lugares lindos do Porto - Café Majestic

Na rua de Santa Catarina encontra-se o famoso Café Majestic, considerado um dos mais bonitos do mundo. Não deixe de entrar para ao menos...um café. E muitas fotografias...

Artigo - Manchester - Horrivel atentado terrorista

Pelo menos duas explosões fizeram-se sentir na Manchester Arena, em Inglaterra, onde a cantora norte-americana Ariana Grande estava a dar um concerto. A polícia informou ao início da manhã desta terça-feira que o número de mortos subiu para 22. Entre as vítimas há crianças.

O incidente terá ocorrido perto das 22.30 locais (mesma hora em Portugal), logo depois de milhares de pessoas que assistiam ao concerto terem referido ter ouvido um "estrondo muito grande". Já posteriormente a polícia de Manchester disse que este acontecimento está agora a ser tratado como um "incidente terrorista".

Hoje de manhã, o comandante da polícia de Manchester, no Reino Unido, acrescentou que 59 feridos estão a ser tratados em oito hospitais diferentes da região.

Num balanço sobre a investigação feito já esta terça-feira, Ian Hopkins adiantou que a polícia acredita que o responsável pela explosão foi um homem apenas, que "transportava um engenho explosivo improvisado, que ele detonou causando esta atrocidade".

A primeira-ministra britânica Theresa May, que decidiu suspender a campanha eleitoral, também confirmou este incidente como um ato terrorista. "Trabalhamos para determinar todo os detalhes do que está a ser investigado pela polícia como um horrível atentado terrorista", disse a primeira-ministra que convocou uma reunião do gabinete de segurança.

Diario de Noticias - Portugal

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 23 - Approaching Jupiter

Approaching Jupiter 
Video Composition & Copyright: Peter Rosén et al.; Music: The Awakening by Clemens Ruh

Explanation: What would it look like to approach Jupiter? To help answer this, a team of 91 amateur astrophotographers took over 1,000 pictures of Jupiter from the Earth with the resulting images aligned and digitally merged into the featured time-lapse video. Image taking began in 2014 December and lasted just over three months. The resulting fictitious approach sequence has similarities to what was seen by NASA's robotic Juno spacecraft as it first approachedthe Jovian world last July. The video begins with Jupiter appearing as a small orb near the image center. As Jupiter nears from below, the planet looms ever larger while the rotation of its cloud bands becomes apparent. Jupiter'sshrinking Great Red Spot rotates into view twice, at times showing unusual activity. Many white ovals are visible moving around the giant planet. The video ends as the imaginary spacecraft passes over Jupiter's North Pole.

Imagens - La Terre vue de l'Espace - Argentina e Uruguay

"L'argent de Buenos Aires vs l'or de la pampa uruguayenne et le Rio de la Plata en frontière de luxe".

Thomas Pesquet

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 22 - A Zodiacal Sky over Horseshoe Bend

A Zodiacal Sky over Horseshoe Bend 
Image Credit & Copyright: David Lane

Explanation: What's causing the unusual ray of white light extending upward from the central horizon? Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System rises prominently before sunrise and is called zodiacal light. The dust originates mostly from faint Jupiter-family comets and slowly spirals into the Sun. Pictured, in front of the zodiacal light, is a spectacular view of Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River. Emitted from well behind the zodiacal light is a spectacular sky that includes many bright stars including Sirius, several blue star clusters including the Pleiades, and an assortment of red nebula including Barnard's Loop in Orion. The 30-image composite was taken earlier this month in nearly complete darkness only six inches from the edge of a dangerous cliff.

Article - Corruption sur la vente de sous-marins au Brésil

La DCNS, groupe industriel français spécialisé dans le naval militaire, assure au JDDavoir "respecté les règles de droit". Pourtant, la justice a lancé une enquête. Le Parquet national financier cherche en effet à savoir si la vente de cinq sous-marins par la France au Brésil en 2008 a donné lieu au versement de pots-de-vin. Quatre magistrats, dont la chef du PNF, Eliane Houlete, se sont rendus la semaine dernière au Brésil officiellement pour "renforcer la coopération judiciaire" entre les deux pays. Mais selon nos informations, ils ont aussi tenu de discrètes réunions de travail avec des enquêteurs brésiliens sur un grand dossier de corruption qui ébranle le pays, issu du tentaculaire scandale Petrobras.

En 2008, la France, via la DCNS, vend cinq sous-marins, dont un à propulsion nucléaire, au Brésil. Le tout pour un montant de 6,7 milliards d'euros. L'entreprise française DCNS a-t-elle ou non été liée à de quelconques surfacturations ou à des versements de fonds? A-t-elle pu ignorer les pratiques de son partenaire local, Odebrecht, dont plus de 70 cadres sont impliqués dans des affaires de dessous-de-table? Les vérifications lancées par le PNF vont tenter d'y voir clair.

JDD - France

Turismo - "Beautiful music" - Ireland

"Ireland"

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 21 - In the Center of the Lagoon Nebula

In the Center of the Lagoon Nebula 
Image Credit: Hubble, A. Caulet (ST-ECF, ESA), NASA

Explanation: The center of the Lagoon Nebula is a whirlwind of spectacular star formation. Visible on the lower left, at least two long funnel-shaped clouds, each roughly half a light-year long, have been formed by extreme stellar winds and intense energetic starlight. The tremendously bright nearby star, Hershel 36, lights the area. Vast walls of dust hide and redden other hot young stars. As energy from these stars pours into the cool dust and gas, large temperature differences in adjoining regions can be created generating shearing winds which may cause the funnels. This picture, spanning about 5 light years, was taken in 1995 by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The Lagoon Nebula, also known as M8, lies about 5000 light years distant toward the constellation of Sagittarius.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 20 - A View Toward M101

A View Toward M101 
Image Credit & Copyright: Laszlo Bagi

Explanation: Big, beautiful spiral galaxy M101 is one of the last entries in Charles Messier's famous catalog, but definitely not one of the least. About 170,000 light-years across, this galaxy is enormous, almost twice the size of our own Milky Way galaxy. M101 was also one of the original spiral nebulae observed by Lord Rosse's large 19th century telescope, the Leviathan of Parsontown. M101 shares this modern telescopic field of view with spiky foreground stars within the Milky Way, and more distant background galaxies. The colors of the Milky Way stars can also be found in the starlight from the large island universe. Its core is dominated by light from cool yellowish stars. Along its grand spiral arms are the blue colors of hotter, young stars mixed with obscuring dust lanes and pinkish star forming regions. Also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, M101 lies within the boundaries of the northern constellation Ursa Major, about 25 million light-years away.

Irish Rovers - "Drunken sailor" - Video - Music

"Drunken sailor"

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 19 - Wolf-Lundmark-Melotte

Wolf-Lundmark-Melotte 
Image Credit: ESO, VST/Omegacam Local Group Survey

Explanation: Named for the three astronomers instrumental in its discovery and identification, Wolf - Lundmark - Melotte (WLM) is a lonely dwarf galaxy. Seen toward the mostly southern constellation Cetus, about 3 million light-years from the Milky Way, it is one of the most remote members of our local galaxy group. In fact, it may never have interacted with any other local group galaxy. Still, telltale pinkish star forming regions and hot, young, bluish stars speckle the isolated island universe. Older, cool yellowish stars fade into the small galaxy's halo, extending about 8,000 light-years across. This sharp portrait of WLM was captured by the 268-megapixel OmegaCAM widefield imager and survey telescope at ESO's Paranal Observatory.

English Version - (Salvador Sobral - Amar pelos dois) - Video - Music - Live

"Both of us"

Grupo Musical Raizes do Alentejo - "Como é lindo o Pomarão" - Slides - Musica

"Como é lindo o Pomarão"

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 18 - Simeis 147: Supernova Remnant

Simeis 147: Supernova Remnant 
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel López (El Cielo de Canarias) / IAC

Explanation: It's easy to get lost following intricate filaments in this detailed image of faint supernova remnant Simeis 147. Also cataloged as Sharpless 2-240 it goes by the popular nickname, the Spaghetti Nebula. Seen toward the boundary of the constellations Taurus and Auriga, it covers nearly 3 degrees or 6 full moons on the sky. That's about 150 light-years at the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years. This composite includes image data taken through narrow-band filters, enhancing the reddish emission from ionized hydrogen atoms to trace the shocked, glowing gas. The supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000 years, meaning light from the massive stellar explosion first reached Earth 40,000 years ago. But the expanding remnant is not the only aftermath. The cosmic catastrophe also left behind a spinning neutron star or pulsar, all that remains of the original star's core.

Kristian Kostov - "Beautiful mess" - Video - Music - Live

"Beautiful mess"

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 17 - Galaxy Group Hickson 90

Galaxy Group Hickson 90 
Image Credit: NASA; ESA, Hubble Legacy Archive; Processing: Oliver Czernetz

Explanation: Scanning the skies for galaxies, Canadian astronomer Paul Hickson and colleagues identified some 100 compact groups of galaxies, now appropriately called Hickson Compact Groups (HCGs). This sharp Hubble imageshows one such galaxy group, HCG 90, in startling detail. Three galaxies -- two visible here -- are revealed to be strongly interacting: a dusty spiral galaxy stretched and distorted in the image center, and two large elliptical galaxies. The close encounter will trigger furious star formation. On a cosmic timescale, the gravitational tug of war will eventually result in the merger of the trio into a large single galaxy. The merger process is now understood to be a normal part of the evolution of galaxies, including our own Milky Way. HCG 90 lies about 100 million light-years away toward the constellation of the Southern Fish (Piscis Austrinus). This Hubble view spans about 40,000 light-years at that estimated distance. Of course, Hickson Compact Groups also make for rewarding viewing for Earth-bound astronomers with more modest sized telescopes.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 16 - Gemini Stars Pollux and Castor

Gemini Stars Pollux and Castor 
Image Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (Deep Sky Colors)

Explanation: Who are the twins of Gemini? It terms of astronomical objects, the famous constellation is dominated by two bright stars: Pollux (left) and Castor (right). Pictured, the two stars stand out because they are so bright, so close together both in angle and brightness, but so different in color. Pollux, at 33 light years distant, is an evolved red giant star twice as massive as our Sun. Castor, at 51 light years distant, is a blue main sequence star about 2.7 times more massive that our Sun. Castor is known to have at least two stellar companions, while Pollux is now known to be circled by at least one massive planet. In terms of ancient Babylonian, Greek, and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux represent twin brothers. Currently, the Earth's orbit is causing the Sun to appear to shift in front of the constellation of Gemini, with the result that, for much of humanity, Castor and Pollux will remain visible toward the west at sunset for only a few more weeks.

Cantares D'Outrora - "O cantar é de quem canta" - Video - Ao vivo

"O cantar é de quem canta"

UHF - "Sou Benfica" - Video - Musica

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 15 - Lightning Storm Moves Across the USA

Lightning Storm Moves Across the USA 
Image Credit: NOAA, NASA, Lockheed Martin, GOES-16, GLM Explanation: Watch a huge lightning storm move across the eastern USA. The huge storm caused much damage and unfortunately some loss of life for people in its path. Seen from space, the lightning is seen as momentary flashes in the featured time-lapse video recorded last month by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) aboard the GOES-16 satellite. The outline of North America is most evident during the day, while the bright lightning strikes are most evident at night. Inspection of the video shows that much of the lightning occurred at the leading edge of the huge tail of the swirling storm. Because lightning frequently precedes a storm's most violent impact, lightning data fromGLM holds promise to help reduce the harm to humans from future storms.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 14 - Ganymede: The Largest Moon

Ganymede: The Largest Moon 
Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Galileo Probe

Explanation: What does the largest moon in the Solar System look like? Jupiter's moon Ganymede, larger than even Mercury and Pluto, has an icy surface speckled with bright young craters overlying a mixture of older, darker, more cratered terrain laced with grooves and ridges. The large circular feature on the upper right, called Galileo Regio, is an ancient region of unknown origin. Ganymede is thought to have an ocean layer that contains more water than Earthand might contain life. Like Earth's Moon, Ganymede keeps the same face towards its central planet, in this case Jupiter. The featured image was taken about 20 years ago by NASA's Galileo probe, which ended its mission by diving into Jupiter's atmosphere in 2003. Currently, NASA's Juno spacecraft orbits Jupiter and is studying the giant planet's internal structure, among many other attributes.

Whitney Houston - "I will alawys love you" - Video - Music

"I will always love you"

Artigo - Benfica conquista campeonato de Portugal. A aguia voou bem alto!

«Nunca nos vamos esquecer deste momento» - Rui Vitória

01:09 - 14-05-2017.Em discurso aos milhares de adeptos presentes no Marquês de Pombal, palco dos festejos encarnados, o treinador do Benfica fez questão de destacar a inédita proeza pela conquista do tetracampeonato.

«Estamos a viver um momento único, foram 10 meses de trabalho árduo, com estes grandes jogadores. Estivemos 9 meses em primeiro lugar, foi uma luta constante para termos este tetra. Hoje posso dizer que estou orgulhoso, satisfeito e realizado. Esta é uma vitória que jamais esqueceremos. Sintam o privilégio de viver esta história. Relembro outras gerações, grandes jogadores que passaram pelo Benfica, que ficaram pelo tri. O tetra fica com esta equipa, nunca nos vamos esquecer deste momento!», disse Rui Vitória, que terminou lançando para a multidão: «Viva o Benfica!»

A Bola - Portugal

Portugal vence o concurso da Eurovisão! Salvador Sobral - "Amar pelos dois" - Video - Musica - Ao vivo

Diziam que era impossível. Que uma balada nunca iria vencer a Eurovisão. Que a música não era festivaleira e que Salvador Sobral iria ter de mudar tudo o que é para vencer o concurso. O músico de 27 anos dispensou um espectáculo de luzes impressionante e subiu ao palco com uma indumentária tão simples quanto a eficácia da sua música. Sem bailarinos ou um coro, Salvador Sobral colocou um país inteiro a olhar para a Eurovisão novamente. E, em português, conseguiu conquistar também a atenção além-fronteiras. A canção do músico de 27 anos tornou-se um fenómeno global e durante semanas surgiam dos quatro cantos do mundo vídeos de fãs a interpretar as suas versões. Na imprensa internacional multiplicaram-se títulos a elogiar a “voz de anjo” e a “actuação perfeita”. A esperança foi crescendo entre as vozes mais cépticas. Este sábado, os resultados do festival não deixaram margem para dúvidas: a Europa rendeu-se a Salvador Sobral

Foto - "Praia de Ondres" - (Landes-France)

 

"Praia de Ondres"

11-05-2017

JoanMira

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 13 -

Planet Aurora 
Image Credit: Scott Kelly, Expedition 44, NASA

Explanation: What bizarre alien planet is this? It's planet Earth of course, seen from the International Space Station through the shimmering glow of aurorae. About 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth, the orbiting station is itself within the upper realm of the auroral displays. Aurorae have the signature colors of excited molecules and atoms at the low densities found at extreme altitudes. Emission from atomic oxygen dominates this view. The eerie glow is green at lower altitudes, but a rarer reddish band extends above the space station's horizon. Also visible from the planet's surface, this auroral display began during a geomagnetic storm. The storm was triggered after a coronal mass ejection impacted Earth's magnetosphere in June of 2015.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 12 - M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules

M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules 
Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona

Explanation: In 1716, English astronomer Edmond Halley noted, "This is but a little Patch, but it shews itself to the naked Eye, when the Sky is serene and the Moon absent." Of course, M13 is now less modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, one of the brightest globular star clusters in the northern sky. Telescopic views reveal the spectacular cluster's hundreds of thousands of stars. At a distance of 25,000 light-years, the cluster stars crowd into a region 150 light-years in diameter. Approaching the cluster core upwards of 100 stars could be contained in a cube just 3 light-years on a side. For comparison, the closest star to the Sun is over 4 light-years away. Along with the cluster's dense core, the outer reaches of M13 are highlighted in this sharp color image. The cluster's evolved red and blue giant stars show up in yellowish and blue tints.

Images - La Terre vue de l'Espace - Delhi

Première photo prise de nuit par Thomas Pesquet, le 25 novembre 2016. Selon plusieurs internautes, la ville scintillant de mille feux serait Delhi.

Imagens - Lugares lindos do Porto - "Ribeira"

No interior da Ribeira

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 11 - The Multiwavelength Crab

The Multiwavelength Crab 
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Dubner (IAFE, CONICET-University of Buenos Aires) et al.;
A. Loll et al.; T. Temim et al.; F. Seward et al.; VLA/NRAO/AUI/NSF; Chandra/CXC;
Spitzer/JPL-Caltech; XMM-Newton/ESA; Hubble/STScI

Explanation: The Crab Nebula is cataloged as M1, the first object on Charles Messier's famous list of things which are not comets. In fact, the Crab is now known to be a supernova remnant, expanding debris from massive star's death explosion, witnessed on planet Earth in 1054 AD. This brave new image offers a 21st century view of the Crab Nebula by presenting image data from across the electromagnetic spectrum as wavelengths of visible light. From space, Chandra (X-ray) XMM-Newton (ultraviolet), Hubble (visible), and Spitzer (infrared), data are in purple, blue, green, and yellow hues. From the ground, Very Large Array radio wavelength data is in shown in red. One of the most exotic objects known to modern astronomers, the Crab Pulsar, a neutron star spinning 30 times a second, is the bright spot near picture center. Like a cosmic dynamo, this collapsed remnant of the stellar core powers the Crab's emission across the electromagnetic spectrum. Spanning about 12 light-years, the Crab Nebula is 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus.

U2 - "Desire" - Video - Music

"Desire"

Images - La Terre vue de l'Espace - Le Moyen Orient

Le Moyen-Orient de nuit photographié par Thomas Pesquet le 26 novembre. "J'ai encore un peu de mal avec les photos à 400 kilomètres d'altitude et 28.000 km/h, mais je m'entraîne !", fait-il savoir.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 10 - UGC 1810: Wildly Interacting Galaxy from Hubble

UGC 1810: Wildly Interacting Galaxy from Hubble 
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Processing & Copyright: Domingo Pestana

Explanation: What's happening to this spiral galaxy? Although details remain uncertain, it surely has to do with an ongoing battle with its smaller galactic neighbor. The featured galaxy is labelled UGC 1810 by itself, but together with itscollisional partner is known as Arp 273. The overall shape of the UGC 1810 -- in particular its blue outer ring -- is likely a result of wild and violent gravitational interactions. This ring's blue color is caused by massive stars that are blue hot and have formed only in the past few million years. The inner galaxy appears older, redder, and threaded with cool filamentary dust. A few bright stars appear well in the foreground, unrelated to UGC 1810, while several galaxies are visible well in the background. Arp 273 lies about 300 million light years away toward the constellation of Andromeda. Quite likely, UGC 1810 will devour its galactic sidekick over the next billion years and settle into a classic spiral form.

Images - La Terre vue de l'Espace - Delta du Nil

Le delta du Nil immortalisé de nuit par Thomas Pesquet

Astronomy picture of the day - 2017 May 9 - Big Dipper Above and Below Chilean Volcanoes

Big Dipper Above and Below Chilean Volcanoes 
Image Credit & Copyright: Yuri Beletsky (Carnegie Las Campanas Observatory, TWAN)

Explanation: Do you see it? This common question frequently precedes the rediscovery of one of the most commonly recognized configurations of stars on the northern sky: the Big Dipper. This grouping of stars is one of the few things that has likely been seen, and will be seen, by every generation. The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. Although part of the constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major), the Big Dipper is an asterism that has been known by different names to different societies. Five of the Big Dipper stars are actually near each other in space and were likely formed at nearly the same time. Connecting two stars in the far part of the Big Dipper will lead one to Polaris, the North Star, which is part of the Little Dipper. Relative stellar motions will cause the Big Dipper to slowly change its configuration over the next 100,000 years. Pictured in late April, the Big Dipper was actually imaged twice -- aboveand below distant Chilean volcanoes, the later reflected from an unusually calm lagoon.