Astronomy picture of the day - 2015 September 22 - Milky Way over Bosque Alegre Station in Argentina

Milky Way over Bosque Alegre Station in Argentina 
Image Credit & Copyright: Sebastián D' Alessandro

Explanation: What are those streaks of light in the sky? First and foremost, the arching structure is the central band of our Milky Way galaxy. Visible in this galactic band are millions of distant stars mixed with numerous lanes of dark dust. Harder to discern is a nearly vertical beam of light rising from the horizon, just to the right of the image center. This beam is zodiacal light, sunlight scattered by dust in our Solar System that may be surprisingly prominent just after sunset or just before sunrise. In the foreground are several telescopes of the Bosque Alegre Astrophysical Station of the National University of Cordoba in Argentina. The station schedules weekend tours and conducts research into the nature of many astronomical objects including comets, active galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. The featured image was taken early this month.

Drawing from my mind - "Le jour se lève"

"Le jour se lève"

09-03-2010

JoanMira

Pictures from my Mind - "Céu de Caudéran" - 19-09-2015 - 19,37 h

"Céu de Caudéran"

Bordeaux, 19-09-2015

JoanMira

Fotografia - Lisboa antiga - Rua do Carmo - 1900

Rua do Carmo - 1900

Conhece todos os miradouros em Lisboa?... Panteão Nacional

At the top of the National Pantheon, right by the huge dome, you may look out to the river, 25 de Abril Bridge, the Alfama district, and the towers of St. Vincent Monastery right across from you.

No topo do Panteão Nacional, junto à sua grande cúpula, pode-se ficar a observar o Tejo, o bairro de Alfama, a Ponte 25 de Abril, e as torres do Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora mesmo em frente.

Photo from my mind - "Ao cair do pano" - Caudéran - 25-04-2015

"Ao cair do pano"

Caudéran, (Bordeaux) - 25-04-2015

JoanMira

Astronomy picture of the day - 2015 September 19 - A Prominence on the Sun

A Prominence on the Sun 
Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Friedman (Averted Imagination)

Explanation: This eerie landscape of incandescent plasma suspended in looping and twisted magnetic fields stretched toward the Sun's eastern horizon on September 16. Captured through a backyard telescope and narrowband filter in light from ionized hydrogen, the scene reveals a gigantic prominence lofted above the solar limb. Some 600,000 kilometers across, the magnetized plasma wall would dwarf worlds of the Solar System. Ruling gas giant Jupiter can only boast a diameter of 143,000 kilometers or so, while planet Earth's diameter is less than 13,000 kilometers. Known as a hedgerow prominence for its appearance, the enormous structure is far from stable though, and such large solar prominences often erupt.

Laurent Voulzy - "C'était déjà toi" - Video - Musique

"C'était déjà toi"

Portugal/Chine - Ces Chinois qui font leur cinéma

L’octroi de permis de résidence dans le cadre du programme portugais des “visas dorés” concernait initialement les étrangers qui investissaient plus de 500 000 euros dans de l’immobilier. Depuis l’altération de la loi le 30 juin dernier, ces visas regardent également les investissements de 350 000 euros dans des activités scientifiques ou de 250 000 euros dans la production artistique locale.

Ainsi, alors que 2 465 “visas dorés” ont déjà été octroyés depuis leur création, 50 résidents chinois désirent utiliser le programme afin de tourner des films à Lisbonne ou à Porto. Ces candidats devront engager au minimum 250 000 euros dans la production de films de fiction. Un investissement non négligeable pour l’Etat portugais, qui a créé pour l’occasion la Portuguese Film Commission, afin de centraliser ces demandes spécifiques.

Courrier International - France 

Astronomy picture of the day - 2015 September 18 - A Plutonian Landscape

A Plutonian Landscape 
Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institue

Explanation: This shadowy landscape of majestic mountains and icy plains stretches toward the horizon of a small, distant world. It was captured from a range of about 18,000 kilometers when New Horizons looked back toward Pluto, 15 minutes after the spacecraft's closest approach on July 14. The dramatic, low-angle, near-twilight scene follows rugged mountains still popularly known as Norgay Montes from foreground left, and Hillary Montes along the horizon, giving way to smooth Sputnik Planum at right. Layers of Pluto's tenuous atmosphere are also revealed in the backlit view. With a strangely familiar appearance, the frigid terrain likely includes ices of nitrogen and carbon monoxide with water-ice mountains rising up to 3,500 meters (11,000 feet). That's comparable in height to the majestic mountains of planet Earth. This Plutonian landscape is 380 kilometers (230 miles) across.