Astronomy picture of the day - 2018 January 18 - Blue Comet in the Hyades

Blue Comet in the Hyades 
Image Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (Deep Sky Colors)

Explanation: Stars of the Hyades cluster are scattered through this mosaic spanning over 5 degrees on the sky toward the constellation Taurus. Presently cruising through the Solar System, the remarkably blue comet C/2016 R2 PanSTARRS is placed in the wide field of view using image data from January 12. With the apex of the V-shape in the Hyades cluster positioned near the top center, bright Aldebaran, alpha star of Taurus, anchors the frame at the lower right. A cool red giant, Aldebaran is seen in orange hues in the colorful starfield. While the stars of the Hyades are gathered 151 light-years away, Aldebaran lies only 65 light-years distant and so is separate from the cluster stars.On January 12, C/2016 R2 was over 17 light-minutes from planet Earth and nearly 24 light-minutes from the Sun. Its blue tinted tail largely due to CO+ gas fluorescing in sunlight, the head or coma of the comet appears with a slightly greenish hue, likely emission from diatomic carbon.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2018 January 17 - In the Valley of Orion

In the Valley of Orion 
Visualization Credit: NASA, ESA, F. Summers, G. Bacon,
Z. Levay, J. DePasquale, L. Frattare, M. Robberto, M. Gennaro (STScI) and R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC)

Explanation: This exciting and unfamiliar view of the Orion Nebula is a visualization based on astronomical data and movie rendering techniques. Up close and personal with a famous stellar nursery normally seen from 1,500 light-years away, the digitally modeled frame transitions from a visible light representation based on Hubble data on the left to infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope on the right. The perspective at the center looks along a valley over a light-year wide, in the wall of the region's giant molecular cloud. Orion's valley ends in a cavity carved by the energetic winds and radiation of the massive central stars of the Trapezium star cluster. The single frame is part of a multiwavelength, three-dimensional video that lets the viewer experience an immersive, three minute flight through the Great Nebula of Orion.

Paisagens de Portugal - Linha do Douro - Alijo/Carrazeda de Ansiães

Viajando pela Linha Ferroviária do Douro, desde a estação de Pinhão (Alijó) até à estação de Foz Tua (Carrazeda de Ansiães)

Cidades - Alcochete - Rio Tejo - Marginal de Alcochete

Rio Tejo - Marginal de Alcochete

Astronomy picture of the day - 2018 January 16 - An Elephant's Trunk in Cepheus

An Elephant's Trunk in Cepheus 
Image Credit & Copyright: Processing - Robert Gendler, Roberto Colombari
Data - Subaru Telescope (NAOJ), Robert Gendler, Adam Block

Explanation: With image data from telescopes large and small, this close-up features the dusty Elephant's Trunk Nebula. It winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396, in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus. Also known as vdB 142, the cosmic elephant's trunk is over 20 light-years long. The colorful view highlights bright, swept-back ridges that outline the region's pockets of cool interstellar dust and gas. Such embedded, dark, tendril-shaped clouds contain the raw material for star formation and hide protostars within. Nearly 3,000 light-years distant, the relatively faint IC 1396 complex covers a large region on the sky, spanning over 5 degrees. This dramatic scene spans a 1 degree wide field, about the size of 2 Full Moons.

Astronomy picture of the day - 2018 January 15 - Rigel and the Witch Head Nebula

Rigel and the Witch Head Nebula 
Image Credit & Copyright: Mario Cogo (Galax Lux)

Explanation: By starlight this eerie visage shines in the dark, a crooked profile evoking its popular name, the Witch Head Nebula. In fact, this entrancing telescopic portrait gives the impression that the witch has fixed her gaze on Orion's bright supergiant star Rigel. More formally known as IC 2118, the Witch Head Nebula spans about 50 light-years and is composed of interstellar dust grains reflecting Rigel's starlight. The blue color of the Witch Head Nebula and of the dust surrounding Rigel is caused not only by Rigel's intense blue starlight but because the dust grains scatter blue light more efficiently than red. The same physical process causes Earth's daytime sky to appear blue, although the scatterers in Earth's atmosphere are molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. Rigel, the Witch Head Nebula, and gas and dust that surrounds them lie about 800 light-years away.

Cidades de Portugal - Alcácer do Sal - Santa Susana - Igreja

Alcácer do Sal - Santa Susana - Igreja

Astronomy picture of the day - 2018 January 14 - Three Galaxies and a Comet

Three Galaxies and a Comet 
Image Credit & Copyright: Miloslav Druckmuller (Brno University of Technology)

Explanation: Diffuse starlight and dark nebulae along the southern Milky Way arc over the horizon and sprawl diagonally through this gorgeous nightscape. The breath-taking mosaic spans a wide 100 degrees, with the rugged terrainof the Patagonia, Argentina region in the foreground. Along with the insider's view of our own galaxy, the image features our outside perspective on two irregular satellite galaxies - the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The scene also captures the broad tail and bright coma of Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007.

Tragédia em Tondela : pelo menos oito mortos

Um incêndio numa associação de Vila Nova da Rainha, no concelho de Tondela, provocou oito mortos e 34 feridos, um número confirmado pelos bombeiros. No edifício estariam cerca de 70 pessoas que participavam num torneio de sueca ou assistiam ao jogo de futebol entre o Sporting de Braga e o Benfica.

Os feridos foram levados para os hospitais de Coimbra e Aveiro, avançou o comandante da Proteção Civil que disse ainda aos jornalistas que está a ser feito uma perícia à zona envolvente da associação recreativa.

José António Jesus, presidente da Câmara Municipal de Tondela, avançou aos jornalistas que o incêndio terá tido origem numa explosão da salamandra no teto falsos da cobertura, apesar de estar ainda a ser feita a perícia ao local. "De facto uma tragédia que se verificou", referindo-se ao número elevado de vítimas. "Estávamos num segundo piso, a grande quantidade monóxido de carbono" foi responsável pela desorientação na fuga, uma vez que "as pessoas tivessem noção onde estavam".

"Maioritariamente são pessoas adultas deste concelho", afirma o presidente que não nega a possibilidade de estarem ainda cidadãos de concelhos vizinhos que participavam no torneio.

A região de Tondela foi também uma das zonas fustigadas pelos incêndios de 15 de outubro.

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