IC 342: 尘豹座的隐藏星系

IC 342: 尘豹座的隐藏星系

ByNASA中文

2023年11月22日 IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis Image Credit & Copyright: Steve Cannistra Explanation: Similar in size to large, bright spiral galaxies in our neighborhood, IC 342 is a mere 10 million light-years distant in the long-necked, northern constellation Camelopardalis. A sprawling island universe, IC 342 would otherwise be a prominent galaxy in our night sky, but it is hidden from clear view and only glimpsed through the veil of stars, gas and dust clouds along the plane of our own Milky Way galaxy. Even though IC 342’s light is dimmed and reddened by intervening cosmic clouds, this sharp telescopic image traces the galaxy’s own obscuring dust, young star clusters, and glowing star forming regions along spiral arms that wind far from the galaxy’s core….

交错于乡道上空的STEVE与银河

交错于乡道上空的STEVE与银河

ByNASA中文

2023年9月27日 STEVE and Milky Way Cross over Rural Road Image Credit & Copyright: Theresa Clarke Explanation: Not every road ends in a STEVE. A week ago, a sky enthusiast’s journey began with a goal: to photograph an aurora over Lake Huron. Driving through rural Ontario, Canada, the forecasted sky show started unexpectedly early, causing the photographer to stop before arriving at the scenic Great Lake. Aurora images were taken toward the north — but over land, not sea. While waiting for a second round of auroras, a peculiar band of light was noticed to the west. Slowly, the photographer and friends realized that this western band was likely an unusual type of aurora: a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE). Moreover, this STEVE was putting…

沿银河洒落的流星

沿银河洒落的流星

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2023年8月24日 Meteors along the Milky Way Image Credit & Copyright: Ali Hosseini Nezhad Explanation: Under dark and mostly moonless night skies, many denizens of planet Earth were able to watch this year’s Perseid meteor shower. Seen from a grassy hillside from Shiraz, Iran these Perseid meteors streak along the northern summer Milky Way before dawn on Sunday, August 13. Frames used to construct the composited image were captured near the active annual meteor shower’s peak between 02:00 AM and 04:30 AM local time. Not in this night skyscape, the shower’s radiant in the heroic constellation Perseus is far above the camera’s field of view. But fans of northern summer nights can still spot a familiar asterism. Formed by bright stars Deneb, Vega, and Altair, the…

拉帕尔马天文台上空的银河

拉帕尔马天文台上空的银河

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2023年7月18日 Milky Way above La Palma Observatory Image Credit & Copyright: Marcin Rosadziński Explanation: What’s happening in the night sky? To help find out, telescopes all over the globe will be pointing into deep space. Investigations will include trying to understand the early universe, finding and tracking Earth-menacing asteroids, searching for planets that might contain extra-terrestrial life, and monitoring stars to help better understand our Sun. The featured composite includes foreground and background images taken in April from a mountaintop on La Palma island in the Canary Islands of Spain. Pictured, several telescopes from the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory are shown in front of a dark night sky. Telescopes in the foreground include, left to right, Magic 1, Galileo, Magic 2, Gran Canarian, and…

阿尔卑斯山上空的流星与银河

阿尔卑斯山上空的流星与银河

ByNASA中文

2023年7月16日 Meteor and Milky Way over the Alps Image Credit & Copyright: Nicholas Roemmelt (Venture Photography) Explanation: Now this was a view with a thrill. From Mount Tschirgant in the Alps, you can see not only nearby towns and distant Tyrolean peaks, but also, weather permitting, stars, nebulas, and the band of the Milky Way Galaxy. What made the arduous climb worthwhile this night, though, was another peak — the peak of the 2018 Perseids Meteor Shower. As hoped, dispersing clouds allowed a picturesque sky-gazing session that included many faint meteors, all while a carefully positioned camera took a series of exposures. Suddenly, a thrilling meteor — bright and colorful — slashed down right next to the nearly vertical band of the Milky Way. As…

南极洲上空的银河和极光

南极洲上空的银河和极光

ByNASA中文

2023年7月2日 Milky Way and Aurora over Antarctica Image Credit & Copyright: LI Hang Explanation: It was one of the better skies of this long night. In parts of Antarctica, not only is it winter, but the Sun can spend weeks below the horizon. At China‘s Zhongshan Station, people sometimes venture out into the cold to photograph a spectacular night sky. The featured image from one such outing was taken in mid-July of 2015, just before the end of this polar night. Pointing up, the wide angle lens captured not only the ground at the bottom, but at the top as well. In the foreground, a colleague is taking pictures. In the distance, a spherical satellite receiver and several windmills are visible. Numerous stars dot the…

银河里的美洲鸵

银河里的美洲鸵

ByNASA中文

2023年6月20日 The Ñandú in the Milky Way Image Credit & Copyright: Fefo Bouvier; Line Drawing: Alfonso Rosso Explanation: Have you seen the bird in the Milky Way? Beyond the man in the Moon, the night sky is filled with stories, and cultures throughout history have projected some of their most enduring legends onto the stars and dust above. Generations of people see these celestial icons, hear their associated stories, and pass them down. Pictured here is not only a segment of the central band of our Milky Way galaxy, but, according to folklore of several native peoples of Uruguay, the outline of a great bird called Ñandú. Furthermore, Ñandú’s footprint is associated with the Southern Cross asterism. In the foreground, in silhouette, is a statue…

蓝绿色仙境上空的银河

蓝绿色仙境上空的银河

ByNASA中文

2023年5月29日 Milky Way over a Turquoise Wonderland Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava, Sovena Jani Explanation: What glows there? The answer depends: sea or sky? In the sea, the unusual blue glow is bioluminescence. Specifically, the glimmer arises from Noctiluca scintillans, single-celled plankton stimulated by the lapping waves. The plankton use their glow to startle and illuminate predators. This mid-February display on an island in the Maldives was so intense that the astrophotographer described it as a turquoise wonderland. In the sky, by contrast, are the more familiar glows of stars and nebulas. The white band rising from the artificially-illuminated green plants is created by billions of stars in the central disk of our Milky Way Galaxy. Also visible…

法国上空的气辉

法国上空的气辉

ByNASA中文

2023年2月15日 Airglow Sky over France Image Credit & Copyright: Julien Looten Explanation: This unusual sky was both familiar and unfamiliar. The photographer’s mission was to capture the arch of the familiar central band of our Milky Way Galaxy over a picturesque medieval manor. The surprise was that on this January evening, the foreground sky was found glowing in a beautiful but unfamiliar manner. The striped bands are called airglow and they result from air high in Earth’s atmosphere being excited by the Sun’s light and emitting a faint light of its own. The bands cross the entire sky — their curved appearance is due to the extremely wide angle of the camera lens. In the foreground lies Château de Losse in southwest France. Other familiar…

澳大利亚尖峰石阵上空的银河与黄道光

澳大利亚尖峰石阵上空的银河与黄道光

ByNASA中文

2022年10月23日 Milky Way and Zodiacal Light over Australian Pinnacles Image Credit & Copyright: Jingyi Zhang Explanation: What strange world is this? Earth. In the foreground of the featured image are the Pinnacles, unusual rock spires in Nambung National Park in Western Australia. Made of ancient sea shells (limestone), how these human-sized picturesque spires formed remains a topic of research. The picturesque panorama was taken in 2017 September. A ray of zodiacal light, sunlight reflected by dust grains orbiting between the planets in the Solar System, rises from the horizon near the image center. Arching across the top is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. The planets Jupiter and Saturn, as well as several famous stars are also visible in the background night sky….