Posted on 04/16/2012 9:31:35 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: Antares is a huge star. In a class called red supergiant, Antares is about 850 times the diameter of our own Sun, 15 times more massive, and 10,000 times brighter. Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius and one of the brighter stars in all the night sky. Located about 550 light years away, Antares is seen on the left surrounded by a yellowish nebula of gas which it has itself expelled. Radiation from Antares' blue stellar companion helps cause the nebular gas to glow. Far behind Antares in the above image is the globular star cloud M4, while the bright star on the right is Al Niyat.
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[Credit & Copyright: Ivan Eder]
cue Music Fron the Hearts of Space!
Super shot.
Earth could be the closest object in that image, but it’s so small it wouldn’t even be visible.
If we had the opportunity to travel space, I don’t think I’d ever get tired of seeing stars and stuff.
Me neither. I'll bet there are floating hotels at perfect viewing distances from various beauty spots, where you can park your UFO and stay awhile, like people do in front of Niagra Falls or the Grand Canyon.
Better yet, cue Gustav Holst's The Planets
Beautiful! Thanks, SunkenCiv!
Another beauty!
Thanks, Sunken Civ!
“Gas which it itself has expelled” - star farts.
So beautiful and awe-inspiring that words simply don’t suffice.
Mmmm... Globular star clouds, my favorite. Oh, and Antares is really neat as well. Thank you, Mr. Civilizations.
When I was in college, our music was usually Pink Floyd, or Beethoven.
M4, the big cluster, is very nice and, on a very dark night, may be seen in binoculars.
The other cluster is much tricker.
Wish they had a wider field, the gas cloud covers a good chunk of the sky around Antares.
Thanks TOL.
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