Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The View Toward M101

NASA ^ | January 21, 2016 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Sweeping through northern skies, Comet Catalina (C/2013 US10) made its closest approach on January 17, passing about 6 light-minutes from our fair planet. Dust and ion tails clearly separated in this Earth-based view, the comet is also posed for a Messier moment, near the line-of-sight to M101, grand spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. A cosmic pinwheel at the lower left, M101 is nearly twice the size of our own Milky Way galaxy, but some 270 thousand light-centuries away. Both galaxy and comet are relatively bright, easy targets for binocular-equipped skygazers. But Comet Catalina is now outbound from the inner Solar System and will slowly fade in coming months. This telescopic two panel mosaic spans about 5 degrees (10 Full Moons) on the sky.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit and Copyright: Fritz Helmut Hemmerich]

[SunkenCiv]

[singing] I saw my love in Avalon...

(it's probably a thinker, and not that satisfying either)

The Big One

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[Delta 21]

Thats a beautiful shot.

Look at all those stars!!

[IC Ken]

I wanted to tell you I look at these every time you post them. I appreciate you posting them.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks IC Ken!

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/greencomet/index

[Slyfox]

Looks like a tornado wearing a beanie and holding a flashlight.

[IC Ken]

I worked on the Greenbank Radio Telescope. I started by selling LVDT's to measure displacement on the 2300 plates that make it up so it can keep its parabolic shape then conceptualized the signal conditioning for the sensors and outputs to the actuators. The actual design was done by a company called TTI (Transport Technologies Inc.).

Space fascinates me.

[Red Badger]

View toward M1................