Last Updated:
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
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Welcome to The Astronomy Stop.
I am a member of the Texas Astronomical Society and have
been active in Amateur Astronomy and Astrophotography since
2001.
Enjoy the links on this site and take a look at my images.
They are updated frequently so check back often.
I have a Feedback link at the bottom of this page. If
I can answer any questions don't hesitate to contact
me......Terry
Your comments are appreciated.
Supermassive Black Hole Sagittarius A*:
This image from NASA's
Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the center of our Galaxy, with a
supermassive black hole known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A* for short) in
the center. Using intermittent observations over several years, Chandra
has detected X-ray flares about once a day from Sgr A*. The flares have
also been seen in infrared data from ESO's Very Large Telescope in
Chile.
A new study provides a possible explanation for the mysterious flares.
The suggestion is that there is a cloud around Sgr A* containing
hundreds of trillions of asteroids and comets , which have been stripped
from their parent stars. The panel on the left is an image
containing nearly a million seconds of Chandra observing of the region
around the black hole.
If an asteroid passes within about 100 million miles of the black hole,
roughly the distance between the Earth and the Sun, it would be torn
into pieces by the tidal forces from the black hole (middle-right
panel).
Click on the image to display an
enlarged view.
Astronomy
Image of the Month:
When Galaxies Overlap
Through an extraordinary chance alignment, the Hubble telescope has
captured a view of a face-on spiral galaxy lying precisely in front
of another larger spiral. The unique pair is called NGC 3314. This
line-up provides astronomers with the rare chance to see the dark
material within the foreground galaxy, seen only because it is
silhouetted against the light from the object behind it. NGC 3314
lies about 140 million light-years from Earth in the direction of
the southern hemisphere constellation Hydra.
Click on the image to display an
enlarged view.
Neil deGrasse Tyson - We Stopped Dreaming
This is for everyone who doesn't
understand why NASA was created and why so many people think it is
imperative to continue supporting them.
Video:
The Hubble Deep Field: The most important image ever taken.
It is the farthest we have ever seen into space using the most
advanced telescope we have.
Weather / Sky
Conditions:
The Clear Sky Clocks below are the
astronomers forecast. They show at a glance when, in the next 48
hours, we might expect clear and dark skies for one specific
observing site. The site is specifically intended for amateur
astronomers. The forecast data comes from a numerical weather model
run by The Canadian Meteorological Center.
Clear Sky Clocks
ASTROTX Observatory
Atoka, OK
Billions and
Billions:
Cerro Paranal is an
astronomers paradise with its stunningly dark, steady and transparent
sky. Located in the barren Atacama Desert of Chile it is home to some of
the world’s leading telescopes.
Operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) the Very Large Telescope (VLT) is located on the Paranal mountain,
composed of four 8 m telescopes which can combine their light to make a
giant telescope by interferometry. This film
is made with footage from the November 2011 TWAN imaging expedition to
Paranal assigned by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Photographed 14 nights in a row from usually 05:30 pm to 08:00 a.m.
If nothing is faster
than the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) then we are crawling
when trying to even break free of our own galaxy. This video puts
the distance of the universe into perspective.
**Click on Arrows icon in lower
right of the frame to view the video in full screen mode. **
JWST: Hubble's Successor
The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called
JWST) is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope, scheduled for
launch in 2014. Webb will find the first galaxies that formed in the
early Universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way Galaxy.
Webb will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary
systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own Solar System. Webb's
instruments will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of
the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range.
Webb will have a large mirror, 6.5
meters (21.3 feet) in diameter and a sunshield the size of a tennis
court. Both the mirror and sunshade won't fit onto the rocket fully
open, so both will fold up and open once Webb is in outer space. Webb
will reside in an orbit about 1.5 million km (1 million miles) from the
Earth.
**Click on Arrows icon in lower
right of the frame to view the video in full screen mode. **
Credit: NASA
Lunar Phases:
A lunar phase or phase of the moon
refers to the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as
seen by an observer. The lunar phases vary cyclically as the Moon
orbits the Earth, according to the changing relative positions of
the Earth, Moon and Sun. Click on each button to view the
various phases or click on the 'Run Animation' button to view
the entire lunar cycle.
Apollo Landing
Sites
NASA's
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or
LRO, has returned its first
imagery of the Apollo moon
landing sites. The pictures show
the Apollo missions' lunar
module descent stages sitting on
the moon's surface, as long
shadows from a low sun angle
make the modules' locations
evident.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Camera, or LROC, was able to
image all six Apollo sites.
The satellite reached lunar
orbit June 23, 2009 and captured the
Apollo sites between July 11 and
15. Though it had been expected
that LRO would be able to
resolve the remnants of the
Apollo mission, these first
images came before the
spacecraft reached its final
mapping orbit.
**UPDATE**
As of 09/06/11, NASA has now
released improved images for
Apollo's 12, 14, and 17. These
images have been added below.
All
images credit:
NASA/Goddard Space
Flight Center/Arizona
State University
Click each
thumbnail image to enlarge
Lunar map of Apollo landing sites
Apollo 11
Left
Image width: 282 meters
Right Image width: 50 meters
