My occasional commentary on NASA’s Astronomy Picture Of the Day By Trey Piepmeier var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-97674-20"); pageTracker._initData(); pageTracker._trackPageview(); Tumblr (3.0; @apod)http://apod.tumblr.com/<img src="http://17.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ksp00i8AFv1qz9agho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091106.html">APOD: 2009 November 6 - Ring Nebula Deep Field </a></p> <p>It’s odd that something so utterly gruesome could be this pretty. It’s like driving by the rotting corpse of your neighbor’s father on the side of the road. This is the fate of our sun in another 5 billion years or so.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/234997383http://apod.tumblr.com/post/234997383Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:53:00 -0600stellar<img src="http://10.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qoi1vib6S8uloeFso1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090608.html">APOD: 2009 June 8 - Possible Jet Blown Shells Near Microquasar Cygnus X1</a></p> <p>This is an annotated picture of a black hole with all sorts of interesting stuff happening around it.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/120496036http://apod.tumblr.com/post/120496036Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:05:16 -0500<img src="http://11.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qnwtk2deQcuaDdhKo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090429.html">APOD: 2009 April 29 - GRB 090423: The Farthest Explosion Yet Measured</a></p> <p>Near light speed spacecraft.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/112765596http://apod.tumblr.com/post/112765596Mon, 25 May 2009 09:29:00 -0500bova<img src="http://2.media.tumblr.com/wYctwvtfTma21lsmOXUopJUPo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090411.html">APOD: 2009 April 11 - The Big Picture</a></p> <p><a href="http://apod.tumblr.com/post/32935092/2008-april-26">As I’ve said before</a>, it’s hard to place in context the amazing pictures you see of deep space with the sky you see every night. This helps.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/96093927http://apod.tumblr.com/post/96093927Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:41:46 -0500stellar<img src="http://17.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qjy7ag06j9Bomv2wo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090209.html">APOD: 2009 February 9 - Anemic Galaxy NGC 4921 at the Edge</a></p> <p>It’s cool to see three very distinct regions of space in a single picture. The focus of the picture is the large galaxy, but you can also see “nearby” stars in our own Milky Way as well as even more distant galaxies behind the big one in the picture.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/78325345http://apod.tumblr.com/post/78325345Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:02:00 -0600galactic<img src="http://8.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qgmz4or6aAitnPcXo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020121.html">APOD: 2002 January 21 - Volcano and Aurora in Iceland<br/></a></p> <p>I can’t imagine what it must be like to live somewhere where you can see things like this.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/61134710http://apod.tumblr.com/post/61134710Sun, 23 Nov 2008 02:29:00 -0600<img src="http://5.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qgbyfyoxCmgyAPCOo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081114.html">APOD: 2008 November 14 - Fomalhaut b</a></p> <p>Since I got interested in astronomy as an impressionable young man, I’ve understood that most stars probably have planets around them. It’s been really rewarding to watch the progress over the last few years as more and more planets have actually been observed (for the most part indirectly—until now). I even understood that to directly observe a planet around another star, the exact technique used in his photograph would have to be used.</p> <p>This planet is 3 times the size of Jupiter and 14 times farther away than Jupiter is from our sun. It’s also a mere 25 light years away (basically in our cosmic backyard). That means it is an enormous (probably uninhabitable) planet really far away from its star, which is very close to us. So it’s probably about as easy to visually observe as any planet in our immediate neighborhood. It’s an incredibly important step in the exploration of our galaxy, but there’s still a ways to go.</p> <p>It’s amazing that so much has happened in this field in such a short time. I would not be surprised if within the next decade or so we observe a planet that is a potential target for an interplanetary mission.</p> <p>It’s an exciting time to be alive.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/59825671http://apod.tumblr.com/post/59825671Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:24:00 -0600<img src="http://13.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qfjl4lklPYHOdFWfo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081024.html">APOD: 2008 October 24 - Amazing Comet Holmes</a></p> <p>At one point this thing was <a href="http://www.livescience.com/space/spacewatch/071115-comet-holmes-size.html">larger than the sun</a>.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/56450326http://apod.tumblr.com/post/56450326Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:54:00 -0500<img src="http://4.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qfa8hsj3AypkjqaDo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081017.html"> APOD: 2008 October 17 - An Extraordinary Voyage</a></p> <p>Apparently dumping trash into the atmosphere and taking video of it is APOD worthy. Who knew?</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/55389682http://apod.tumblr.com/post/55389682Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:51:00 -0500<img src="http://11.media.tumblr.com/eccyDRiHWejl6mj29ySdzp2lo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080929.html">APOD: 2008 September 29 - A True Image from False Kiva</a></p> <p>This one’s been making the rounds on Tumblr, so I thought I should make a place for it on the APOD Log. This is an amazing picture.</p> <p><a href="http://bauldoff.tumblr.com/post/52597933/no-photoshop-here-astrophotographer-wally">bauldoff</a>:</p> <blockquote> <br/><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080929.html">No PhotoShop here</a>. Astrophotographer <a href="http://www.astropics.com/">Wally Pacholka</a> took this single exposure photograph at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_kiva">False Kiva</a> in the Canyonlands National Park, Utah. He admits to being concerned about mountain lions as he waited in the dark cave to capture this beautiful view reaching from inside the Earth to infinity. (via <a href="http://www.neatorama.com/2008/09/29/a-true-image-from-the-false-kiva/">Neatorama</a>)</blockquote>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/52693672http://apod.tumblr.com/post/52693672Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:46:00 -0500<img src="http://1.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qe3uskvmBZ1vhRMHo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080920.html">APOD: 2008 September 20 - A Darkened Sky</a></p> <p>Beautiful detail.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/50985169http://apod.tumblr.com/post/50985169Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:01:00 -0500the moon<img src="http://23.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qe2g7scrihoA8Ocgo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080919.html">APOD: 2008 September 19 - Companion of a Young Sun like Star</a></p> <p>This is big news. An actual photograph of a planet in another solar system. Within the last few years, they’ve found scads of planets around other solar systems, but I’ve never heard of there being a direct photograph.</p> <p>From APOD:</p> <blockquote> <p>this picture likely represents the first direct image of a planet belonging to a star similar to the Sun.</p> </blockquote> <p>Does that mean there have been other direct images of planets around non sun-like stars?</p> <p>In any case, this is incredibly cool.</p> <p><a href="http://trey.tumblr.com/post/50254159/planet-imaged-around-a-sunlike-star">Previously</a></p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/50856249http://apod.tumblr.com/post/50856249Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:25:00 -0500planetary<img src="http://23.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qcfx8rwepydw5wsu_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080809.html">APOD: 2008 August 9 - Aurora Persei</a></p> <p>This looks like a Web 2.0 design.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/45321425http://apod.tumblr.com/post/45321425Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:23:00 -0500<img src="http://5.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qbyprzlloGthJMev_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080728.html">APOD: 2008 July 28 - SDSSJ1430: A Galaxy Einstein Ring</a></p> <p>This is some crazy, relativistic stuff right here—gravity bending light into a circle. The computer generated images of the individual parts are especially cool.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/43812750http://apod.tumblr.com/post/43812750Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:22:00 -0500galacticrelativity<img src="http://5.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qbrmxo6xX9SkreIr_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080723.html">APOD: 2008 July 23 - High Cliffs Surrounding Echus Chasma on Mars</a></p> <p>This is the kind of APOD I like: nobody really knows what’s going on here. This one is also great because I was sure it was an illustration. Nope—it’s a photo from the Mars Express orbiter. It really looks like an illustration in a science book from the 50s or 60s.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/43278257http://apod.tumblr.com/post/43278257Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:22:00 -0500marsplanetary<img src="http://4.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qbggaitbaYFqAujf_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080715.html">APOD: 2008 July 15 - Gas and Dust of the Lagoon Nebula</a></p> <p>Pictures like this where they remove the stars are really striking. If most of what was removed was foreground stars, I suppose this gives a more realistic view of what it would be like to be closer.</p> <p><a href="http://apod.tumblr.com/post/32740471/2008-april-24">See also.</a></p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/42367830http://apod.tumblr.com/post/42367830Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:31:00 -0500stellar<img src="http://15.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qbeqxwftSzzmhqs7_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080714.html">APOD: 2008 July 14 - Changes in Angular Mars</a></p> <p>I had never thought of this—since Mars is further from the sun than we are, we never see Mars (or any other planet further out than we are) in a crescent phase.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/42208541http://apod.tumblr.com/post/42208541Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:54:08 -0500marsplanetary<img src="http://15.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qanjhn9dEpPANSFY_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080625.html">APOD: 2008 June 25 - What is Hannys Voorwerp</a></p> <p>I love this kind of thing. We have <strong>no</strong> idea what this is. Here’s a green blob that some random person (not an astronomer) found by <a href="http://www.galaxyzoo.org/Tutorial.aspx">browsing images online</a>. Astronomers don’t know what it is!</p> <p>I might have to come back to this and write more later.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/39787931http://apod.tumblr.com/post/39787931Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:56:00 -0500galacticmindbend<img src="http://17.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qaf1vs9fAUGrbM5P_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080619.html"> APOD: 2008 June 19 - The Star Streams of NGC 5907</a></p> <blockquote> <p>Grand tidal streams of stars seem to surround galaxy NGC 5907.</p> </blockquote> <p>I wonder what life is like (if it’s possible) around those far-flung wisps of stars. The victims of violence on a scale so grand, it’s undetectable on human timescales unless you’re millions of light-years away.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/39036514http://apod.tumblr.com/post/39036514Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:21:00 -0500galactic<img src="http://6.media.tumblr.com/StxkZmt1qaapu0m5v7HqUCnT_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040309.html"> APOD: 2004 March 9 - The Hubble Ultra Deep Field</a></p> <p>It amazes me that this is one continuous view of deep space. Everything is a galaxy. Lots and lots of tiny (as seen by us) galaxies.</p>http://apod.tumblr.com/post/38619757http://apod.tumblr.com/post/38619757Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:33:00 -0500galactic