Our galaxy has been photographed many times, but this just released NASA panorama is a beauty! The Milky Way is a large spiral galaxy that contains 200-400 billion stars and is 13.2 billion years old. On Earth, we are inside the galactic disk of the Milky Way, which is the arc of uncountable 'milky stars' we see in the night sky.
Continue reading...Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Astronomers made a spectacular announcement in late fall, 2008. Suspected for several years, a massive black hole has been identified at the galactic center. Black holes are still difficult to understand. They are created by the gravitational collapse of the most massive stars. Some of the star's material is blown away in a colossal explosion called a supernovae.
Continue reading...Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The legendary Hubble Space Telescope is set to be decommissioned in 2010. While the new telescope on the station, set to launch only a year later, will be far more advanced, many astronomy fanatics will always remember the Hubble as a source of great joy and frustration. In tribute, here are the top ten shots taken, or contributed to, by the Hubble Telescope.
Continue reading...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
10 Comments