The Presidian meteor shower is depicted below in this incredible photo, made from multiple stacked long exposure shots. It look Srdjan Vujmilovic, the photographer, more than two hours to take over 120 shots (that doesn’t include the time it took to combine the shots.)
More info: Facebook
Dane Lane, a Kansas photographer, spent months photographing the Milky Way over Yellowstone Park. The process was often exhaustive and very technical. Sometimes, Lane had to combine up to 16 shots in order to get the image he was seeking.
His advice? He writes, “Get away from the light drive out 20-30 miles out of town and look up on a clear dark night and you may see something that will forever change your life. This is what a galaxy looks like from the inside.”
More info: davidlaneastrophotography.com | Facebook | 500px (h/t: demilked)
A study published September 4 in Park Science revealed that almost 90 percent of visitors to Acadia National Park in Maine want to be able to view dark night skies that are unpolluted by artificial light. Data was based on visitor interviews, which asked to what extent they agreed with the following statements, “Viewing the night sky is important to me” and “The National Park Service should work to protect the ability of visitors to see the night sky.”
According to the study led by Robert Manning of the University of Vermont, “light pollution” is the cause of our disappearing dark night skies. Pollution from artificial light produces a “sky glow” that reduces the brightness of stars and impedes the ability of the human eye to fully adapt to natural darkness. An estimation made in 2000 postulated that 99% of the world’s skies were polluted with light and two-thirds of Americans could no longer view the Milky Way from their own backyard.
“It’s a typical story,” Manning says. “We begin to value things as they disappear. Fortunately, darkness is a renewable source and we can do things to restore it in parks.”
The study focused on how visitors rated the importance and quality of viewing the night sky while visiting a national park. To gauge quality, visitors were given photos of Arcadia’s night sky, which had been altered with varying degrees of light pollution. They were asked which photos they found acceptable and which photos were so unacceptable that they would no longer visit the park to look at the stars.
Researchers believe this combined method will be particularly helpful in approaching the problem of light pollution as it relates to national parks.
The dark night skies that attract visitors to Arcadia and other national parks in the U.S. can be preserved through controlled efforts that start inside and work their way out.
“Inside the park you want to reduce as much unnecessary light as possible.” Manning said. “Outside, the goal is to minimize light trespass. That’s more challenging, but possible.
Visitors and parks can reduce the use of flashlights and headlights and covert older style light sources to LEDs. Parks can also work with the surrounding communities to reduce light pollution. Arcadia is already working with the nearby town of Bar Harbor to reduce its light pollution.
“Though light pollution may have already had irreversible biological and ecological impacts, it can be controlled and even reduced.” Manning stated. “The national parks, with their emphasis on protection of natural and cultural resources and the quality of visitor experiences are a good place to advance this cause.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evZzeuru5rk
When news first came out from NASA about an amalgam of stars that were kicked out of the galaxy by a gigantic black hole, it sparked intrigue. However, the news about the star was soon accompanied by the ousted supernova which it eventually turned into.
In lieu of this news that was released on the 13th of August, a paper was published with the findings of the phenomenon in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The findings include the author’s theory on the origins of the outcast supernova.
What is known about it is that the stars were flung out of the Milky Way by the gigantic black hole to where it say outside the system at a fast rate. However what was an interesting observation was that in studying the Hubble’s older images of the stars speeding to the outskirts was that the galaxies around were old and mergers.
Additionally, the location of the supernova indicated the stars that formed the supernova were old as well. Following this line of thought, the supernova may have had a companion, one that originally triggered the transition into supernova, becoming the outcast supernova the Hubble saw.
Ryan Foley, the author of the aforementioned paper published a few days prior, theorized that a pair of black holes in merging galaxies could potentially create a slingshot effect to shoot the binary stars out into the universe just like it did with the outcast supernova. The process involves stars getting dragged into a black hole toward the center of the galaxy, and then get precariously close to another, external black hole that flings the unfortunate stars out of the galaxy.
After the stars are flung out, they slowly move closer and closer together, speeding up all stellar bodies’ aging process. The reasoning is that the stars grouped together are mostly white dwarfs; quite old, and at such magnificent speeds one dwarf shreds another.
As the remnants of the shredded dwarf hit the remaining one, it triggers the explosion needed to create a supernova. Thus, we have the outcast supernova without the trademark mega-explosion one would expect.
This brings us to the more interesting of why these things occurred. To keep up with the latest findings of the Hubble Telescope, you can follow it here.
Stargazing is often thought to be something lovers would do on a date or something of a hobby, but astronomers and scientists of all kinds make their careers out of it every day.
The beauty of the Milky Way is one that is otherworldly. That’s what makes the Milky Way so fascinating.
Therefore it is no surprise that scientists put together a map of the Milky Way for observational purposes. However, a recent press release announced some new findings that the map of the Milky Way revealed. The map showed researchers that the stars are on the move in the Milky Way. From the information collected, about thirty percent of the stars in the Milky Way had moved from their original birth origin. Of course ever curious, the team went on to study the finding and later published the results in the Astrophysical Journal on the 29th of July, just a few days ago.
The very idea of stars being on the move is odd, but the stars are on the move.
They move like anything else in the universe, on an orbit. Although, the new findings suggest that it can change that quite drastically. To get a better idea of how the stars are on the move, they created a new map of the Milky Way which showed the aforementioned percent of stars that have moved. This goes to show you just how much the universe changes every day, even when you are not looking. However, why the stars are moving is still not easily answered, but the positioning of the stars could be attributed to a star getting closer or farther away from the center of the galaxy as it ages. But for those who are a fan of the spirals of the Milky Way, this could mean that it could potentially alter that appearance. More data still needs to be collected to get a better understanding of the finding. So the wait is on to see what else about why the stars are on the move reveals to us.
Orion’s Belt — the belt of Orion the Hunter — is one of the most widely known parts of a constellation and one of the easier ones to spot in the sky.Orion himself, seen in the winter sky, is composed of 2 of the brightest stars in the sky and followed by his 2 constellation companions, Canis Major and Canis Minor. Located right below his “belt” is the Orion Nebula, a place where new stars are born!
It is a giant cloud of gas and dust and is somewhere around 1,300 light-years away from earth, however, it’s brightest stars can be seen through an amateur’s telescope. In 2012, a team of astronomers found evidence suggesting this nebula might have a black hole at its center.
As it was passed down to me, from a stargazing family, Orion’s tale was one of my favorites. Orion the Hunter was the son of Poseidon and was a very handsome and skilled hunter who was always followed by his two hunting dogs. He was very conceited and would often claim he could rid the entire world of all its beasts. Growing tired of his constant bragging, Gaia, Mother Earth, sent a giant scorpion to test him.
When the battle began, Orion quickly realized he was no match for the scorpion and jumped into the sea to flee. Apollo, God of the Sun, decided to end this nonsense. He coerced his sister, Artemis, Orion’s friend, to shoot him. He told her that the little black object swimming in the sea was a villain trying to escape, and he bet her that she wouldn’t be able to reach him with her arrow. Unable to turn down the chance to boast of her skills, Artemis shot Orion. When she swam out to claim her prize, she realized what she had done. She begged the gods to revive him, but they refused, so she put him in the sky where he would always near.
Following my youth, I realized with different cultures there are many different versions of whom Orion really was and how he came to live among the stars. In some, he was a rapist, and in others a hero and father. I’m sure my parents decided to find a cleaner version for me to hear as a child, but it’s still my favorite version. Are you familiar with a different Orion story? Tell me your version in the comments!
Two years ago, scientists identified a gigantic magnetar near the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole. Magnetars are collapsed neutron stars with extremely powerful magnetic fields. This particular magnetar happens also to be the closest interstellar entity to the 4-million-solar mass black hole in the middle of the Milky Way galaxy, at a distance of approximately 0.3 light-years (at least 2 trillion miles). In recent discoveries, the magnetar — nicknamed SGR 1745-2900, for research purposes — appears to have not only a higher observed amount of x-rays than previously observed magnetars, but also maintains much higher surface temperatures.
Into the heart of the Milky Way’s darkness — light at the nucleus
It all started when astronomers wanted to observe the circuit of the magnetar around the black hole (called the “sagittarius A-star”) at the center of the Milky Way. Scientists have long concluded that our entire galaxy revolved around this black hole, and until recently did not detect the one galactic body that lives appallingly close to the black hole. Scientists are predicting that it sits at least 2 trillion miles away from the center of the hole. This seems like an indomitable distance, but when the magnitude of the black hole’s 4-million-sun mass is factored in, the position of the magnetar seems exceedingly precarious.
This magnetar, observed using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the ESA’s XMM-Newton, is showing peculiar signs. The studies derived from the space telescopes have indicated specifically that the magnetar’s surface is much hotter than expected of its star type, and that its x-ray emissions appear to be lowering at a rate slower than that of other observed magnetars. Scientists first turned to the phenomenon of “starquakes” to expand on the theory for an explanation. When neutron stars form, a crust develops on its condensed surface. In some cases, this crust will crack and fracture, just like earth’s surface does during an earthquake.
Ultimately, however, the researchers dispelled this possible explanation, since they garnered information showing that the speed at which surface temperatures are cooling, and at which the light of x-rays on the star is fading, didn’t exactly match the projections given by the star-quake mechanism.
Particles in magnetic fields may account for magnetar’s high heat
Perhaps a likelier explanation for the magnetar’s dauntingly high temperatures and high supply of x-rays lies in the charged particles trapped in magnetic fields above the star’s surface. Twisted in bundles, these particles (which are created when neutron stars form) may constantly batter the surface below, administering an increased layer of heat on it.
