25 dezembro 2014

This Comet Lovejoy



Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2, is framed like a cosmic Christmas tree with starry decorations in this colorful telescopic portrait, snapped on December 16th. Its lovely coma is tinted green by diatomic C2 gas fluorescing in sunlight. Discovered in August of this year, this Comet Lovejoy is currently sweeping north through the constellation Columba, heading for Lepus south of Orion and bright enough to offer good binocular views. Not its first time through the inner Solar System, this Comet Lovejoy will pass closest to planet Earth on January 7, while its perihelion (closest point to the Sun) will be on January 30. Of course, planet Earth's own 2015 perihelion passage is scheduled for January 4. A long period comet, this Comet Lovejoy should return again ... in about 8,000 years.



from NASA http://ift.tt/1B4nWDf

via IFTTT
Read More

lhs3020b: Here are a couple of the less well-known pieces of...





lhs3020b:



Here are a couple of the less well-known pieces of astrophotography.


These two images were originally sent back to Earth from the Soviet Venera program probes (I believe these specific two came from Venera 13, though I don’t have the citation to hand).


That’s right - that barren rocky wasteland is Venus.


These images are particularly notable because Venus has a surface temperature of over 460 Celsius and a pressure of around 90 bars. That atmosphere is also pure poison. The clouds you can see aren’t water vapour; they’re composed of droplets of sulphuric acid. The ‘air’ itself is 94% carbon dioxide, with most of the rest being nitrogen and a lot of weird nasties.


None of the Venera landers remained operational for more than a couple of hours once on Venus’s surface. But frankly, given how unbelievably hostile the surface conditions are there, it’s a miracle they were able to function at all.



Read More

When Is The Government Selfless About Taxes?

In Kublai Khan’s China, anyone who had crops struck by lightning was excused taxes for three years. This was not selfless charity, as the Chinese believed that lightning was a sign of God’s disapproval. So, if the Khan had accepted money from someone who had incurred God’s wrath, he could have brought ill fortune upon himself.


Read More

Merry Christmas!

I wish each and every one of you a wonderful day!


Read More

A quick history of so-called “universal” religions...





A quick history of so-called “universal” religions and their expansions, with an interesting soundtrack


Read More

The Cost of 30 Years of Unsustainable Health Spending Growth in...

Read More
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
eXTReMe Tracker
Designed ByBlogger Templates