Astronomy and Overnight Thread

The Coma Cluster of Galaxies
Credit & Copyright: Dean Rowe Explanation: Almost every object in the above photograph is a galaxy. The Coma Cluster of Galaxies pictured above is one of the densest clusters known - it contains thousands of galaxies. Each of these galaxies houses billions of stars - just as our own clusters, light from the Coma Cluster still takes hundreds of millions of years to reach us. In fact, the Coma Cluster is so big it takes light millions of years just to go from one side to the other!

I have the cable guy coming out tomorrow between 10-1 so I am apologizing in advance for any rifts in posting during that time. You may flail me later.

Astronomy and Overnight Thread

Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula
Credit: R. Sahai (JPL) et al., Hubble Heritage Team, ESA, NASA Explanation: Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create an ant-shaped nebula that is distinctly not round? Clues might include the high 1000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the light-year long length of the structure, and the magnetism of the star visible above at the nebula's center. One possible answer is that Mz3 is hiding a second, dimmer star that orbits close in to the bright star.

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Blogger has been down

So please forgive lack of posts.

Saturday Links

I've got a load of housework to do this morning, so a little later the posts will get sparse. I'd rather climb back into bed, but I hear you're supposed to clean the dwelling every once in a while...

U.S. 'Star Wars' laser plane successfully shoots down ballistic missile for first time

Gay couples weigh census response

'Fountain of youth' drink fights aging

Lessons of love take time

Betty White's Breasts Are the Secret to Hollywood Success

Whisky toothpaste

Housekeeping Note

Maybe I came to the intertubes too late, but I've never gotten this "off topic" thingie that people are always apologizing for. In that vein, Gotta and I wanted ya'll to know that there is no "on topic" or need to apologize for going off it in comments on this blog. We really enjoy and get great ideas and links with your help, so don't bother with the "o/t"- we won't chide, yell at or wag our finger rudely at you for most anything** you say.

**You know what I mean.

Overnight and Astronomy Thread

Supernova Remnant E0102-72
Credit: X-ray - NASA / CXC / MIT / D.Dewey et al., NASA / CXC / SAO / J.DePasquale;
Optical - NASA / STScI

Explanation: The expanding debris cloud from the explosion of a massive star is captured in this multiwavelength composite, combining x-ray and optical images from the Chandra and Hubble telescopes. Identified as E0102-72, the supernova remnant lies about 190,000 light-years away in our neighboring galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud.

Thanks to all who have said they enjoy these pics, because I love them. Click to enlarge, via.

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Overnight and Astronomy Thread

Giant Cluster Bends, Breaks Images
Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Lee & H. Ford (Johns Hopkins U.)

Explanation: What are those strange blue objects? Many of the brightest blue images are of a single, unusual, beaded, blue, ring-like galaxy which just happens to line-up behind a giant cluster of galaxies. Cluster galaxies here typically appear yellow and -- together with the cluster's dark matter -- act as a gravitational lens. A gravitational lens can create several images of background galaxies, analogous to the many points of light one would see while looking through a wine glass at a distant street light. The distinctive shape of this background galaxy -- which is probably just forming -- has allowed astronomers to deduce that it has separate images at 4, 10, 11, and 12 o'clock, from the center of the cluster.

Thanks to all who have said they enjoy these pics, because I love them. Click to enlarge, via.

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Overnight & Astronomy Thread

A Dark Sky Over Sequoia National Park
Credit: D. Duriscoe, C. Duriscoe, R. Pilewski, & L. Pilewski, U.S. NPS Night Sky Program

Explanation: Scroll right to take in the view from the highest summit in the contiguous USA. The above 360-degree digitally stitched panorama, taken in mid-July, shows the view from 4,400-meter high Mt. Whitney in Sequoia National Park, California. In the foreground, angular boulders populate Mt. Whitney's summit while in the distance, just below the horizon, peaks from the Sierra Nevada mountain range are visible. Sky sights include light pollution emanating from Los Angeles and Fresno, visible just above the horizon. Dark clouds, particularly evident on the image left well above the horizon, are the remnants of a recent thunderstorm near Death Valley.

Please click thru to the original image, just amazing.

Thanks to all who have said they enjoy these pics, because I love them. Click to enlarge, via.

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Overnight and Astronomy Thread

Moonbow and Rainbows Over Patagonia
Credit & Copyright: Stéphane Guisard (Los Cielos de Chile) Explanation: Have you ever seen a moonbow? Just as rainbows are lit by the Sun, moonbows are lit by the Moon. Since the Sun is so much brighter than the Moon, sunlit rainbows are much brighter and more commonly seen than moonbows. The above movie captures not only a moonbow, but several rainbows, moving clouds, and the starry sky visible in 2009 February over Patagonia in Chile.

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Apologies

Both Gotta and I are having "issues" today, so as you may have noticed, it's a light posting day.

Overnight and Open Thread

Fresh Tiger Stripes on Saturn's Enceladus
Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA

Explanation: Do underground oceans vent through the tiger stripes on Saturn's moon Enceladus? Long features dubbed tiger stripes are known to be spewing ice from the moon's icy interior into space, creating a cloud of fine ice particles over the moon's South Pole and creating Saturn's mysterious E-ring. Evidence for this has come from the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn. Pictured above, a high resolution image of Enceladus is shown from a close flyby.

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Overnight and Open Thread

Noctilucent Clouds Over Germany
Credit & Copyright: Christoph Rollwagen

Explanation: Sometimes it's night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises up from the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still shines on clouds above. Under usual circumstances, a pretty sunset might be visible, but unusual noctilucent clouds float so high up they can be seen well after dark. (click to enlarge)

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Issues with RSS feeds and subscriptions

We've had a few people who've had problems with the RSS feed, especially when it comes to the blogger widget that you can load up with different feeds. You should have no problem subscribing thru a reader with the "Subscribe Now Feed Icon" to the right of the page, or even just loading the blog address. But if there are problems, just delete the feed and reinstate it (since I've been messing with it and g-d knows I'm not perfect) using the above methods or if they fail use this address (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/blogspot/qbeL?format=xml) which is the exact XML feed.

Everything seems to be working fine now, let me know in the comments if you have a problem that I don't know about.

THANKS!!!

Overnight Thread

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

If you don't have anything better to do, go check out this weird happening.

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President Obama's Press Conference In Strasbourg 4.4.09

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I promised this earlier, so here ya go. Consider this an overnight/open thread.

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ADDING- Jeebus wept, Saturday Night Lives sucks. Put it out of our misery already.

Overnight Thread

A 45-minute time exposure made for circular star tracks is seen over this run-down barn along County Road A near Iron River, Wis., Sunday night, Feb. 15, 2009. During the time exposure, the barn was lit with a battery powered spotlight using a technique called light painting.
(AP Photo/Nate Rendulich)

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Overnight Thread and Gratuitous Video

I hear that the maleness out there thinks that the Hayden chick from "Heroes" is hot, so here ya go.

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Valentine's Overnight Thread

Is it just that I spent too many Saturday nights in the 70's and 80's in an "altered state" or has SNL been sucking spectacularly all along?

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PhotObama: Big Night Out at Kennedy Center edition

By GottaLaff

A night out:

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive at the Kennedy Center for the the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance Friday.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Overnight Thread and SkyNet Heads Up

Don't say you weren't warned.


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