APOD: Stars, Galaxies, and Comets
In a tribute to the astronomy class apod archives, I choose Stars, Galaxies, and the Comet Tempel I in the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. This is a fitting end as we can continue to gaze across the sky and remember the shining points of light--people and memories--that have lit our lives as we end this school year. Good luck to all of you!
The Comet Tempel I is a fuzzy blue patch just right of center. It has an orbit around the Sun of 5.5 years and NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft will penetrate its center on July 4 of this year! While Tempel I is 3 light minutes from Earth, the Virgo Cluster of galaxies in the background are 50 million light years away! In the upper left, NGC 4762 is an edge-on barred lenticular galaxy, disk galaxies without any structure which are believed to have old stars. NGC 4754 is an elongated elliptical galaxy.
The Comet Tempel I is a fuzzy blue patch just right of center. It has an orbit around the Sun of 5.5 years and NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft will penetrate its center on July 4 of this year! While Tempel I is 3 light minutes from Earth, the Virgo Cluster of galaxies in the background are 50 million light years away! In the upper left, NGC 4762 is an edge-on barred lenticular galaxy, disk galaxies without any structure which are believed to have old stars. NGC 4754 is an elongated elliptical galaxy.
posted by LHP at 11:10 AM
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