NGC 6520 and Barnard 86 set against the backdrop of the Milky Way. T.A. Rector, University of Alaska, Anchorage and NOAO/AURA/NSF. (Click to embiggen.)
Let’s get back to talking about astronomy. During the recent “Around the World in 80 Telescopes” event for IYA, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory released this stunning image of the open star cluster NGC 6520 and the dust cloud Barnard 86. The wash of stars in the background is the Milky Way in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.
I like this picture because it shows two steps of star formation. The first is in that dark cloud named Barnard 86. It’s a Bok globule, one of those dusty, dark places that coalesce together to form stars. So, there could be stars forming inside that dust cloud.
See that little cloud of glittering stars right above Barnard 86? Those are bright young newborns that probably formed out of some part of Barnard 86. They’re the second step of star formation — the finished product. They look bluish, which is one clue that they’re young. And they really stand out against the reddish older stars in the Milky Way in that region. Go ahead and embiggen that image — it’s worth taking the time to explore!
The 100 Hours of Astronomy events just continue on, and millions of people are enjoying and participating. How about you? Did you watch any of the very cool “Around the World in 80 Telescopes” vodcasts yesterday and today? I popped in throughout the day to see what’s shakin’ at observatories around (and above) the planet. The ‘casts are available from the web page link above.
The irregular galaxy NGC 55 obtained with the Wide Field Imager on the 2.2-meter MPG/ESO telescope at La Silla Observatory. It's about 7.5 million light-years away. (Click to embiggen.)The chaotic spiral galaxy NGC 7793, observed with the FORS instrument on the VLT in Paranal. Courtesy ESO. (Click to embiggen.)
Want to find out what’s happening near you? Check out the Google Map-enabled activity chart here. If your 100 Hours of Astronomy participation is limited to the armchair variety (and hey, there’s nothing like sitting in front of a warm, toasty screen enjoying astro-images), the European Southern Observatory has released two stunning images of galaxies to celebrate the events. Both of these galaxies belong to the Sculptor Group of galaxies tha tlie about 7.5 million light-years away. In NGC 55, astronomers studying planetary nebulae–the end-products of the evolution of stars like our Sun — were able to use their data to determine the distance to this galaxy. They also think that this galaxy might be joining together with another galaxy, NGC 300. For NGC 7793, astronomers are intrigued by the chaotic spiral structure it shows. What causes the chaos? Good question. Perhaps an interaction with another galaxy?
Observing in UAE. (Click to embiggen)Observing in Iran. (Click to embiggen)
These are just two of the many images that observatories are releasing for 100 Hours of Astronomy. I’ll try to track some more down and post links. It’s not just observatories releasing images though — folks who are participating in astronomy events around the world are posting images on the 100 Hours photo gallery. Here are a few of my favorites.
100 Hours of Astronomy Camel Cart in Manthan, India. First light in New Zealand -- January 1. By Paul Moss. (Click to embiggen.)
It’s really quite wonderful to see people get so excited about reclaiming the night skies through such activities as 100 Hours and all the events connected to the International Year of Astronomy. It’s been a great year of astronomy so far, and there’s a LOT more to come!
Now, if some news media would deign to mention this wonderful year of outreach and sky fascination… come on CNN and BEEB and others… let’s have a little astronomy on your pages. People need some awe and wonder in their news, too.
