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Skylook.net

Astronomy, Eclipses. Telescopes and more. Look to the sky!

A Sun Halo Over Cambodia

by Father Sky on February 9, 2010

Have you ever seen a halo around the Sun?

This fairly common sight occurs when high thin clouds containing millions of tiny
ice crystals cover much of the sky.

Each
ice crystal acts like a
miniature lens.

Because
most
of the crystals have a similar elongated
hexagonal
shape, light entering one crystal face and exiting
through the opposing face refracts 22
degrees,
which corresponds to the radius of the Sun halo.

A similar Moon halo
may be visible during the night.

Pictured above, a nearly complete
sun halo was photographed high above the ancient
Bayon temple in
Angkor,
Cambodia.

Exactly how
ice-crystals form in clouds remains under
investigation.

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Most galaxies have a single nucleus — does this galaxy have four?

The strange answer leads
astronomers
to conclude that the nucleus of the surrounding galaxy is not even visible in
this image.

The central
cloverleaf is rather light emitted from a background

quasar.

The gravitational field of the visible foreground
galaxy
breaks light
from this distant
quasar
into four distinct images.

The quasar must be
properly aligned behind the center of a massive galaxy for a
mirage like this to be evident.

The general effect is known as
gravitational lensing, and this specific case is known as the
Einstein Cross.

Stranger still, the images of the
Einstein Cross vary in relative brightness,
enhanced occasionally by the additional
gravitational microlensing
effect of specific stars in the foreground galaxy.

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Why have Russian Cosmonauts never landed on the Moon?

February 7, 2010

Question posed by Happydaiz
This is a political question, rather than a scientific one, and I’m not particularly politically minded, but I’ll do my best to give a measured response. Any readers must, however, bear in mind that much of this post will be based on opinion rather than fact, and I would welcome comments from [...]

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Hong Kong Sky

February 7, 2010

This remarkable scene combines multiple exposures
recorded on the evening of January 18th from a waterside perspective in
Hong Kong, China.
It follows a young crescent Moon,
with brilliant planet Jupiter to its
left, as they set together in the western sky.
Their two luminous trails are faintly paralleled by
trails of
background stars.
But easier to pick out are [...]

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Earth Rise from Moon Astronomy & Space Art Poster Print, 16×20

February 6, 2010

Print Title: Earth Rise from Moon
Size: 16 x 20 inches
Please visit www.amazon.com/artdotcom to check for promotions from time to time.

Product DescriptionArt.com is the world’s largest retailer of art prints, posters, photographs, and framed artwork. With our huge selection of over 400,000 prints, you’ll easily find the perfect piece for your home, office, or classroom. Our [...]

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Planet Earth Astronomy & Space Poster Print, 37×24

February 6, 2010

Print Title: Planet Earth
Size: 37 x 24 inches
Please visit www.amazon.com/artdotcom to check for promotions from time to time.

Product DescriptionArt.com is the world’s largest retailer of art prints, posters, photographs, and framed artwork. With our huge selection of over 400,000 prints, you’ll easily find the perfect piece for your home, office, or classroom. Our art is [...]

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The Planets Astronomy & Space Poster Print, 39×27

February 6, 2010

Print Title: The Planets
Size: 39 x 27 inches
Please visit www.amazon.com/artdotcom to check for promotions from time to time.

Product DescriptionArt.com is the world’s largest retailer of art prints, posters, photographs, and framed artwork. With our huge selection of over 400,000 prints, you’ll easily find the perfect piece for your home, office, or classroom. Our art is [...]

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You Can Foster a Love of Astronomy

February 6, 2010


If you ask a lot of kids if they enjoy science a good portion of them will make a face or tell you that it is not their favorite subject. Despite the disinterest in science for a lot of children, we can and should foster a love of astronomy in children. In fact, it [...]

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Andromeda

February 6, 2010

Abbreviation: And
Genitive: Andromedae
Translation: Princess of Ethiopia or the Chained Lady
Position in the Sky
Right Ascension: 1 hour
Declination: 40 degrees
Visible between latitudes 90 and -40 degrees
Best seen in November (at 9:00 PM)
Named Stars
ALPHERATZ (Alpha And)
MIRACH (Beta And)
ALMAAK (Gamma 1 And)
Adhil (Xi And)
Messier Objects
M31 The Andromeda Galaxy (spiral galaxy)
M32 Satellite galaxy of Andromeda (elliptical galaxy)
M110 Satellite galaxy of [...]

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Lunar Eclipse Montage 27-Oct-2004

February 6, 2010

Sky photo taken by DJMcCrady.

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