February 2012
49 posts
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Zooniverse| SETI Live →
Zooniverse has a new project. SETI Live!
Check it out!
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VLT Rediscovers Life on Earth
By looking at the Moon
29 February 2012
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By observing the Moon using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found evidence of life in the Universe — on Earth. Finding life on our home planet may sound like a trivial observation, but the novel approach of an international team may lead to future discoveries of life elsewhere in the Universe. The work is described in a...
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Spinning into Action
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The dynamism of ESO’s Very Large Telescope in operation is wonderfully encapsulated in this unusual photograph, taken just after sunset at the moment Unit Telescope 1 starts work. An extended exposure time of 26 seconds has allowed ESO Photo Ambassador Gerhard Hüdepohl to record the movement of the dome, looking out through the opening from within, as the system...
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Antlia Dwarf Galaxy Peppers the Sky with Stars
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The myriad faint stars that comprise the Antlia Dwarf galaxy are more than four million light-years from Earth, but this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image offers such clarity that they could be mistaken for much closer stars in our own Milky Way. This very faint and sparsely populated small galaxy was only discovered in 1997.
Although small, the Antlia Dwarf is a...
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What happened to my own writing?
Some of you, who read this blog regulary, may remember that my New Years resolution was to write more of my own articles for my blog, instead of reblogging NASA, ESA stories. Some of you may have noticed that, to date, I’ve written a grand total of….. TWO!
There is a reason for this. As well as an astronomer, actor, singer and everything else that I do, I am also a carer for my...
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Boldly going up Cerro Paranal
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ESO’s Paranal Observatory facilities, such as the Residencia, give people who work at the site a welcome shelter from the surrounding inhospitable environment. In spite of that, they also offer interesting options for those who wish to enjoy the stark and silent beauty of the Atacama Desert.
Among these is the Star Track, a walking path which connects the Residencia with...
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Preview of a Forthcoming Supernova
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At the turn of the 19th century, the binary star system Eta Carinae was faint and undistinguished. In the first decades of the century, it became brighter and brighter, until, by April 1843, it was the second brightest star in the sky, outshone only by Sirius (which is almost a thousand times closer to Earth). In the years that followed, it gradually dimmed again and by the...
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The Heart of the Milky Way, for Valentine’s Day
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There is a lot to love about astronomy, and — in time for Valentine’s Day — photographer Julien Girard offers a “heartfelt” example in this image. A bright pink symbol of love appears to float ethereally against the backdrop of the night sky over ESO’s Paranal Observatory in northern Chile. Girard drew the heart in the air by shining a tiny flashlight...
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A Sheep in Wolf-Rayet’s Clothing
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It’s well known that the Universe is changeable: even the stars that appear static and predictable every night are subject to change.
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows planetary nebula Hen 3-1333. Planetary nebulae are nothing to do with planets — they actually represent the death throes of mid-sized stars like the Sun. As they puff out their...
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VLT Takes Most Detailed Infrared Image of the...
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ESO’s Very Large Telescope has delivered the most detailed infrared image of the Carina Nebula stellar nursery taken so far. Many previously hidden features, scattered across a spectacular celestial landscape of gas, dust and young stars, have emerged. This is one of the most dramatic images ever created by the VLT.
Deep in the heart of the southern...
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A Drive Through Time — How telescopes, and cars,...
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ESO turns fifty this year, and to celebrate this important anniversary, we are showing you glimpses into its history. Once a month during 2012, a special “Then and Now” comparison Picture of the Week shows how things have changed over the decades at the La Silla and Paranal observatory sites, the ESO offices in Santiago de Chile, and the Headquarters in Garching bei München,...
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Transforming Galaxies
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Many of the Universe’s galaxies are like our own, displaying beautiful spiral arms wrapping around a bright nucleus. Examples in this stunning image, taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, include the tilted galaxy at the bottom of the frame, shining behind a Milky Way star, and the small spiral at the top centre.
Other galaxies are even...
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My YouTube channel →
I have a YouTube channel where I share space and astronomy news, videos and features.
Feel free to visit and subscribe.
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A Pocket of Star Formation
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This new view shows a stellar nursery called NGC 3324. It was taken using the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. The intense ultraviolet radiation from several of NGC 3324’s hot young stars causes the gas cloud to glow with rich colours and has carved out a cavity in the surrounding gas and dust.
NGC 3324 is located...
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