Author Archives: Chompsky

Behold: spiral galaxy NGC 5643. But what the hell is going on inside? To wit:

A swirling disk of stars and gas, NGC 5643‘s appearance is dominated by blue spiral arms and brown dust, as shown in the featured image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The core of this active galaxy glows brightly in radio waves and X-rays where twin jets have been found. An unusual central glow makes NGC 5643 one of the closest examples of the Seyfert class of galaxies, where vast amounts of glowing gas are thought to be falling into a central massive black hole. NGC 5643, is a relatively close 55 million light years away, spans about 100 thousand light years across, and can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of the Wolf (Lupus).

Alright, just keep it down.

(Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess et al.; Acknowledgement: Mahdi Zamani)

apod

Behold: the 1954 Jaguar XK120 – something of a unicorn, it was found in a barn in Cleveland Ohio.

Details of its past life are sparse but the US-market model was apparently driven as the manufacturer intended, taking part in rallies and sports event up to the late 1960s.

Fully intact with its original motor, interior and Jaguar verified 1954 paintwork, it goes to auction later this month, unrestored and wearing its 66 year old patina with pride.

uncrate

Behold:  the glowing gas of the Orion nebula as it envelopes hot young stars at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud. Like the Oscars in space or something. To wit:

Many of the filamentary structures visible in the featured image are actually shock waves – fronts where fast moving material encounters slow moving gas. The Orion Nebula spans about 40 light years and is located about 1500 light years away in the same spiral arm of our Galaxy as the Sun. The Great Nebula in Orion can be found with the unaided eye just below and to the left of the easily identifiable belt of three stars in the popular constellation Orion. The image shows the nebula in three colors specifically emitted by hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur gas. The whole Orion Nebula cloud complex, which includes the Horsehead Nebula, will slowly disperse over the next 100,000 years.

(Image: César Blanco González)

apod

An elegant mix of choreography and VFX directed by Barnaby Roper, featuring dancer Kendi Jones in an interpretation of the momentous walk to school in 1953 of Elizabeth Eckford – one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of black students who were first to integrate Central High in Arkansas. 

Initially banned from attending and hectored by crowds of angry white students, teachers, and community members, the nine were eventually admitted following an intervention by Dwight D. Eisenhower.

colossal

 

(meme source)