Author Archives: Chompsky

Behold: NGC 7000, aka The North American Nebula (because it looks a little like it) – a star forming region in the constellation of Cygnus. The magnitude of star formation is normally difficult to assess because the nebula contains think dust clouds which block visible light (top pic). But switch the wavelength (pix 2-4) and things get a whole lot more ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’. To wit:

A view of the North America Nebula in infrared light by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope has peered through much of the dust and uncovered thousands of newly formed stars. Rolling your cursor over the above scientifically-colored infrared image will bring up a corresponding optical image of the same region for comparison. The infrared image neatly captures young stars in many stages of formation, from being imbedded in dense knots of gas and dust, to being surrounded bydisks and emitted jets, to being clear of their birth cocoons. The North America Nebula (NGC 7000) spans about 50 light years and lies about 1,500 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). Still, of all the stars known in the North America Nebula, which massive stars emit the energetic light that gives the ionized red glow is still debated.

Full sized image here (well worth a gander).

(Image: NASA, JPL-Caltech, L. Rebull (SSC, Caltech); DSS, D. De Martin)

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Behold:  tennis superstar Rafael Nadal’s recently commissioned 80 Sunreef Power luxury catamaran.

Fully customised with a high grade adjustable teak deck, bar, open kitchen, six cabins and garage filled with jet skis and other water toys, Nadal will take delivery sometime next year.

Ah, but will it make him happy though?

Probably, yes.

uncrate

Behold: the Cliff Concept Boutique Hotel – a vertiginous five-tiered vision on the upper face of Preikestolen (‘Pulpit Rock’) 600 meters above Norway’s Lysefjord.

Every year, 200,000 visitors flock to Preikestolen to take in the spectacular view. Architectural design studio Hayriatak envisages an exclusive vantage where guests can take in the sights from rounded balconies and the glass walls of an infinity pool cantilevered over the fjord.

uncrate

Behold: the painterly tableau of the constellation Cygnus (the Swan) picked out at the northern end of the Great Rift in swirling strokes of interstellar dust and glowing hydrogen gas. To wit:

Composed with three different telescopes and about 90 hours of image data the widefield mosaic spans an impressive 24 degrees across the sky. Alpha star of Cygnus, bright, hot, supergiant Deneb lies near top centre. Crowded with stars and luminous gas clouds Cygnus is also home to the dark, obscuring Northern Coal Sack Nebula, extending from Deneb toward the centre of the view. The reddish glow of star forming regions NGC 7000, the North America Nebula and IC 5070, the Pelican Nebula, are just left of Deneb. The Veil Nebula is a standout below and left of centre. A supernova remnant, the Veil is some 1,400 light years away, but many other nebulae and star clusters are identifiable throughout the cosmic scene. Of course, Deneb itself is also known to northern hemisphere skygazers for its place in two asterisms — marking the top of the Northern Cross and a vertex of the Summer Triangle.

(Image: Alistair Symon)

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