Here is M74, one of the most photogenic spiral galaxies. M74 is an island universe composed of 100 billion stars that lies 32 light-years away in the constellation Pisces. The spiral arms are traced by blue star clusters and dark cosmic dust lanes. The red spots throughout the image are the star forming regions and are red due to Hydrogen gas. This image spans 30,000 light-years across the galaxy.
In the constellation Perseus, this cloud of dust covers nearly 4 degrees on the sky. NGC 1333 is in the center of the picture, colored a dusty blue. It rests some 1,000 light-years away. At that distance, the field of view is estimated to be 70 light-years across, a truly massive distance. Several dark dust nebulae as well as the reddish glow of Hydrogen gas can be seen on the outskirts of the dust cloud.
The Carina Nebula, or NGC 3372, is one of our galaxy's largest star forming regions. It is easily visible to the naked eye although it is nearly 7,500 light-years away. This reveals the region's glowing filaments of interstellar gas and dark cosmic dust clouds. It is home to some extremely massive stars, such Eta Carinae, which is nearly 100 times larger in mass than the Sun.
This is the largest crater ever visited by robots on Mars. Although the robot Opportunity has been at the edges of the crater for more than a year, it was forced to wait for a safe path due to massive dust storms. It is hoped that the Victoria Crater will show several layers of rock created at impact, giving scientists clues about the ancient history of the surface of Mars.
Mr. Percival
Astronomy Honors
10 Oct. 2007
Georg von Peuerbach
Considered to be the first modern astronomer, Georg von Peuerbach contributed greatly to the fields of Astronomy and Mathematics during the Late Middle Ages. Born the son of Ulrich Aunpekh in 1423, he grew up in the small Austrian town of
Regiomontanus first began collaborating with Peuerbach in 1453 when he was sixteen years old. Until Peuerbach’s death eight years later, they collaborated extensively, resulting in several important astronomical observations and publications. In 1454, Peuerbach published his first work, Theoricae Novae Planetarum, which presented Ptolemy’s complicated epicycle theory in a simple, but thorough manner. Peuerbach believed that the planets were in solid crystalline spheres, yet believed that their motions were controlled by the Sun. This work, Peuerbach’s most important, was an attempt to bring together Aristotelian and Ptolemaic theory, causing Peuerbach’s work to remain the basis of academic instruction in Astronomy until Copernicus. This publication demonstrates that Peuerbach used techniques developed by Islamic astronomers in modifying Ptolemy’s model. Additionally, Peuerbach observed what came to be known as Halley’s Comet and recorded his observations in 1456. He would make several other observations of comets throughout his life. In 1457, Regiomontanus and Peuerbach observed a lunar eclipse, measuring its duration and the time of the midpoint. It was found that the eclipse occurred eight minutes earlier than previously calculated tables predicted. Due to this discrepancy, Peuerbach produced a new collection of tables of eclipse calculation which he completed in 1459. When he observed several eclipses the following year, he compared their times to his predictions, which showed tremendous accuracy. Many of his astronomical observations were made at the Observatory of Varadinum in
Due to the inextricable link between astrology and Astronomy during the Middle Ages, Peuerbach’s reputation earned him the prestigious position of court astrologer for King Ladislas V of
Despite his short life, Georg von Peuerbach accomplished much for both the fields of Astronomy and Mathematics. He published twenty known works and greatly influenced the ideology of the time in regards to planetary motion. His pupil, Regiomontanus, became a successful astronomer in his own right, largely due to the teaching and mentoring of Peuerbach. Furthermore, his works in Trigonometry and Geometry are extremely important. In fact, Peuerbach is credited with being one of the first to introduce sines into Trigonometry. Peuerbach’s many scientific and mathematic achievements have created him a noteworthy legacy as the first modern astronomer. It is because of this legacy that the Purbach crater on the Moon carries his namesake.
Bress, Thomas. "George von Peuerbach." The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1911. Robert Appleton Company. 10 Oct 2007
Knight, Judson. "Georg von Peuerbach." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 2: 700 to 1449.
O'Connor, J. "Georg Peurbach." 01 Aug 2006.
Starburst Cluster in NGC 3603 
The Rho Ophiuchi is surrounded by blue light, which occurs mainly due to reflected light. The yellow and red regions are due to the emission from the nebula's atomic and molecular gas. The dark regions are caused by dust grains, which block light emitted behind them. The M4 cluster is visible in the bottom right of the picture and emits the most colorful light, from nearly every wavelength, so not all of it can be seen with the naked eye.
This is a picture of the Lunar eclipse that occurred earlier this week and was visible from North America and part of the Pacific region. The eclipse was somewhat long and, according to NASA, lasted nearly 90 minutes. This photograph was taken over Yass, Australia. The moon appears red because it is reflecting light filtering into Earth's shadow. Several of the moon's larger craters are visible as well.
