Astronomy Day

In this Astronomy Day 2016, we are showcasing postcard UA-1351038 from Ukraine that offers an unusual view of the Helix Nebula (螺旋星雲), NGC 7293, a composite image made from near-infrared photos using Y, J and K filters that were captured by European Southern Observatory's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy in Chile. Located in the constellation Aquarius, it is often referred to as the "Eye of God" in pop culture.

Astronomy Day, started in 1973, is an bi-annual event for the purpose of promoting interaction between the general public and various astronomy enthusiasts, groups and professionals.

Initially, Astronomy Day occurs on a Saturday between mid-April and mid-May on or close to the first quarter Moon. Since 2007, an autumn rendition of Astronomy Day has been added to occur on a Saturday between mid-September and mid-October on or close to the first quarter Moon. Under such lunar influence, the events will happen on different dates each year, rather than on set calendar dates. The next date for Astronomy Day will be October 8, 2016.

Eagle Nebula Pillars

25 years ago on April 24, 1990, Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on mission STS-31 with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on board. Fitting with a 2.4-meter or 7.9 feet mirror and instruments observing in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared spectra, the telescope has since recorded some of the most detailed images ever, leading to breakthroughs in astrophysics, such as accurately determining the rate of expansion of the universe.

The Eagle Nebula (NGC 6611) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux between 1745 and 1746. It contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions that became famous when NASA release a HST image "Pillars of Creation" in 1995, capturing three dusty pillars in the Eagle Nebula. HST recently took another photograph at the star-forming pillars with its newest camera, providing much greater details.

In celebration of HST’s 25th anniversary, 32 of the best HST images were competing against each other in a series of head-to-head competitions, with popular votes deciding the winner of each round. Ultimately, with over 17,000 votes the Eagle Nebula Pillars triumphed over all other competitors to become the winner of Hubble Mania 2015.

In this NASA released image that can be made into a 5"x7" postcard under NASA's copyright notice, three pillars of cold hydrogen gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula are shown as the birthplace of new stars, 6,500 light years away. The pillars are bathed in the blistering ultraviolet light from a grouping of young, massive stars located off the top of the image. Streamers of gas can be seen bleeding off the pillars as the intense radiation heats and evaporates it into space. Denser regions of the pillars are shadowing material beneath them from the powerful radiation.

I was fortunate for being able to witness the Space Shuttle Discovery's launch for the 3rd Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission STS-103 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 19, 1999. 

ALMA, Chile

Postcard PL-952957 from Poland shows the Atacama Large Millimeter and submillimeter Array (ALMA), an astronomical interferometer of radio telescopes in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. The array was constructed on the Chajnantor plateau at 5,000 meters or 16,597 feet altitude, near Llano de Chajnantor Observatory and Atacama Pathfinder Experiment, to provide a high and dry environment which is crucial to millimeter wavelength operations. Initially consisting of 66 12-meter or 39-foot, and 7-meter or 23-foot diameter radio telescopes observing at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, ALMA is design to study star birth during the early universe and detailed imaging of local star and planet formation.

With its groundbreaking ceremony at ALMA site in November, 2003, ALMA began scientific observations in the second half of 2011 resulted in the first images available to the public on October 3, 2011. Inauguration ceremony was held on March 13, 2013 with the array being fully operational since.

Unrelated, it is the 3rd anniversary today since Professor Fang Lizhi (方励之), born February 12, 1936, passed away in Tucson on April 6, 2012 at age 76. A Chinese astrophysicist and activist whose liberal ideas inspired the pro-democracy student movement of 1986–87 and, eventually, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, Professor Fang was a recipient of the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1989. During his tenure as Professor of Physics at the University of Arizona, he continued to carry out research in astrophysics and cosmology with special interests in the cosmic microwave background anisotropy, Lyman alpha forest, application of wavelet in cosmology, turbulence in intergalactic medium, and the 21cm radiation during the Reionization.

405 Years after Galileo Turned His Telescope to the Moon

When Galileo first turned his improved telescope with 20x magnification to the moon on November 30, 1609, he started to make a series of observations through December 18 that year. Although other people prior to Galileo, such as English mathematician Thomas Harriot, had observed the moon and noticed the dark patterns on its surface as "strange spottednesse," Galileo was the one who first understood the patterns of light and shadow were in fact topographical markers from lunar mountains and craters.

Those observations led to the conclusion that the moon, a heavenly body, was not perfect, which in turn called into question about the teachings of Aristotle where the Earth was the center of the universe and all heavenly bodies, including the moon, were perfect spheres that moved around the Earth in circular orbits.

Copernicus had put forth a theory that the sun rather than the Earth was the center of the universe by then. However, his theory went against fundamental beliefs of the time and was dismissed by most people. While Galileo's observations and conclusions about the moon did not give direct and solid proof of Copernicus' theory, they indeed paved the way for its eventual acceptance.

Postcard US-2373495 to Hong Kong shows a full moon and northern lights over Alaska. It was part of my Alaska collections from ASPRS 2003.

Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico

Postcard US-2849000 to Germany shows the Arecibo Observatory, a radio telescope operated by SRI International, USRA and UMET under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF), in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

Built between 1960 and 1963, the observatory's 305-meter or 1,000-foot radio telescope is the largest single-aperture telescope in the world, used in the areas of radio astronomy, aeronomy, and radar astronomy researches. Scientists who wish to use the telescope need to submit proposals that are evaluated by an independent scientific board. The telescope was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

The postcard was purchased at Zazzle.

Planetary Nebula NGC 7027

Planetary Nebula NGC 7027 by Hubble Telescope

Postcard US-2306802 came today from North Carolina. It shows an image of Planetary Nebula NGC 7027  by Hubble Telescope.

NGC 7027 is one of the visually brightest planetary nebulae, and by far the most extensively studied one. It's very young, only 600 years old; very dense, and unusually small, measuring only 0.2 by 0.1 light-years -- the typical size for a planetary nebula is 1 by 1 light-years.It is located around 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. You can learn more about the Planetary Nebula NGC 7027 at Hubblesite.org.