Check Out Fingerprints Of Water On The Sand Via NASA Http://ift.tt/1Mxtpaz

This is one slice of an incredible high resolution, enhanced color image of Pluto, recently released by NASA. You can see the full, larger version here. 

Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

For more amazing images and posts about how Astronomy is Awesome, check us out!

http://astronomyisawesome.com/

As always, please feel free to ask questions and we love it when you reblog!

#astronomy #space #nasa #hubble space telescope #nebula #nebulae #galaxy

THE GIANT MANATEE NEBULA Bright astronomical objects that are visible to the eye and optical telescopes are often nicknamed for their resemblance to earthly objects. A newly discovered view of a 20,000 year old supernova remnant is no different, resembling a beloved endangered species. W50 (or the Giant Manatee Nebula) is one of the largest supernova remnants ever viewed by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). This large cloud, nearly 700 light years across, formed when a giant star exploded as a supernova around 20,000 years ago, spewing its outer gases flying outwards to form an expanding bubble. The remaining super dense relic of that giant star, very likely a black hole, feeds on gas from a closeby companion star which form a disk around the black hole. This disk and the black hole’s network of powerful magnetic field lines pull out charged particles out of the disk and channel them outward in jets that travel almost at the speed of light, acting like a giant railroad system. This pairing system of a black hole and its feeder star are both known as the SS433 microquasar. Over time, this awesome image of Florida’s “sea cow” will become mishapen, as the micro quaser’s jets will force their way through the expanding gas bubble of W50, punching bulges outward on either side of it. Until then, it will continue to be another wonder in the sky while providing more clues to fill the history of this giant cloud. –Sanj SOURCE:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130119185021.htm National Radio Astronomy Observatory. “Microquasar makes a giant manatee nebula.” ScienceDaily, 19 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. Image:Left: W50 supernova remnant in radio (green) against the infrared background of stars and dust (red). A Florida Manatee rests underwater in Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River, Florida. Image Credit: Left: NRAO/AUI/NSF, K. Golap, M. Goss; NASA’s Wide Field Survey Explorer (WISE). Right: Image used with permission from Tracy Colson, courtesy of NRAO

The Solar System

Tumblr Valentines - The Love God version.

Go big or go home

I never thought I’d have competition for the most startorial Emily on the planet, but Emily Lakdawalla, Senior Editor and Planetary Evangelist at the Planetary Society (and the third most followed astronomer on twitter) is bringing it! After winding up with the Fibonacci spiral dress by @shenovafashion, she is dazzling in the super star dress from Belle Neptune, as posted by the Planetary Society on Instagram.

I haven’t identified the source image yet, but I suspect it is a globular cluster, perhaps one with a lot of unusually blue stars like Messier 53.

Watch this space to see Emily’s closest approach (and who she joins forces with) tomorrow!

–Emily

The laws that keep space from spiraling out of control into a political war zone

When engineers are bored.

The last, but not least of starry scholastic month! 

This week’s entry: Black Holes

http://www.space.com/15421-black-holes-facts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html

http://www.space.com/19339-black-holes-facts-explained-infographic.html