Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
"What would it look like to return home from outside our galaxy?" (Astronomy Picture of the Day)
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240804.html(many more links at source)
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2024 August 4
Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
Credit: Galaxy Illustration: N. Risinger (skysurvey.org);
Star Data: Gaia Mission, ESA, A. S. Sellés (U. Heidelberg) et al.
Explanation: What would it look like to return home from outside our galaxy? Although designed to answer greater questions, data from ESA's robotic Gaia mission is helping to provide a uniquely modern perspective on humanity's place in the universe. Gaia orbits the Sun near the Earth and resolves stars' positions so precisely that it can determine a slight shift from its changing vantage point over the course of a year, a shift that is proportionately smaller for more distant stars -- and so determines distance. In the first sequence of the video, an illustration of the Milky Way is shown that soon resolves into a three-dimensional visualization of Gaia star data. A few notable stars are labelled with their common names, while others stars are labelled with numbers from a Gaia catalog. Eventually, the viewer arrives in our stellar neighborhood where many stars were tracked by Gaia, and soon at our home star Sol, the Sun. At the video's end, the reflective glow of Sol's third planet becomes visible: Earth.
Tomorrow's picture: Milky Way Tunisia
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2024 August 4
Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
Credit: Galaxy Illustration: N. Risinger (skysurvey.org);
Star Data: Gaia Mission, ESA, A. S. Sellés (U. Heidelberg) et al.
Explanation: What would it look like to return home from outside our galaxy? Although designed to answer greater questions, data from ESA's robotic Gaia mission is helping to provide a uniquely modern perspective on humanity's place in the universe. Gaia orbits the Sun near the Earth and resolves stars' positions so precisely that it can determine a slight shift from its changing vantage point over the course of a year, a shift that is proportionately smaller for more distant stars -- and so determines distance. In the first sequence of the video, an illustration of the Milky Way is shown that soon resolves into a three-dimensional visualization of Gaia star data. A few notable stars are labelled with their common names, while others stars are labelled with numbers from a Gaia catalog. Eventually, the viewer arrives in our stellar neighborhood where many stars were tracked by Gaia, and soon at our home star Sol, the Sun. At the video's end, the reflective glow of Sol's third planet becomes visible: Earth.
Tomorrow's picture: Milky Way Tunisia
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
