Astro-Image | NGC 4845

2022-08-04Jim R Leave a comment

I enjoy making color composites from three grayscale images using the technique in this post. The colors assigned are not necessarily what the human eye would see, but are used to bring out details in structure and composition. Gallery of previous Astro-Images.

NGC 4845

This spiral galaxy is located in the constellation Virgo about 65 million light years away. Seen nearly edge-on, the bright core and the surrounding dust clouds are visible. The blue areas are artifacts of the original Hubble images used to make this composite.

Astronomers can observe the wavelengths of light from the galaxy to the left and right of the core. Rotation of the galaxy causes Doppler Shift of the wavelengths. The part of the galaxy moving away causes the wavelengths to be longer than normal. The part moving toward us causes the wavelengths to be shorter. The amount of shift in wavelengths indicates speed of rotation. A very massive central core of a galaxy results in fast rotation speeds.

Measurements of this galaxy allow astronomers to conclude a Black Hole resides in the core with a mass about 300,000 times the mass of our Sun. The galaxy was originally discovered by William Herschel in 1786.

Night and Morning Sky Shows

2022-07-31Jim R 2 Comments

Recent good weather provided two viewing opportunities about 8 hours apart. The first was an International Space Station pass over our area on 30 July 2022. The ISS was to appear low in the NW sky at about 9:41 pm, pass overhead at about 65˚ elevation, then disappear into Earth’s shadow low in the SE at about 9:47 pm. I programmed my camera to take a series of images to record the progress across the sky. It was set to record 1-second images of ISO 3200 about 10 seconds apart. I pressed start and the program didn’t do what I expected. So, I did it manually.

The images were placed into iMovie for this video of ISS playing peek-a-boo with some clouds.

The second sky views came at around 5:25 am the next morning on 31 July. I planned to view 5 of the planets. I looked south to easily find Jupiter high in the sky. The Galilean moons were arranged left to right Callisto, Ganymede, Io, and Europa.

Looking east revealed Venus rising well before the Sun.

The prize for the morning included Mars and Uranus in the same field of view.

Finally, I looked around me to see Earth cast in the morning light to top off the 5 planets.

JWST | First Science Images Soon

2022-07-05Jim R 8 Comments

The James Webb Space Telescope team is about to reveal the first science images. The countdown clock is set for July 12. There are several ways you can view the images. This NASA blog post lists them with links to get you there. Set your calendar.

Astro-Image | Backward Galaxy NGC 4622

2022-06-16Jim R 2 Comments

Spiral galaxies are common in the universe. This nearly face-on example from the Hubble Telescope is found 111 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. Most of them swirl in a direction one might intuitively assume. This one appears to go in a counter-clockwise direction. Analysis using images by the Hubble Telescope show the outer arms moving clockwise instead. Evidence suggests it consumed a smaller companion galaxy which disturbed its rotation.

Drs. Ron Buta and Gene Byrd from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and Tarsh Freeman of Bevill State Community College in Alabama, observed NGC 4622 in ultraviolet, infrared, and blue and green filters. Their findings were presented to the American Astronomical Society in January 2002.

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Maharishi Vedic Observatory

2022-05-212022-05-21Jim R 8 Comments

Fairfield is a city in southeast Iowa with a population of 9416 based on the 2020 census. Like many places, it has a varied and interesting history. Higher education played a large role in that history. Fairfield was home to Parsons College from 1875 to 1973. Enrollment peaked at 5000 in 1966. Soon after, the school and it’s president, Millard G. Roberts, got caught up in questionable activities. Life magazine published a critical article. The school lost accreditation and he was asked to resign. Enrollment dropped and the school closed in 1973 bankrupt and $14 million in debt.

The following year the campus was purchased by Maharishi International University. It promotes consciousness-based education which includes Transcendental Meditation technique in its practices. Full potential of the individual, reaching economic goals, living in harmony with the environment, and bringing spiritual fulfillment and happiness to humanity are some of the goals of MIU. Follow links to find out more about MIU. This blog post is not an attempt to promote or endorse in any way.

Our recent visit to Fairfield and the campus was to visit their Maharishi Vedic Observatory. This aerial image shows it is not what one thinks of when describing an observatory. There is no large telescope dome. Instead, it is made up of 10 solar and celestial measurement instruments, or sundials, and a collection of inner circles.