The Astronomers

NASA SDO - Aurora; What Causes Them?

Aurora are colorful lights in the night time sky primarily appearing in Earth's polar regions. But what causes them? The culprit behind aurora is our own Sun and the solar plasma that is ejected during a magnetic event like a flare or a coronal mass ejection. This plasma travels outward along with the solar wind and when it encounters Earth's magnetic field, it travels down the field lines that connect at the poles. Atoms in the plasma interacts with atoms in Earth's upper atmosphere.

NASA  SDO  Solar  Dynamics  Observatory  hmi  aia  eve  sun  Aurora  plasma  earth  magnetic  field  atoms  interact  atmosphere  ejection  CME  storm  flare  sky  astronomy  space 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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NASA SDO - Growing Sunspot

The video from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard SDO shows the Active Region 1393 from January 6 through January 8 and demonstrates how sunspots can quickly change shape and size. Sunspots are planet-sized magnets created by the Sun's inner magnetic dynamo. Like all magnets in the Universe, sunspots have north (N) and south (S) magnetic poles Sunspots, temporary disturbances in the Sun's photosphere, are the most visible advertisement of the solar magnetic field. They appear dark because temperatures are considerably lower than in surrounding areas. Sunspots occur where the magnetic field lines emerge from the inside of the Sun to form expanding loops above its surface. Sunspots usually show up as small forms that are irregularly shaped, and grow within days or weeks to their full size. While they can last weeks or months, they do eventually disappear, often by breaking into smaller and smaller sunspots. Credit: NASA SDO

NASA  SDO  Solar  Dynamics  observatory  HMI  AIA  EVE  Sun  sunspot  magnetic  field  astronomy  space 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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NASA SDO - X1.1 Solar Flare, March 5, 2012

After several days of a quiet Sun, the solar activity is now high again. Big sunspot AR1429, which emerged on March 2nd, is crackling with strong flares. This morning brought the strongest so far--an X1-class eruption on March 5th at 0413 UT. This flare propelled a bright Coronal Mass Ejection into Space, which will probably miss Earth, but hit Mercury and Venus. Even if this CME misses, high-latitude sky watchers should still be alert for auroras in the nights ahead. An M2-class eruption from the same sunspot on March 4th produced another, wider CME that might yet intersect Earth. The cloud is expected to deliver a glancing blow to our planet's magnetic field on March 6th at 04:30 UT (+/- 7 hr). Take a look at the forecast from our friends at the NASA Goddard Space Weather Lab: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/downloads/20120305_085600_anim.tim-den.gif Credit: NASA SDO

NASA  SDO  Solar  Dynamics  Observatory  Sun  flare  x-class  X1  x1.1  space  weather  CME  coronal  mass  ejection  explosion  magnetic  field  AR1429  active  region  astronomy 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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NASA SDO - Big Sunspot, Big Effects

This is the sunspot region AR 1429 that generated several major solar storms recently. The video covers nine days (March 4 - 12, 2012). Notice how the spot is almost always changing as its magnetic fields realign themselves. The images are white light images called intensity grams. Credit: NASA SDO

NASA  SDO  Solar  Dynamics  Observatory  AR  AR1429  Sunspot  1429  sotrm  intensity  grams  white  lights  Sun  magnetic  field  space  astronomy 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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NASA SDO - Today's Un-Boring Sun; December 7, 2011

December 7, 2011; Today's Sun in various wavelengths showing various temperatures and layers of the Sun. Not only that, but we also added the Sun's magnetic field lines to the view. These images were taken at approx. the same time We start off looking at the 6,000 degrees C. Photosphere. See the various sunspots on the "surface" of the Sun? Now let's transition into the region between the Chromosphere and the Corona, at about 1 million degrees C. From there we go into a composite of three different wavelengths showing temperatures up to 2 million degrees C. And at the end we add the complex field of Magnetic Field lines to the various active regions. And who says the Sun is boring? Credit: NASA SDO Thanks to Steele Hill

NASA  SDO  Solar  Dynamics  Observatory  Sun  magnetic  field  line  corona  chromosphere  photosphere  sunspot  active  region  astronomy  space  star 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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NASA SDO - Filament Snap, November 14, 2011

And within just a few hours the very massive filament (see post from earlier today) is approx. 1/3 shorter. This movie shows the developments from 13:00 to 16:00 UT on November 14, 2011. A solar prominence (also known as a filament when viewed against the solar disk) is a large, bright feature extending outward from the Sun's surface. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface in the photosphere, and extend outwards into the Sun's hot outer atmosphere, called the corona. A prominence forms over timescales of about a day, and stable prominences may persist in the corona for several months, looping hundreds of thousands of miles into space. Scientists are still researching how and why prominences are formed. The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas comprised of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. The prominence plasma flows along a tangled and twisted structure of magnetic fields generated by the sun's internal dynamo. An erupting prominence occurs when such a structure becomes unstable and bursts outward, releasing the plasma. Credit: NASA SDO

NASA  SDO  Solar  Dynamics  Observatory  AIA  HMI  EVE  filament  prominence  eruption  snap  magnetic  field  sun  space  astronomy 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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NASA - Aurorae from Space

Lately, the International Space Station has been flying through geomagnetic storms, giving astronauts an close-up view of the aurora borealis just outside their windows. These videos were taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. First, get an introduction into the beauty of aurorae. 1st Segment: The sequence of shots was taken March 3, 2012 from 17:59:48 to 18:16:25 GMT, on a pass from eastern Kenya, near the Indian Ocean, to the South Indian Ocean, east of the Kerguelen Islands. This video begins as the ISS travels southeast from eastern Africa over the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. The first land we see is that of the Mauritius and Reunion Islands east of Madagascar. The pass continues over the Indian Ocean, where there are heavy clouds blocking the view of the water. Finally, the Aurora Australis begins to appear, as well as a faded view of the Milky Way. 2nd Segment: The sequence of shots was taken March 4, 2012 from 17:19:17 to 17:27:10 GMT, on a pass over the South Indian Ocean. This video again focuses on the Aurora Australis as the ISS passes over the South Indian Ocean, from northeast of the Kerugelen Islands to south of Australia. The streaks of the aurora are very visible and active in this video, as the ISS passes right over the green lights. 3rd Segment: The sequence of shots was taken March 10, 2012 from 14:49:58 to 15:05:37 GMT, on a pass from the South Indian Ocean to southeast New Zealand. This video mainly focuses on the Aurora Australis over the Southern Hemisphere. As the ISS traveled southeast and then northeast, the crew captured the bands of the Aurora Australis as the Milky Way made an appearance in the star field. Credit: NASA ISS/JSC/Science@NASA

NASA  JSC  ISS  International  Space  Station  Aurora  Northern  Southern  Lights  magnetic  field  solar  storms  coronal  mass  ejections  CME  weather  storm  geomagnetic 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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NASA/ESA SOHO & NASA SDO Comet Meets Sun, October 1, 2011

A comet discovered on Friday September 30, 2011 by an amateur astronomer disintegrated on Saturday October 1, 2011 when it plunged into the Sun. The Corongraph of NASA/ESA's SOHO captured the last few hours of the comet. Very shortly after the comet dove into the Sun a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) exploded. As of current solar scientists do not believe that a comet can trigger a Coronal Mass Ejection - however, the question of if a comet could cause a magnetic instability on the Sun remains and is being studied. On July 6, 2011 the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed a sungrazing comet and it appeared to interact with the plasma and magnetic field as it fell apart. The first two segments in this video are from October 1, 2011 and were observed by NASA/ESA's SOHO spacecraft. The last two segments were captured by NASA's SDO on July 5, 2011. Credit: NASA/ESA SOHO and NASA SDO

NASA  ESA  SOHO  SDO  Solar  Dynamics  Observatory  Sun  comet  sungrazing  sundiving  magnetic  field  CME  Coronal  mass  ejection  October 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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NASA SDO - Plasma Indirection

As if it could not make up its mind . . . darker, cooler plasma slid and shifted back and forth above the Sun's surface seen here for 30 hours (Feb. 7-8, 2012) in extreme ultraviolet light. An active region rotating into view provides a bright backdrop to the gyrating streams of plasma. The particles are being pulled this way and that by competing magnetic forces. They are tracking along strands of magnetic field lines. This kind of detailed solar observation with high-resolution frames and a four-minute cadence was not possible until SDO, which launched two years ago on Feb. 11, 2010. So it's our 2nd Anniversary! Credit: NASA SDO

NASA  SDO  Solar  Dynamics  Observatory  Plasma  physics  Space  Outer  sun  solar  plasma  magnetic  field  astronomy  science 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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NASA SDO - Lovely Loops

The Lovely Loops A close-up view of the Sun's edge shows vast loop structures made of superheated plasma, just one of which is the size of several Earths. These loops can have a wide range of temperatures, many reaching several million degrees Kelvin. The upper one of a pair of new, solar active regions that just rotated into view offered a beautiful profile view of those cascading loops spiraling above it (Jan. 15-16, 2012) following a solar flare eruption. With its ability to capture the Sun in amazing detail, SDO observed it all in extreme ultraviolet light. This particular video clip used an image every minutes to present the motion. Credit: NASA SDO

NASA  SDO  Solar  Dynamics  Observatory  AIA  EVE  HMI  Corona  coronal  loops  magnetic  field  plasma  cascading  loop  active  region  space  astronomy  sun 

Channels: Solar astronomy 

Added: 49 days ago by deek

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Hubble Space Telescope Directly Observes Exoplanet

Science & Reason on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/ScienceReason Hubblecast 22: Hubble Space Telescope Directly Observes Exoplanet Orbiting Fomalhaut. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has discovered an extrasolar planet, for the first time using direct visible-light imaging. The strange world is far-flung from its parent star, is surrounded by a colossal belt of gas and dust, and may even have rings more impressive than Saturn's. --- Subscribe to Science & Reason: • http://www.YouTube.com/Best0fScience • http://www.YouTube.com/ScienceMagazine • http://www.YouTube.com/ScienceTV • http://www.YouTube.com/FFreeThinker --- Credit: - ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen) - Visual design & Editing: Martin Kornmesser - Animations: Martin Kornmesser & Luis Calçada - Web Hosting: Leibniz-Rechenzentrum (LRZ) - Web Technical Support: Lars Holm Nielsen & Raquel Yumi Shida - Written by: Lee Pullen & Lars Lindberg Christensen - Host: Dr. J - Narration: Bob Fosbury - Cinematography: Peter Rixner - Music: movetwo - Footage and photos: A. Fujii, Digitized Sky Survey 2, NASA, ESA, and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley). Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble) - Directed by: Lars Lindberg Christensen Dr. J is a German astronomer at the ESO. His scientific interests are in cosmology, particularly on galaxy evolution and quasars. Dr. J's real name is Joe Liske and he has a PhD in astronomy. Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre Garching/Munich, Germany • http://www.eso.org • http://www.spacetelescope.org • http://hubblesite.org .

Hubble  Space  Telescope  Directly  Observes  Exoplanet  Planet  Orbiting  Fomalhaut  Hubblecast  22  HD  NASA  ESA  ESO  JPL  Cast  Spitzer  Very  Large  Telescopes  VLT  Station  Shuttle  Universe  Big  Bang  Black  Holes  Dark  Matter  Energy  Ultra  Deep  Field  Galaxies  Milky  Way  Stars  Solar  System  Stellar  Supernova  Nebulae  Clusters  Planets  Moons  Exoplanets  Mars  Sun  Gamma  Rays  Speed  Of  Light  Cosmic  Mission  Herschel  Planck  Kepler  Sagan  Hawking  Cobe  Science  Astronomy  Astro  Physics  Astronomers  Videos  Images 

Channels: Planetary science 

Added: 84 days ago by deek

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Lecture 1 | Modern Physics: Special Relativity (Stanford)

Lecture 1 of Leonard Susskind's Modern Physics course concentrating on Special Relativity. Recorded April 14, 2008 at Stanford University. This Stanford Continuing Studies course is the third of a six-quarter sequence of classes exploring the essential theoretical foundations of modern physics. The topics covered in this course focus on classical mechanics. Leonard Susskind is the Felix Bloch Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Complete Playlist for the Course: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list... Stanford Continuing Studies: http://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/ About Leonard Susskind: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/physics/... Stanford University Channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/stanford Category: Education Tags: Physics math calculus geometry algebra theoretical minimum special relativity classical field theory reference frame uniform velocity Newton Laws of nature speed light wave maxwell space time Einstein hyperbolic functions cos

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Channels: Lectures In Astronomy 

Added: 836 days ago by deek

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Launchpad Kepler

Join NASA on the Kepler Mission as this traveling telescope images the light from faraway stars to locate Earth-sized and smaller planets. Using the transit method, the Kepler telescope measures the brightness of a star and uses the data to predict habitable zones.

Education  NASA  eClips  NIA  Launchpad  high  school  secondary  eclipse  transit  habitable  zones  telescopes  orbit  planets  stars  Kepler  CCD  field  of  view 

Channels: Major questions in astronomy 

Added: 938 days ago by adminn

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Hubble Ultra Deep Field 10 Billion Years

Hubble Ultra Deep Field 10 Billion Years

Hubble  Ultra  Deep  Field  10  Billion  Years 

Channels: Galactic astronomy 

Added: 1293 days ago by cornelius

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