astro-galactic-ostrology - Tumblr blog

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explore the surface of the moon with trek

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sedna’s 11,408 year orbit

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earth and moon as seen from mars 

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curiosity rover self portrait at the “Mojave” site on mars

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kuiper belt exploration

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mars

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Astronomers just discovered the farthest object in the solar system - “2018 VG18″

On December 17, 2018, astronomers announced the discovery of the most distant known object in the Solar System: a trans-Neptunian object designated 2018 VG18. Nicknamed “Farout” by its discoverers, the object is currently positioned at a distance of roughly 120 AU from the Sun, twice the average distance of Eris, the previous record-holder for distance. 2018 VG18 appears to be roughly 500 km in diameter, potentially qualifying it as a dwarf planet. 

At this distance, 2018 VG18 moves very slowly across the sky, so astronomers will only be able to measure an accurate orbit after several years of observations. 

The Magellan observations confirmed that 2018 VG18 is around 120 AU, making it the first Solar System object observed beyond 100 AU.  Its brightness suggests that it is about 500 km in diameter, likely making it spherical in shape and a dwarf planet. It has a pinkish hue, a color generally associated with ice-rich objects. 

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Skylab Space Station

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Mercury photographed by MESSENGERS

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Rainbow Geminid Meteor

Dean C Rowe

The radiant grit cast off by asteroid 3200 Phaethon blazed a path across Earth's atmosphere longer than 60 times the angular diameter of the Moon. Colors in meteors usually originate from ionized elements released as the meteor disintegrates, with blue-green typically originating from magnesium, calcium radiating violet, and nickel glowing green. Red, however, typically originates from energized nitrogen and oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. This bright meteoric fireball was gone in a flash -- less than a second -- but it left a wind-blown ionization trail that remained visible for several minutes, the start of which can be seen here (source). 

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Hubble Captures Tangled Remnants of a Supernova

SNR 0454-67 .2

SNR 0454-67.2 is situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that lies close to the Milky Way. The remnant is likely the result of a Type Ia supernova explosion; this category of supernovae is formed from the death of a white dwarf star that grows by siphoning material from a stellar companion until it reaches a critical mass and then explodes.

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Supernova Remnant HBH3

Spitzer Space Telescope

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Coma Cluster

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Nearby dust clouds in the Milky Way

Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

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Evolution of the Hubble Telescope