... Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2001 February 18 . Lunation . ... Explanation: Our Moon's appearance changes nightly. This slow-loading time-lapse sequence shows what our Moon looks like during a lunation , a complete lunar cycle. As the Moon orbits the Earth , the half illuminated by the Sun first becomes increasingly visible, then decreasingly visible. ...

... January 6, 1996 . Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy M32 . ... Explanation: Being the largest galaxy around can sometimes make you popular. ... M31 , the Andromeda galaxy, is the largest galaxy in our Local Group of galaxies - even our tremendous Milky Way Galaxy is smaller. ... M32 is a dwarf elliptical galaxy . Elliptical galaxies have little or no measurable gas or dust - they are composed completely of stars and typically appear more red than spiral galaxies . ... About APOD | ...

My colleagues and I have recently completed a series of observations of SN1999an. ... The telescope is located at Martin Observatory in Blacksburg, VA, and is operated by the Physics Department of Virginia Tech. Our IAU Minor Planet Center Observatory Code is 841. ... Attached you will find a copy of one of our images (in .jpg format) with the supernova indicated. ... Virginia Tech Department of Physics . Back to Bright Supernovae . Back to Supernova 1999an . ...

... General Catalog of Variable Stars (GCVS database, Version 2012 Feb.) ... The cross-identification tables of the General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS) contain all GCVS (including extragalactic variables from vol.V), NSV (New catalogue of Suspected Variable stars) and Supplement to the NSV stars as well as stars from the name-lists of variable stars nos. 67 - 80; it also makes it possible to find out identifications between the GCVS and the NSV catalogue. ... I-III) names are included. ...

... SB, Porb = 55.9212d. V0745 Cas| ... Component B of the double system observed brighter than in the Hipparcos Input Catalogue. ... The variability may be due to the fainter component. ... Type ELL: is also possible. pi Cas| ... Variability type and spectral type (F2/F3Ib/II) do not agree. ... Variability type and spectral type (F3/F5II) do not agree. ... Variability may be due to component B. VZ Pic| ... Variability may be due to component B. V1377 Ori| ... SB, Porb = 9.073d. V0421 Cep|105091| ...

... Отмеченная наградами АстроТоп-а . ... 1) К участию в конкурсе допускаются все российские сайты на тему астрономии и космонавтики, и все русскоязычные сайты за пределами России. ... II) Сайт года . ... Победитель: Астронет - http://www.astronet.ru/ : подано голосов экспертов - 109 (всего - 129) . ... 3-е место разделили: Астрономия и Телескопостроение - http://www.astronomer.ru/ и Лента новостей космонавтики от Железнякова - http://www.cosmoworld.ru/spaceencyclopedia/hotnews/ : подано по 37 голосов; ...

... Here is a brief outline of the current theory of the events in the early history of the solar system: . A cloud of interstellar gas and/or dust (the "solar nebula") is disturbed and collapses under its own gravity. ... The gas cools off enough for the metal, rock and (far enough from the forming star) ice to condense out into tiny particles. (i.e. some of the gas turns back into dust). ... Once the larger of these particles get big enough to have a nontrivial gravity, their growth accelerates. ...