APOD 3.4

The astronomers over at the Paranal Observatory in Paranal, Chile have taken a series of awesome photos showing the Milky Way descending, or rather, the Earth rising. The telescopes in this observatory are known as the European Southern Observatory.

APOD 3.3

Comet McNaught is a sensation in the astronomical community. Of the past six APODs, five have been about McNaught. The comet, the brightest in decades, is reaching the climax of its EPIC performance. This shot here was taken over Krakow, Poland. The comet's performance is coming to a close in the northern hemisphere, but will continue to dazzle audiences in the southern hemisphere as McNaught moves higher and highger towards southern skies.

APOD 3.2

If you live in an area north of Florida, you'll be able to see the easily distinguishable Ursa Major, colloqiually known as the Big Dipper. And if you know the Big Dipper, you can find the Little Dipper and, more importantly, Polaris, the North Star. Unless your're a total noob. Here, we see how Mekar and Dubhe, the stars at the right extreme of the contsellation, line up and point almost directly to Polaris. If you're stuck or lost somewhere, you should be able to find it. Unless you're a noob. Or you live in the South.

APOD 3.1

Take a look at this. One star outshining an entire galaxy. This is a supernova, where, at the end of its life, one dying star shines brighter than the core of the spiral galaxy, composed of millions of other stars. Talk about going out with a bang. The description following this APOD is somewhat technical, and beyond my grasp. Basically, it deals with the majority of energy in the universe not being vested in stars, but in the actual void of space. How else could a single star outshine an entire galaxy? There seems to be much discord in the astronomical community as to the validity of this claim. The new (old) theory involves the use of a value designated as lambda, or a cosmological constant. The use of a mathematical concept sounds fine at first, but in use, it seems to muddle up things more. Cosmologists can accurately interpret data without the use of this constant.