According To The Laws Of Physics, A Planet In The Shape Of A Doughnut (toroid) Could Exist. Physicist

Mars. In true colour.

Just so you know, a lot of images of Mars which you’ll see have been manipulated. A lot of them have boosted contrast and saturation. So if you’ve ever wondered – images like this one are what Mars actually looks like.

Star Forming Region S106

Massive star IRS 4 is beginning to spread its wings. Born only about 100,000 years ago, material streaming out from this newborn star has formed the nebula dubbed Sharpless 2-106 Nebula (S106), pictured above. A large disk of dust and gas orbiting Infrared Source 4 (IRS 4), visible in dark red near the image center, gives the nebula an hourglass or butterfly shape. S106 gas near IRS 4 acts as an emission nebula as it emits light after being ionized, while dust far from IRS 4 reflects light from the central star and so acts as a reflection nebula. Detailed inspection of images like the above image has revealed hundreds of low-mass brown dwarf stars lurking in the nebula’s gas. S106 spans about 2 light-years and lies about 2000 light-years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus).

Image prompt

NASA's Next Giant Leap

Technology drives exploration and we're building on the Apollo program's accomplishments to test and fly transformative, cutting edge technologies today for tomorrow's missions. As we develop and test the new tools of 21st century spaceflight on the human path to Mars, we once again will change the course of history.

I'm in Northern Michigan!

Map of cousins based on the directory. Some other cousins were added who have mentioned their whereabouts in conversation and i happened to remember but who are not listed. That said, consider this your invitation to update your directory listing if you so desire. There are several of you who are not in it who maybe want to be? (No pressure, of course!)

Orange dots are for people whose specific location was unclear, but i put them in the correct state/province (except that one in the middle of Canada, because all it said was ‘Canada’). Blue dots are close to the cities that were listed.

Some people have two dots, like me because i listed Cleveland and Boston, or like Erin because i know she’s moving soon.

Other locations listed were China, Japan, Asia, and i know there is at least one person in Germany.

Annotation of All The Known Globular Clusters in Messier 31 by Michael van Doorn

“So you’re made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?”

―Neil deGrasse Tyson

These photos are on the shortlist for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014, a competition and exhibition run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich. The winning images will be posted here on September 18.