Astronomy: 365 Days.ASTRONOMY: 365 Days JERRY T. BONNELL AND ROBERT J. NEMIROFF On any given day, astronomy aficionados can get a glimpse of the cosmos by visiting physicists Bonnell and Nemiroff's NASA-sponsored "Astronomy Picture of the Day The Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) website is a service provided by NASA and Michigan Technological University (MTU). According to the website, “Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a " Web site. Now more than 10 years old, the popular site features images collected from major Earth- and space-based observatories and professional and amateur astronomers around the world. This hefty volume, a follow-up to the authors' The Universe: 365 Days (2003, Abrams), is a selection of 365 of the daily images that were posted on the Web site between 2002 and 2006. Among the full-color pictures are those from the Spirit and Opportunity Mars landers, the Chandra X-ray Observatory Chandra X-ray Observatory U.S. X-ray space telescope. It was named after astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and was launched into orbit in 1999. Its mirror, with an aperture of 1.2 m (4 ft) and a focal length of 10 m (33 ft), produces unprecedented resolution. , the European Space Agency's Huygens probe The Huygens probe, supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens, is an atmospheric entry probe and lander carried to Saturn's moon Titan as part of the Cassini-Huygens mission. , the Spitzer Space Telescope Spitzer Space Telescope: see infrared astronomy; observatory, orbiting. and the Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the first large optical orbiting observatory. Built from 1978 to 1990 at a cost of $1.5 billion, the HST (named for astronomer E. P. Hubble) was expected to provide the clearest view yet obtained of the universe. . These photographs include the pinpoints of stellar light making up the M13 globular cluster, Venus transiting across the face of the sun, the Horsehead nebula, the Crab pulsar, and the tentacles of the Tarantula nebula. Earthly images include pictures of the northern lights, a rare lenticular cloud over Hawaii, and sunrise over Mount Kilimanjaro. Each image is accompanied by scientific information. Abrams, 2006, 744 p., color images, hardcover, $29.95. |
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