Astronomy Picture of the Day - August 31st, 2020 - SS 433: Binary Star Micro-Quasar (Narrated by Emma) SS 433 is one of the most exotic star systems known. Its unremarkable name stems from its inclusion in a catalog of Milky Way stars which emit radiation characteristic of atomic hydrogen. Its remarkable behavior stems from a compact object, a black hole or neutron star, which has produced an accretion disk with jets. Because the disk and jets from SS 433 resemble those surrounding supermassive black holes in the centers of distant galaxies, SS 433 is considered a micro-quasar. As illustrated in the animated featured video based on observational data, a massive, hot, normal star is locked in orbit with the compact object. As the video starts, material is shown being gravitationally ripped from the normal star and falling onto an accretion disk. The central star also blasts out jets of ionized gas in opposite directions – each at about 1/4 the speed of light. The video then pans out to show a top view of the precessing jets producing an expanding spiral. From even greater distances, the dissipating jets are then visualized near the heart of supernova remnant W50. Two years ago, SS 433 was unexpectedly found by the HAWC detector array in Mexico to emit unusually high energy (TeV-range) gamma-rays. Surprises continue, as a recent analysis of archival data taken by NASA's Fermi satellite find a gamma-ray source -- separated from the central stars as shown -- that pulses in gamma-rays with a period of 162 days – the same as SS 433's jet precession period – for reasons yet unknown. Teachers & Students: Ideas for utilizing APOD in the classroom. Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200831.html This video was auto generated using data from NASA Open API. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UBCuaNY5Q8

Wikipedia Picture of the Day - December 2nd, 2019 - Golden Summer, Eaglemont (Narrated by Brian) Golden Summer, Eaglemont, is an 1889 oil-on-canvas landscape painting by Australian artist Arthur Streeton. Painted en plein air at the height of a summer drought, it depicts a sunlit, undulating plain, stretching away to the distant blue Dandenong Ranges, outside Melbourne. In 1892, it became the first painting by an Australian-born artist to be exhibited at London's Royal Academy of Arts. Regarded as a masterpiece of Australian impressionism, it is currently on display at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, which acquired the painting in 1995 for A$3.5 million, a record price for an Australian painting at that time. Painting credit: Arthur Streeton Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:POTD/2019-12-02 This video was auto generated using data and media from Wikipedia. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY9AKnvRFqA

Wikipedia Picture of the Day - March 9th, 2024 - Spotted pardalote (Narrated by Amy) The spotted pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus) is a small passerine bird native to eastern and southern Australia, at elevations of up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). It is part of the pardalote family, Pardalotidae. Weighing around 6 grams (0.21 oz), with a length of 8 to 10 cm (3.1 to 3.9 in), the adult male of the nominate subspecies has grey-brown upperparts with numerous paler buff spots, a black crown, wings and tail all with white spots, white eyebrows and reddish rump. The female is duller overall. This female spotted pardalote was photographed close to Glen Davis, New South Wales, Australia. Photograph credit: J. J. Harrison Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:POTD/2024-03-09 This video was auto generated using data and media from Wikipedia. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0RKLq8Q2q4

Astronomy Picture of the Day - April 23rd, 2024 - Contrail Shadow X (Narrated by Amy) What created this giant X in the clouds? It was the shadow of contrails illuminated from below. When airplanes fly, humid engine exhaust may form water droplets that might freeze in Earth's cold upper atmosphere. These persistent streams of water and ice scatter light from the Sun above and so appear bright from below. On rare occasions, though, when the Sun is near the horizon, contrails can be lit from below. These contrails cast long shadows upwards, shadows that usually go unseen unless there is a high cloud deck. But that was just the case over Istanbul, Türkiye, earlier this month. Contrails occur all over planet Earth and, generally, warm the Earth when the trap infrared light but cool the Earth when they efficiently reflect sunlight. The image was taken by a surprised photographer in the morning on the way to work. Image Credit & Copyright: Fatih Ekmen Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240423.html This video was auto generated using data from NASA Open API. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMgKkGVBDwY