Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2016 July 15

NGC 2736: The Pencil Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Howard Hedlund & Dave Jurasevich, Las Campanas Obs.

Explanation: Moving from top to bottom in the frame near the center of this sharply detailed color composite, thin, bright, braided filaments are actually long ripples in a cosmic sheet of glowing gas seen almost edge-on. The shock wave plows through interstellar space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour. Cataloged as NGC 2736, its elongated appearance suggests its popular name, the Pencil Nebula. The Pencil Nebula is about 5 light-years long and 800 light-years away, but represents only a small part of the Vela supernova remnant. The Vela remnant itself is around 100 light-years in diameter, the expanding debris cloud of a star that was seen to explode about 11,000 years ago. Initially, the shock wave was moving at millions of kilometers per hour but has slowed considerably, sweeping up surrounding interstellar material. In the narrowband, wide field image, red and blue-green colors track the characteristic glow of ionized hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

Moon, Saturn, Antares on July 15

Tonight – July 15, 2016 – the very bright waxing gibbous moon will erase many stars from the slate of night. Will you see the planet Saturn in the moon’s glare? Probably, if you look, and if clouds don’t hide them. If not, try covering the moon with your finger to gaze at nearby Saturn. Although the supergiant red star Antares is not as bright as Saturn, it might be easier to see since it’s a little farther from the moon’s glare. Follow the links below to find out more about the two celestial lights that are closest to the moon on July 15, 2016.

Ringed planet Saturn

Supergiant star Antares

Saturn, sixth planet out from the sun, is the farthest world you can easily see with your unaided eye. It’s 10 Astronomical Units from the sun (10 times the Earth-sun distance), and, right now, it’s about 9.3 Astronomical Units from Earth. One Astronomical Unit equals about 93 million miles (150 million km).

Saturn is often called the jewel of the solar system because of its gorgeous ring system. Saturn’s rings are enormously expansive and wide, but extremely thin. The main rings extend nearly as far the moon’s distance from Earth, yet are only about one kilometer thick. With even a modest telescope, you should be able to see Saturn’s rings easily in July 2016, as they are inclined at 26^o from edge-on.

Saturn, the second-largest planet after Jupiter, has a diameter that’s a good 9 times greater than Earth’s. Like Jupiter, Saturn is a gas giant world, composed of mainly hydrogen and helium.

Unlike the inner rocky planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – Saturn and Jupiter have no solid surfaces on which to stand.

Antares is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. It is a red supergiant star. In fact, this star dwarfs the sun to almost nothingness. While the volume of the sun is approximately 1.3 million times that of our planet Earth, Antares has the volume of hundreds of millions of suns. If by some bit of magic Antares were suddenly substituted for our sun, the surface of the star would extend well past the orbit of Mars!

Antares is classified as an M1 supergiant star. The M1 designation says that Antares is reddish in color and cooler than many other stars. Its surface temperature of 3500 kelvins (about 5800 degrees F.) is in contrast to about 10,000 degrees F. for our sun.

Even though Antares’ surface temperature is relatively low, Antares’ tremendous surface area – the surface from which light can escape – makes this star very bright. In fact, Antares approaches 11,000 times the brilliance of our puny sun, a G2 star.

Stellar luminosity: The true brightnesses of stars

But that is just in visible light. When all wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation is considered, Antares pumps out more than 60,000 times the energy of our sun!

Bottom line: Look at the moon on July 15, 2016, and you’ll likely notice two nearby objects. One is the planet Saturn, and the other is the star Antares.

Author

The Words of Confucius

The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.

Your Charm for Today

Today’s Meaning:
The hand indicates you will need to extend effort to protect this aspect from outside influences. The devices attached indicate you will need tools to be successful in your protection.

General Description:
The use of a representation of the Hand as a talisman can be traced back to at least 800 years B.C., when it was used as a charm against enchantment. Many varieties of the Hand exist; in some the elaboration is very marked, each devise represents some particular charm. Life size models of these Hands were supposed to guard the house against all the influences of magic and evil, and smaller replicas protected their wearers from every description of harm. The extended thumb and first two fingers, the third and fourth fingers closed, is the position still assumed during the benediction in some Christian Churches of today.

Your Ancient Symbol Card for the Upcoming Weekend

Love

Love indicates that love is either present in our life or a distinct possibility. Be open to all possibilities, remembering that true love is given freely, without condition, and does not have to be earned. This is the kind of love we want to welcome into our life and to give to others. Be open to new ideas, and beware of judging against someone in an unloving manner. When Love appears, return to the place where you can love yourself and then seek out the same love from others.

As a daily card, Love suggests that for those who are currently in a relationship the opportunity to deepen the bond is present. For those who are single, Love implies that the prospect for them to begin a romantic relationship is very strong at this time.

Daily Witches Rune

The Birds

Keywords: Unexpected news, change.

Meanings: The Birds Rune means some unexpected news that may alter your life completely, especially if this is the leading rune. Generally, the news will lead to a positive change but pay close attention to the nearest runes to determine its nature. It can also mean news of friends or family that you haven’t had contact with in quite a while. Letters and documents should be watched for as they may well bring happiness.

Your Rune Reading for the Upcoming Weekend

The Past That Will Pay You A Visit
Laguz

Laguz is the feminine Rune. It denotes a deep sexuality and fertility. Laguz also represents that which is ever changing and renewal. You may be in a tremendous spiritual growth period.

The Present Situation You Find Yourself In
Naudhiz

Naudhiz may foretell needs unmet and friction in relationships. You may be in a time where you should be very careful in whatever endeavor you take on. Also it may be that you are about to learn some of life’s hard lessons and come out the other side of this period a stronger being.

A Sneak Peek At The Future
Ansuz

Ansuz represents mankind’s spiritual connection to God and the universe. It is often referred to as the “God Rune.” This Rune embodies reason, truth and justice. It denotes the coming of knowledge and true counsel from a higher authority.

Get A Jump On Tomorrow…..

Your Daily Horoscopes for Saturday, July 16th

by Rick Levine

Part of the Daily Insight Group

Moon in Sagittarius

The Moon is traveling through Sagittarius. The grass looks greener on the other side during this time. Jump ship. Learn a new language. Tell it like it is. Make people laugh.

The Moon is at her most optimistic and upbeat in Sagittarius. We are motivated by a need to seek the truth, and we are ready to pursue a new vision. We are not interested in details just now. Instead, we focus on the big picture. New experiences and adventures satisfy a deep emotional need. Spontaneity is the key. We may also be inclined toward overdoing and overstating. We don’t want to plan ahead, and prefer to “wing it”.

The Moon in Sagittarius generally favors the following activities: Adventurous activities that involve “winging it”, travel, higher education, starting publishing projects, advertising, sports, physical activity.

Courtesy of Cafe Astrology

If Today is Your Birthday: June 15

Your mind is lightning quick. Your unique wit, love of entertaining, and endearing nature make you a lively companion. You have a youthful quality no matter what your age. Partnership is extremely important to you–you thrive with the support of a significant other. Many of you achieve more success in business with a trusted partner.

Famous people born today: Neil Patrick Harris, Helen Hunt, Courteney Cox, Wade Boggs, Jim Belushi, Anna Torv.

Your Birthday Year Forecast:

With the Sun and Moon in harmony in your Solar Return chart, the year ahead should be satisfying and balanced overall. You are in comfortable demand and personally popular, and you are able to achieve a decent balance between work and play; personal and professional life. For the most part, you are on top of your game this year, and positive connections with others can be made fairly easily. With the ability to handle your emotions successfully, there is less stress on both your mind and body. Your self-confidence and positive attitude will reward you!

There are likely to be quite a few doors opening for you this year. Negotiations, marriage, and business partnerships benefit. Artistic talent is emphasized this year, and respected – you can truly shine. You are motivated by the desire to strike a balance in your relationships and in your personal environment. Smooth negotiations with others are sought. You are more diplomatic and gracious this year. This is a good period in your life for social affairs, pleasure, amusement, and romance.

Saturn forms an opposition to your Sun from February 2017 forward. Saturn calls upon you to identify the weaker areas of your life, and to fix or strengthen them. Take the time to sort out your life, improve your work, and to become more efficient. Taking a slow and steady approach to life is necessary now. Pushing too hard will likely lead to frustration and setbacks. Take it easy and work on self-improvement. Results are not immediate, but will eventually come and bring healthy rewards.

However, helping you out from April 2017 forward is a Uranus transit to your Sun. Exciting changes and new interests are likely during this period. It’s easier than ever to express your unique individuality, and if this involves changing careers or jobs, a new love affair, or an entirely new hobby, it’s something that takes you forward into unexplored territory. You are more willing to adapt to new circumstances, ideas, and unfamiliar situations. It’s a good time to join organizations and groups and to attend meetings or social events. You are able to find creative solutions to problems now. Flexibility is the key to success. Your personality is sparkling, which is sure to attract new circumstances and people into your life.

There may be changes in work schedules or life’s circumstances could challenge you in such a way that you need to change your goals or actions. This can also be a time when you tend to resist others and challenge them if they are trying to hold you back. Energy fluctuates this year. If you can avoid rash or impulsive moves, you could enjoy more courage than usual to do things that break the routine or clear the air.

Venus-Uranus is a favorable influence in your solar chart this year, and you can benefit from social meetings and events, as well as situations that call for treating others with equality and respect. You may lose your fear of taking risks at this time, and happily embrace all that is new, unusual, and out-of-the-ordinary with regards to romantic involvements as well as financial undertakings. This could be a good year for financial undertakings involving electronics, technology, the internet, metaphysics, and the arts, as well as group activities. You have a taste for the offbeat and this energy can bring sudden or unexpected romance into your life, perhaps a scenario that feels like love at first sight.

Your unique manner of expressing and asserting yourself is in focus and appreciated this year. Suppressed anger is more effectively released in creative ways. Physical healing can help inner healing, and vice versa.

Relationships are in strong focus this year, and cooperation comes quite easily. Your charm and attractiveness can be in the spotlight, and artistic tendencies come to the fore. It is easier than ever to express your individuality in a manner that is true to you. Communications projects move forward. Love and social matters can be exciting, although at times a little destabilizing. New and interesting experiences are likely, but energy can fluctuate and impulsive moves should be watched for.

2016 is a Number Three year for you. Ruled by Jupiter. This is a year of sociability. It is a friendly time, when it is easy to enjoy life and other people. Focus is on personal freedom, reaching out to others, making new friends, and exploration. You are more enthusiastic and ready for adventure. It is likely to be a rather lighthearted year, when opportunities for “play” time are greater than usual. It’s also a good year for expressing your creativity. Advice – reach out, but avoid scattering your energies.

2017 will be a Number Four year for you. Ruled by Uranus. This is a year of work and development. It’s “nose to the grindstone” time. It’s a time to deal with practical matters, and it’s not a time to be lazy or especially gregarious. Sometimes, it can be a year that feels hard, monotonous and routine, and/or lonely. Positive new relationships are generally not formed in a Four personal year. Advice – get yourself organized, work to build your resources, keep busy.

Courtesy of Cafe Astrology