Cool Atmospheric Pictures

I LOVE that first one. I think I could look at it for an hour and keep seeing new cool things. Thanks for posting!

Er... "Astrologist"???!!!

Zz.

Yeah! He's not an Astrologist, he's an ASTRONOMER!!

LOL

Well, I'm not even that!

Zz.

Zapperz is a ROCKET SCIENTIST, everyone. ROCKET SCIENTIST. Sheesh.

What is a "rocket"?

Zz.

A type of lettuce. No worries.

I hadn't been to NASA's website in years; I'm glad I did (because of this thread)! Thanks Brad.

Lots of imagery I find interesting on this topic, but this one I found just astounding. So much so, that I came back to WDWFG just to share it.

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/228177main_Red-Dwarf-Flare-Full_full.jpg

That's amazing. With what was it taken, does it mention? (Which satellite?)

From NASA:

Pipsqueak Star Unleashes Monster FlareFor many years
scientists have known that our sun gives off powerful explosions, known
as flares, that contain millions of times more energy than atomic bombs.

But when astronomers compare flares from the sun to flares on other
stars, the sun's flares lose. On April 25, 2008, NASA's Swift satellite
picked up a record-setting flare from a star known as EV Lacertae. This
flare was thousands of times more powerful than the greatest observed
solar flare. But because EV Lacertae is much farther from Earth than
the sun, the flare did not appear as bright as a solar flare. Still, it
was the brightest flare ever seen from a star other than the sun.

What makes the flare particularly interesting is the star. EV Lacertae
is much smaller and dimmer than our sun. In other words, a tiny, wimpy
star is capable of packing a very powerful punch.

How can such
a small star produce such a powerful flare? The answer can be found in
EV Lacertae's youth. Whereas our sun is a middle-aged star, EV Lacertae
is a toddler. The star is much younger than our sun, and is still
spinning rapidly. The fast spin, together with its churning interior,
whips up gases to produce a magnetic field that is much more powerful
than the sun's magnetic field.

Image Credit: Casey Reed/NASA

edit: In retrospect, the language reads that a satellite "...picked up a record-setting flare..." which led me to believe it was not a conceptual image (because most of the hundreds I looked over, state clearly that it was a conceptual/artist rendition). That said, I'm now thinking it is not actual imagery.

Thanks for the post, LIFL. I find all of that stuff fascinating, whether it is a conceptual image or not.