Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) taken by Auvo Korpi on January 27 2023.
During the formation of the sun, there was a protoplanetary disk (cloud of debris and gas) that orbited around it. The farthest parts of this disk were far from the heat emitted, and cooled down. The cold material clumped with frozen gasses and water, creating icy rocks.
These rocks orbit far away from the sun in huge elliptical orbits, in the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud. At one point, the icy rocks get closer to the sun. The ice is heated and releases dust, known as the comet’s trail.
Comet ZTF was first discovered in March 2022, but came closest to Earth in a long time in January of 2023. At first, the comet was believed to be an asteroid, but when it got closer to the sun, it was observed to have its signature green glow.
The green comes from the diatomic carbon, which is part of the comet’s atmosphere. As it got closer to the sun, the molecules became excited and radiate green light. This is also why the green color doesn’t extend to the tail, instead it is happening in the comet’s nucleus.
I remember going out with my telescope around this time to view the comet. At that point I think it was just above the Taurus constellation, and I had a lot of trouble angling the lens to point that high up.
I don’t remember being able to see the tail, but just with the naked eye, I could see the comet’s light. I can’t believe it’s already been two years since then. Time really flies.
In this video, take a flight through millions of galaxies mapped using coordinate data from DESI.
Credit: Fiske Planetarium, CU Boulder and DESI collaboration
astrohumanist
Thor's Helmet taken by Chris DeCosta and Martin Pugh on February 28 2019
NGC 2359, also referred to as Thor's Helmet, is an emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major. At the heart of this nebula is a Wolf-Rayet star WR7, which is in this phase briefly before a supernova occurs.
The bubble appearance of this nebula is due to the strong stellar winds coming from WR7. These winds contribute to forming a complex structure, with a huge mass of ionized material. The high energy radiation coming from the star ionizes hydrogen to produce red light and doubly ionizes oxygen to produce blue light.
The gas absorbs and then reemits this light, leading to the name of "emission nebula".
✦ 4. 5. 25 ✦📓✦ Sunday ✦ 28 days until exams
🗒 What I did today:
history summary (almost done)
physics study
art assignment idea sketch
emails...
I was like: Hm, I don't feel awake, I need something to give me energy and preferrably has a bitter taste to keep me going - fully forgetting that coffee exists. After an embarassing long time I remembered and made myself some.
Also I need to lock in more, like much much more; I tried to do math and immediately closed the paper because ain't no way I'm doing that - problem is: I literally have to TT. Ehhh I probably have to think this through again. A month left until my last high school written exams - let's hope I sort this out in time. Right now I'm still vibing somehow
♫₊˚.🎧 ▷▷ Beatiful Mind (Album) - Xdheroes [Headphones are not enough I need it in my veins]
Ever find yourself crashing out after a long day at school, sitting on your bed watching Netflix, and getting nothing done? It sounds horrible when I put it that way. Bed rotting, doom scrolling, whatever it is, it’s never a fun thing.
Here’s the thing though— it doesn’t have to feel that way.
There are two states that we can consider you to be in. Focus and Relaxation. The situation I described above is caught in between these two states. You want to be in a focus state, but you’re overwhelmed and stuck in your relaxation state. The opposite is also true. You try to get work done but catch yourself distracted, on your phone, instead. You are in a focus state, but you want to be in a relaxation state.
The number one change you can do to help your mental health is to choose a side.
When you are in your focus state, commit. You put your best effort in and keep your mind engaged in what you are working on. No distractions. This is going to help you get so much more work done in a shorter period of time. As you practice this, you are going to realize that when you are in your focus state, distractions are less enticing and you will be able to maintain it for longer.
Disclaimer: if you have to tell yourself to “lock in” you aren’t doing it right. Forcing yourself into a focus state is never going to work, it's just going to lead to that same, tiring, useless feeling.
To actually decompress and feel happier, you can’t have second thoughts in your relaxation. Set a timer if you have to, but you need to let yourself enjoy whatever you are doing. Imagine this: after a long hard day, you treat yourself by getting some popcorn, bundle yourself up in blankets, dim the lights, and get to watch the movie that’s been on your bucket list for the past week. So much better than what we started with, right? The cycle of guilt relaxation starts with wanting to decompress but feeling guilty the whole time. You don’t rest and aren’t happy because all you’ve been thinking about is “I have to get work done.” Instead, you get more tired, and you need to continue laying around or scrolling on your phone.
You don’t have to change your entire routine— just be more mindful about which state you are in and how you can take advantage of that.
studying outside ✨ but then getting nothing done bc the weathers nice…. still have to finish up my notes for astrophysics and then go through the lectures for e&m
Rosette Nebula taken by Suzanne Beers on January 29 2024
The Rosette Nebula is part of the Milky Way Galaxy and is located 5,000 light years away from Earth. The Rosette Nebula is an emission nebula (not to be confused with planetary nebula).
These kinds of nebula are formed around massive, hot stars, whose ultraviolet radiation ionizes the surrounding gas. The excited atoms in the nebula also emit radiation, causing the nebula's glow.
The Rosette Nebula is also home to star forming regions, as observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These are especially concentrated in the bottom of the nebula, although it is difficult to see in this image. Note that this photo uses the Hubble color palette.
regaining momentum ♡
ps: i received roses!
“the best revenge is massive success,"