The Spider And The Fly - IC 417

Crab Pulsar at the core of the Crab Nebula

Andromeda glowing in infrared.

Valles Marineris. “Grand Canyon” of Mars.

Image Credit: Viking Project, USGS, NASA

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Spiral galaxy NGC 4911 in the Coma Cluster

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Orion Nebula from HAWK-1 js

Rho Ophiuchi

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 2016 August 31 

Annular Solar Eclipse over New Mexico 

What is this person doing? In 2012 an annular eclipse of the Sun was visible over a narrow path that crossed the northern Pacific Ocean and several western US states. In an annular solar eclipse, the Moon is too far from the Earth to block out the entire Sun, leaving the Sun peeking out over the Moon’s disk in a ring of fire. To capture this unusual solar event, an industrious photographer drove from Arizona to New Mexico to find just the right vista. After setting up and just as the eclipsed Sun was setting over a ridge about 0.5 kilometers away, a person unknowingly walked right into the shot. Although grateful for the unexpected human element, the photographer never learned the identity of the silhouetted interloper. It appears likely, though, that the person is holding a circular device that would enable them to get their own view of the eclipse. The shot was taken at sunset on 2012 May 20 at 7:36 pm local time from a park near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Tomorrow another annular solar eclipse will become visible, this time along a path crossing Africa and Madagascar.

Very colorful clouds of Rho Ophiuchi.

Image Credit & Copyright: Tom Masterson, ESO’s DSS

What is the difference between a supernova and a hypernova?

That’s a really good question, and the simple answer is that a hypernova produces way more energy than a standard supernova. Supernovae are known as being bright explosions from massive stars, and their remnant is usually a neutron star.

Hypernovae, however, more commonly produce black holes due to being from stars more massive than those that cause supernovae. Often time, they appear brighter too, which is why an alternate name for hypernovae is “superluminous supernovae”. Hypernovae are sometimes also the cause of gamma-ray bursts, a dangerous release of energy so high that it will fry anything in its path.

Thanks for asking! :)