Picture Of The Day 2 - December 21, 2018

Like the gaping mouth of a gigantic celestial creature, the cometary globule CG4 glows menacingly in this image from ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Although it looks huge and bright in this image it is actually a faint nebula and not easy to observe. The exact nature of CG4 remains a mystery.

Credit: ESO

Amazing Star Trails (Lincoln Harrison)

Saturn, rings and moons

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/Kevin M. Gill

Picture of the day - December 26, 2018

Insight A System - Ninth Planet (Insight A-IX)

Insight A-IX is the Insight A systems second largest and second most massive planet. It is an ice giant 17.40 times more massive than Earth, and has a radius of 3.28 Earth Radii. The planet is surrounded by a narrow yet well structured ring system, and a system of 6 small ellipsoidal satellites.

The planet orbits it’s sun at an average distance of 7.34 AU, completing 1 orbit every 18.35 Years. A day on the planet lasts just 9 hours and 6 minutes. The planet has a thick hydrogen/ helium atmosphere, and has an average atmospheric temperature of -279 F.

High Resolution Pictures

Insight A-IX

Small moon

Narrow Rings

Ring Closeup

Crescent

Oculus System - Post 2 (Inner-most Planet)

The inner-most planet is a Chthonian Planet, or the core remnant of a large Ice of Gas Giant that lost its atmosphere to the solar winds. The planet is a Super-Earth mass world of 8.4 Earth Masses and a radius of 1.56 Earth’s or 9,954 kilometers in radius. The planet is extremely dense, being made almost entirely out of compressed metals with a thin silicate crust. It has an average density of 12.1 g/cm³. The surface experiences a gravitational force of 3.44 g.

This world has a water-vapor atmosphere that generates a powerful greenhouse effect on the surface. Surface temperatures reach 1,623 °F, and sodium and potassium clouds circle the planet. Pressure on the surface is so extreme, the atmosphere exists as a super-critical fluid, with an atmospheric pressure 6,511 times that of Earth. The atmosphere reflects enough sunlight that the day-side has a bright-white color that drowns out the glowing clouds.

High Resolution Pictures

Picture 1 - Inner-Hell

Picture 2 - Tiny Moon

Picture 3 - Glowing Storms

Picture 4 - Steamy Atmosphere

Blue Abyss

Picture of the Day - October 24, 2018

Planet and it’s star viewed against the backdrop of a large nebula.

Picture of the Day - January 6, 2019

Ringed ice giant orbiting a star located near a beautiful red-colored nebula.

Space Engine System ID: RS 8550-3584-8-657793-464 5 to visit the planet in Space Engine.

PS: I apologize for the inconsistency of pictures lately. Personal issues are making my regular post schedule something erratic.

Triangulum Log - Post 2 - The Outskirts

More pics of the system. Notice the lack of stars in the background. The system being a runaway star, is quickly escaping the galaxy. The nearest stars are more than 1,000 light years away. Interesting enough in this system, while the major planets orbit the system’s common center of mass, a dense asteroid belt and 3 dwarf planets directly orbit the system’s black hole. The dwarf planets and asteroids likely formed out of some of the remaining debris from the supernova that created the black hole.

The last two pics are a massive red moon orbiting the systems 7th planet. The moon has a very Mars-like feel to it.

Pictures of the day - November 13, 2018

Tempus System - First Round of Pictures

I’ve decided to showcase another system, and here are the pics of a system in the Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxy I am calling the Tempus System

Space Engine System ID: RS-8475-7-6-4-195

High Resolution Pictures

Mars-Like World

Crescent

Scorched Surface

Cold battered desert moon

Orbital Closeup

Dim suns

Distant giant

Another ring shot