Ring around the galaxy.
Description: A small satellite galaxy, seen as an orange blob, gets stretched into a ribbon of stars as it’s pulled apart by a larger spiral galaxy in an artist’s impression.
Previously, astronomers had used detailed computer models to show how tidal streams and other signatures of galaxy digestion might look around spiral galaxies. The new survey has shown that all the predicted features actually exist in the universe—strong evidence that current models of galaxy evolution are on the right track, the study authors say.
2011/02/08
What’s happening above the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador? Quite a bit, from the looks of the above one-night, time-lapse movie, taken earlier this month. The majestic volcano is first seen through breaks in fast moving clouds as the movie begins. Soon the clouds have dissipated and a sky filled with stars seems to rotate about the snow-peaked volcano’s peak. The band of our Milky Way Galaxy, the dark Coal Sack nebula, and the Southern Cross can all be seen overhead. Satellites streak by from several directions. Soon thin clouds roll by and seem to make the brightest stars sparkle. On the volcano, the lights of climbers flash. Near the end of the movie, a bright airplane passes over the peak with a residual trail seen drifting away.
via APOD
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