Head in the Clouds Amherst: Interstellar Christmas Tree

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Interstellar Christmas Tree

This photo of the Christmas Tree Cluster was taken with the Wide Field Imager at ESO’s La Silla Observatory, 2400m high in the Atacama Desert of Chile in the foothills of the Andes. The image shows a region of space about 30 light-years across.

Just as weather clouds breed rain, molecular clouds breed stars. They are a form of interstellar cloud, and this one in the Monoceros constellation is known as the "Christmas Tree Cluster." It has a triangular arrangement of stars that is shaped like a Christmas tree, and it was so nicknamed by amateur astronomers who noticed the resemblance. Buried within the constellation is a compact group of red protostars. These newborns, swaddled in the surrounding molecular cloud, form the pattern of a snowflake. Perhaps not surprisingly, astronomers have nicknamed this part of the Christmas Tree Cluster, the "Snowflake Cluster." (Posting courtesy of the Cloud Appreciation Society)

Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating today from Head in the Clouds Amherst!

No comments:

Post a Comment

On Puffer's Pond

Saturday, February 4, 2023, 3:35 pm: The past two days have seen record-breaking cold in the area, with the temperature dipping to -14F overnight, Friday into Saturday. To make matters worse, the wind was unyielding, whipping through the trees and driving wind chill readings down to -40F. In a season that had been unusually mild up until that point, it was something of a shock. Local residents were suddenly forced to think about warming up their cars, preventing pipes from freezing, and dressing in multiple layers to walk their dogs. By Saturday, while many were happy to hunker down and wait for temperatures to stop breaking low records, this was the moment that ice fishers and skaters had been waiting for all winter. With temps hovering around 12F (albeit above zero) by Saturday afternoon, Puffer's Pond was the place to be for about 30 people, many of whom were spread out over the ice, either ice fishing or playing hockey. While this is a fairly typical sight at Puffer's in the coldest winter months, our current lack of snow made it unique. No one had to contend with snowpack - the skaters didn't even have to clear a "field" for their game. And with all the hiking paths snow and ice-free, photographers had no trouble capturing water flowing through, under, and around layers of ice on the water. And, still, at 12F, without hand and foot warmers, I did not linger long. The temps will be rising quickly in the coming week, climbing well above freezing, even to 50F in the days to come. So, I'm guessing the skaters and ice fishers also won't be here much longer.

(Read past entries here.)

Pages

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Interstellar Christmas Tree

No comments:

Post a Comment