Well I was l looking over the news today and found a link to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. This is the link: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2009/pr200903.html The article there states that "astronomers making high-precision measurements of the Milky Way say our Galaxy is rotating about 100,000 miles per hour faster than previously understood." Basically the article states that the increase speed means the mass of the Milky Way is 50 percent greater, which brings the Milky Way even with Andromeda. Their is also an article over at CBS News at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/06/tech/main4700861.shtml? tag=topHome;topStories Mark Reid, the study author states that the Milky Way is no longer the little sister of Andromeda, but the fraternal twin of Andromeda. Also of interest is they now believe the Milky Way has four arms, not just two. Anyway, I found it interesting and though I would share. Enjoy and Clear good skies (sometime?). Jay
I've always thought of Andromeda as a distant cousin instead of a twin. You only hear from it when it needs money. Doesn't it have something like twice the number of satellite globulars that the Milky Way has? On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 11:05 PM, JayLEads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
Well I was l looking over the news today and found a link to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. This is the link:
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2009/pr200903.html
The article there states that "astronomers making high-precision measurements of the Milky Way say our Galaxy is rotating about 100,000 miles per hour faster than previously understood."
Basically the article states that the increase speed means the mass of the Milky Way is 50 percent greater, which brings the Milky Way even with Andromeda.
Their is also an article over at CBS News at
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/06/tech/main4700861.shtml? tag=topHome;topStories
Mark Reid, the study author states that the Milky Way is no longer the little sister of Andromeda, but the fraternal twin of Andromeda.
Also of interest is they now believe the Milky Way has four arms, not just two.
I was just checking out the moon while my optics cooled. Thought I might check out a few doubles tonight which is about all I can do with the moon the way it is. I was cursing the Southern Highlands when I notices this long looking crater south of Tycho a ways. I thought it was actually round but only looked oval because of it’s location. Turns out that it is the crater Schiller; 71 km wide and 179 km long. Interesting since over 90% of the creators are more round than oval. I am guessing that the impact that created Schiller must have been quite oblique. No spray visible though like there is on Tycho. Well, gotta go. My doubles are waiting. jg
I seem to remember reading long ago that it takes a shallow impact angle of less than 20 degrees for an oblong crater to result. I bet Kurt can locate (or already knows) the actual critical angle. 2009/1/7 Jim Gibson <jimgibson00@yahoo.com>
I was just checking out the moon while my optics cooled. Thought I might check out a few doubles tonight which is about all I can do with the moon the way it is.
I was cursing the Southern Highlands when I notices this long looking crater south of Tycho a ways. I thought it was actually round but only looked oval because of it's location. Turns out that it is the crater Schiller; 71 km wide and 179 km long. Interesting since over 90% of the creators are more round than oval. I am guessing that the impact that created Schiller must have been quite oblique. No spray visible though like there is on Tycho.
participants (3)
-
Chuck Hards -
JayLEads -
Jim Gibson