Hi, Steve,

Here is the link:

http://astronomypictureoftheday.tumb...fect-then-this

hope I found a link that does not change tomorrow. This one does not get huge like the one you pointed out but it is still powerful in its circular pattern.

Mari

Thank you Mari. I think that you posted the picture from,"Astronomy Picture of the day". It says every day a new picture.

The post that will stay here comes from"Astronomy Picture of the day Archive." The key word in this is "Archive".

I tried to figure out how to post pictures from there to here the other night,and failed to be able to do it. BF

Hi Steve and Mari

Mari's link comes from a tumblr.com post -- the URL has a sequential index value as well as a name in it, so it should be permanent but, just in case, I am adding the APOD archive link as well, along with the explanation:

M74: The Perfect Spiral

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130811.html

Explanation: If not perfect, then this spiral galaxy is at least one of the most photogenic. An island universe of about 100 billion stars, 32 million light-years away toward the constellation Pisces, M74 presents a gorgeous face-on view. Classified as an Sc galaxy, the grand design of M74's graceful spiral arms are traced by bright blue star clusters and dark cosmic dust lanes. Constructed from image data recorded in 2003 and 2005, this sharp composite is from the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Spanning about 30,000 light-years across the face of M74, it includes exposures recording emission from hydrogen atoms, highlighting the reddish glow of the galaxy's large star-forming regions. Recently, many astronomers are tracking a bright supernova that has been seen in M74.



waves

WOW!!! what a beautiful picture, ginnie

It's interesting seeing a Galaxy from the top,or bottom. We can see the whole center,and the spiral arms of that Galaxy. We cannot see into the middle of the center of that galaxy. It's probably full of massive stars,and things that we don't know about,and possibly a black hole. It's interesting because we are not seeing the side,or a tilted view.

Otherwise it would just be another galaxy out there,and uninteresting except for a supernova that is visible to those with powerful telescopes. It's appearance is similar to what a hurricane looks like from the top,but the centers are different. A hurricane doesn't have a center over water sometimes,but the galaxy's center is loaded with massive matter,and other mysterious phenomena. On earth a hurricane is a swirl of water,and this space galaxy is loaded with stars. They both move in a similar fashion. I wonder why.

That's the only reason why I found this photograph interesting. There are billions of galaxies out there. We will see new ones as they place new,and more powerful telescopes in space in the years to come. We can see them,but it's going to stay that way. We cannot travel to them,or anywhere near them. We are here in this area for now. Light years are just to far away,and power sources between these areas may not operate with our current understanding.

I love science fiction. I love seeing stars go by on these science fiction movie ships. We are pretty much here in this solar system for a long,long time to come. I don't know of any technology that could ever take us out of the solar system,except for the Voyager 1,and 2 type missions.

How far would we want to go away from earth that is loaded with oxygen,food,and all kinds of good things anyway?

We do need to explore ways to stop asteroids from hitting earth. I think that It would be good to put space stations on the Moon,and Mars. The difficulty would be getting water out to both places. BF

HI bf,
We need those stations you mentioned. Also huge space ships full to the max with supplies to start a colony on a planet with water and the elements needed to sustain life. Any one up to a one way ticket to Galiese, or maybe titain? We ate finding planets every day. For he survival of the human race, we need to get into these actions. Steven hawkins is 100% for this to happen. I have a tendency to listen to that scientist. We need an exit to another universe. Where is that wormhole? Ginnie

Dear Mari. I hope that I didn't hurt your feelings in some of my last posts. I checked your post,and the Galaxy Post was still there. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to belittle you,or anything like that. I may have come across as being somewhat rude. I apologize. BF

Steve,

Everything is fine. It is o.k.
Mari

I loved this time-lapse video:

Noctilucent Clouds and Aurora Over Scotland

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130819.html

For those wondering:

-- What are noctilucent clouds, and what does noctilucent mean, anyway?

Here is the answer from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud:

waves

Hi all, I hope the people of Scotland, got outside and looked up at the heavens. That was a better show than what I just saw at our observatory!!!!! I got chills watching it! Thank you for posting this great vidio. ginnie