The Astronomy Thread.

[arthwollipot]

I'm not sure I get it, why is it fun pretending Titan is a moon of Jupiter?

Think of the acronym...

 

[The Atheist]

Sadly, A1 didn't make it past the sun, disintegrating yesterday.

Still a chance of the debris lighting up a la Lovejoy, so I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[The Atheist]

Video of A1 exploding:

'The comet went in, but only a cloud of debris came out': Watch bright Comet MAPS get torn apart by the sun

New images show the sungrazer comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) did not survive its close approach to our home star. Instead, the celestial object briefly turned into a "headless wonder" before fully disintegrating.

www.livescience.com

And we get a second chance at seeing a comet, although you probably will need a telescope: https://www.livescience.com/space/c...rs-as-it-brightens-in-the-night-sky-this-week

 

[The Atheist]

Lyrid meteors peak tonight at >20 per hour with luck.

Impressive meteors, and of course it's cloudy here.

Lyrid meteor shower 2026: Ideal conditions forecast for peak of display

The Lyrid meteor shower is the oldest recorded and Wednesday brings near perfect weather conditions to see them as they peak. Simon King explains.

www.bbc.com

 

[The Atheist]

This is cool!

Hiding behind the glare and dust of the Milky Way's thickest part is a structure so huge it may contain millions of galaxies, all bound together by a common gravity.

Thanks to some clever people and superb tech, we're gradually starting to learn about it and a preliminary map has been released. I'm waiting for the life-sized one.

Their findings revealed that the structure is around 300 million light-years across — about 3,000 times wider than the Milky Way — and contains an enormous amount of matter equivalent to about 30 quadrillion suns*, the researchers wrote in a statement.

Astronomers just mapped one of the largest structures in the universe, long hidden behind the Milky Way's 'Zone of Avoidance'

Scientists have mapped the extent of the Vela Supercluster for the first time, and determined that it is one of the largest structures in the universe.

www.livescience.com

*conversions to Rhode Islands unavailable at this time.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Proving once again how right J. B. S. Haldane was.

Quote Origin: The Universe Is Not Only Queerer Than We Suppose, But Queerer Than We Can Suppose – Quote Investigator®

quoteinvestigator.com

 

[The Atheist]

Jupiter & Venus are particularly close together right now, soon after sunset, about 15 degrees off the horizon at full darkness.

I think they're even closer tomorrow. Tonight's separation is about 2.5 degrees.

The Galilean moons are just visible, with Jupiter at almost its furthest from us.

Venus is boring but bright.

 

[PSXer]

Does the Great Red Spot still exist? I haven't looked in a while.

 

[JayUtah]

Does the Great Red Spot still exist? I haven't looked in a while.

Long term shrinking, short term oscillating. Still there, but smaller than it was when first observed.