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10 Famous Astrophotography Targets
The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) is currently merging with a smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5195. The two galaxies have already passed through each other once, triggering a burst of star formation in both systems. At the heart of the Whirlpool Galaxy lies a supermassive black hole with a mass equivalent to 160 billion suns. This black hole actively consumes any matter that ventures too close.
The galaxy is in a state of upheaval. Gravity is compressing cold clouds of gas, causing some to collapse and form new stars. These young, massive stars emit a bright blue glow, giving the galaxy its striking appearance. Despite being 23 million light-years away, the Whirlpool Galaxy shines vividly due to this intense activity.
It was August 21, 2017 and we were camping at Guernsey State Park in Wyoming. The excitement had built all morning as the moon slowly blocked more and more of the sun. At first, the change was barely noticeable, but as the hours passed, the pace of change quickened. In the final moments before totality, all the phases of a normal evening were compressed into several minutes. The birds prepared to roost, and the crickets started to chirp.
When the Moon swallowed up the last piece of the sun, the temperature dropped instantly, and a chilly wind began to blow. Day turned into night, and a few stars twinkled in the sky. One of my friends shouted, "There's Venus!" For the next two minutes, the crowd oohed and aahed as the surreal event unfolded.
The finale came when a tiny piece of the sun reappeared and created a perfect diamond ring effect. It only lasted two seconds, but they were two seconds we would never forget.
Check out this great video
I accidentally captured this Earth-grazing meteor while taking a set of long exposure images for a nightscape photo. It looked like a bright ball moving slowly across the sky, but in the image, it appears as a streak because of the 15-second exposure. The meteor appeared in two consecutive exposures and lasted for at least 15 seconds. It was many times brighter than the brightest stars. After a few seconds, I noticed some small pieces breaking off, and only then did I realize that I was witnessing an Earth-grazing meteor.
An Earth Grazing meteor is a type of meteor that enters the Earth's atmosphere at a very shallow angle and travels along the upper atmosphere before leaving the atmosphere again or breaking up. As the name suggests, these meteors "graze" the Earth's atmosphere, but do not actually impact the Earth's surface. Earth Grazing meteors typically move more slowly and last longer than other types of meteors because they travel a longer path through the atmosphere. They can be visible for several seconds or even minutes and may appear as a bright ball of light moving across the sky.
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