PIX4569806: Comete Hale - Bopp and clusters open M34 - 04/1997 - Comet Hale - Bopp with open cluster M34 - This is the beautiful Comet Hale - Bopp as it as it passed by (from our point of view) the star cluster M34 in April of 1997. The solid portion or nucleus of the comet is made up of ice, frozen gases, dust and small rock. Compared to most comets Hale - Bopp is very large - about 35 kilometers in diameter. As its orbit brought it closer to the sun, the frozen mass began to melt and a coma, which is a gaseous cloud, developed around the nucleus. This coma has grown to be hundreds of thousands of miles in diameter. Finally the tail developed which became millions of miles long. (4 min. exposure on Kodak Pro 400 PPF film with 8 inch f/1.5 Schmidt camera / Bridgeman Images
PIX4569939: Halley's comet - Halley's comet - Halley's comet seen on April 10, 1986 in Peru. Glowing at 6th magnitude, Comet Halley exhibits a faint 90 degree wide fan - shaped dust tail. The dust tail is very difficult to see in this photo because it is superimposed on the bright background of the Milky Way. The blue ion tail is a bit easier to see, trailing off to the upper right of the coma. This photo was taken on April 10 1986, the day of Halley's closest approach to the Earth. Stars appear as streaks because the photo was guided on the comet which was moving rapidly relative to the starry background / Bridgeman Images
PIX4569042: The cluster of stars Pismis 24 in the Scorpio - Pismis 24 star cluster in Scorpius - This image shows the cluster of young stars Pismis 24, located about 8000 years - light in the nebula NGC 6357 of the Scorpio. This cluster is home to some of the most massive stars known to date. Image made with the 1.5m Danish telescope of La Silla in Chile in 2009. Located near the famous “” Cat Paw”” nebula (NGC 6334), the Stellar Cluster Pismis 24 lies at the core of NGC 6357. Its stars include some of the most massive stellar behemoths known. One of the brightest stars in the cluster, Pismis 24 - 1, was thought possibly to be the most massive on record, approaching 300 solar masses, until it was discovered by the Hubble Telescope to be a triple star, with large components exceeding 100 solar masses. Several of the other central stars also exceed 100 solar masses. The nebulosity visible in the image shows the effects of intense radiation which has sculpted the clouds into curious shapes. Massive protostars, invisible to optical telescopes, lie hidden within the gas and dust of the region. Image taken with the ESO/Danish 1.5m telescope at La Silla observatory in Chile / Bridgeman Images
PIX4569219: Sundial of the Convent de la Merci (Paris 3e) - Sundial in Paris: Sundial of the afternoon of the Convent de la Merci in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. It indicates solar time from XI to V hours, with half hour indication. Painted on a grey background, it is surmounted by the Latin motto “Utere Dumlycet “” (enjoy, as long as possible). Sundial located in Convent de la Merci, Paris 3rd / Bridgeman Images
PIX4568304: Open clusters M6 and M7 in Scorpio - Open clusters M6 and M7 in Scorpius - The star clusters M6 (NGC 6405), at the bottom right, and M7 (NGC 6475), at the left center, are two open clusters located in the constellation Scorpio. Star clusters M6 (NGC 6405), bottom right, and M7 (NGC 6475), center left, are two open clusters located in the Scorpius constellation / Bridgeman Images
PIX4568412: Open cluster M11 in the ecu de sobieski - M11 open cluster in Scutum - M11, NGC 6705, is an open cluster especially compact and rich in stars (about 3000), located in the constellation Ecu de Sobieski. M11 is one of the most condensed open clusters in the sky. An intriguing and tantalizing sight in binoculars, it is wonderful in a telescope, and is many observer's favorite open cluster. Located in the constellation of Scutum, it is sometimes mistaken for a loose globular cluster. M11 is also called the “” Wild Duck Cluster”” because of it's resemblance to a flight of wild ducks when viewed in a telescope. M11, with an overall brightness of magnitude 5.8, contains as many as 500 stars ranging from 8th magnitude down to 14th magnitude / Bridgeman Images
PIX4569138: Supermassif black hole - Artist's view - Supermassive black hole with torn-apart star (artist's impression): Artist's view of a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy. This artist's impression depicts a rapidly spinning supermassive black hole surrounded by an accretion disc. This thin disc of rotating material consists of the leftovers of a Sun-like star which was ripped apart by the tidal forces of the black hole. Shocks in the colliding debris as well as heat generated in accretion led to a burst of light, resembling a supernova explosion / Bridgeman Images
PIX4569144: Occator Crater on Ceres - Occator Crater on Ceres: View of Occator crater in the northern hemisphere of the dwarf planet Ceres. Occator is 92 km wide and 4 km deep. Bright spots are visible, probably salt deposits. Mosaic of images taken by the Dawn probe. Occator Crater, home of Ceres' intriguing brightest areas, is 57 miles (92 kilometers) wide and 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) deep. Occator displays evidence of recent geologic activity. The latest research suggests that the bright material in this crater is comprised of salts left behind after a briny liquid emerged from below, froze and then sublimated, meaning it turned from ice into vapor. Mosaic of images taken by Dawn spacecraft / Bridgeman Images
PIX4569375: Sundial - Invalides - Paris - Sundial in Paris - Hotel des Invalides: The sundials of the southern facade of the monument of the Hotel des Invalides. In the court of honour, the hour was given on each facade: to the north, by a clock and on the other three facades, by seven solar dials. If the clock is missing, the dials are still visible / Bridgeman Images
PIX4569594: Comete Hale - Bopp - Comet Hale - Bopp C/1995 - Comete Hale - Bopp seen on April 2, 1997, one day after his passage to the perihelie. The Hyades cluster is visible at the top left, then to the right, the Pleiades, Persee, Andromede and Cassiopee. Mercury lies on the mountains at the bottom left of the picture. Comet Hale - Bopp is seen here on April 2, 1997, one day after Perihelion. This is a wide angle shot with the Hyades on the far upper left, then the Pleaides, Perseus, Andromeda and Cassiopeia. Mercury is setting just over the mountains at lower left. Cassel Observatory, New Buffalo, PA, US / Bridgeman Images