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I thought it would be really cool to see what each person's birth dated pictures (NASA daily pics) of the most recent would be and ask each of you to post your date, and I will post that date's picture up, along with your 9 mnth prior from the departure from the womb.

So please leave me only your birthdate, and I will work out both the pictures and post them of each of you! =]

This is mine, but of last year's

2010 January 14

M94: A New Perspective
Image Credit & Copyright: R Jay Gabany (Blackbird Obs.)
Collaboration: I. Trujillo, I. Martinez-Valpuesta, D. Martinez-Delgado ( IAC); J. Penarrubia (IoA Cambridge); M. Pohlen (Cardiff)

Explanation: Beautiful island universe M94 lies a mere 15 million light-years distant in the northern constellation of the hunting dogs,Canes Venatici. A popular target for astronomers, the brighter inner part of the face-on spiral galaxy is about 30,000 light-years across. Traditionally, deep images have been interpreted as showing M94's inner spiral region surrounded by a faint, broad ring of stars. But a new multi-wavelength investigation has revealed previously undetected spiral arms sweeping across the outskirts of the galaxy's disk, an outer disk actively engaged in star formation. At optical wavelengths, M94's outer spiral arms are followed in thisremarkable discovery image, processed to enhance the outer disk structure. Background galaxies are visible through the faint outer arms, while the three spiky foreground stars are in our own Milky Way galaxy.

and 9 mnths prior

2009 April 14

M101: The Pinwheel Galaxy
Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona

Explanation: Why do many galaxies appear as spirals? A striking example is M101, shown above, whose relatively close distance of about 27 million light years allows it to be studied in some detail. Recent evidence indicates that a close gravitational interaction with a neighboring galaxy created waves of high mass and condensed gas which continue to orbit the galaxy center. These wavescompress existing gas and cause star formation. One result is that M101, also called the Pinwheel Galaxy, has several extremelybright star-forming regions (called HII regions) spread across its spiral arms. M101 is so large that its immense gravity distortssmaller nearby galaxies.

and now this year's

2011 January 14

Quadrantids over Qumis
Image Credit & Copyright: Babak Tafreshi (TWAN)

Explanation: The Quadrantid Meteor Shower is an annual event for planet Earth's northern hemisphere skygazers. It usually peaks briefly in the cold, early morning hours of January 4. The shower is named for its radiant point on the sky within the old, astronomically obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis. That position is situated near the boundaries of the modern constellations Hercules, Bootes, and Draco. In this haunting time exposure, two quadrantid meteor streaks are captured crossing trails left by rising stars of the constellations Virgo and Corvus, but Saturn leaves the brightest "star" trail. The meteor streaks, one bright and one faint, are nearly parallel above and right of center in the frame. Fittingly, the old cistern structure in the foreground lies above the nowburied city of Qumis. Known as a city of many gates, Qumis (in Greek history Hecatompylos), was founded 2300 years ago in ancient Persia.

with 9 mnths prior

2010 April 14

A Large Space Station Over Earth
Credit: STS-131 Crew, Expedition 23 Crew, NASA

Explanation: The International Space Station is the largest object ever constructed by humans in space. The station perimeter now extends over roughly the area of a football field, although only a small fraction of this is composed of modules habitable by humans. The station is so large that it could not be launched all at once -- it is being built piecemeal with large sections added continually by flights of the Space Shuttle. To function, the ISS needs huge trusses, some over 15 meters long and with masses over 10,000 kilograms, to keep it rigid and to route electricity and liquid coolants. Pictured above, part of the immense space station was photographed out of a window by a member of the visiting Space Shuttle Discovery STS-131 crew. Visible in the foreground isJapan's Kibo research module, while a large truss is visible toward the left. On the far right, a crescent Earth slices through the blackness of space.

I'm looking forward to doing each of yours, so please, feel free to post your date for me, thank you! =]

Clarity

Super Admins

Admins