This is a really nice analysis of the impact of proposed satellite constellations on ground-based astronomy. 🔭☄️
One thing that might otherwise get lost in the margins is that these satellite constellations would waste many, many billions of euros of government funding spent on telescopes.
Not that I would mind Tweedledum and Tweedledee as star names. Like a tea tray in the sky.
Are these IAU-approved names? I don't see them in SIMBAD.
Or perhaps people are satisfied with Star Trek and Star Wars galaxy maps? Plenty of those around. 🙄
Gaia DR4 may very well be the first Gaia data release with astrometry and photometry data accurate enough to make realistic maps of the galaxy and perhaps even reveal detailed spiral structure. So a funder could be part of an exciting breakthrough.
I keep hoping that some eccentric millionaire who has always wanted to see a real map of the galaxy would throw some spare cash my way. But nope.
I'd also be interested in any other ideas besides Kickstarter to promote these projects. Every day I see announcements for science fiction shows, movies or video games but I have found no funding sources for hard science education projects like these.
Thanks. I do need to read the paper!
Please boost the original post. I'd really like more people to see this one.
Please just like one topic. I know the choice might be difficult.
Of course I'd like to do both, but for now trying to determine the popularity.
2. Atlas of the Local Galaxy. A comprehensive set of maps based on Gaia DR4 (due to be released in December) out to 6000 parsecs (20 thousand light years) in the galactic plane.
1. Encyclopedia of the Nearest Stars. Everything that is known about the 60 brightest stars within 10 parsecs (plus a few interesting dimmer bonus stars within 10 parsecs).
Seems to be a busy day on Bluesky, so if I did a Kickstarter, like one of the following two topics.
OK, but are you saying that the main cause of the runaways is not supernovae but something else?
Is the reason a lot of supernovae blasting stars from those clusters? Sounds like a dangerous part of the local galaxy.
You would think that we'd have all the mysteries for such close stars figured out but no way.
Always nice to see a paper on one of the brighter stars within 10 parsecs.
Interesting paper led by Naira Azatyan has appeared on arxiv this morning! 🔭
They identified 26 (mostly OB) runaway stars, 7 of which confirmed to originate from clusters of the Vela OB1 association, finding that its young stellar population has a runaway fraction of ~30%.
#stellarastro
April 14, 2023: Launch of the Juice mission on an Ariane 5 launcher.
Juice images Earth during lunar-Earth flyby
First radargram from Juice’s RIME instrument
Juice's full path, 3 years into its journey.
Three years since Juice launched on its journey to Jupiter. 🧪🔭
Arriving in 2031, it will explore the giant planet and its icy ocean moons, seeking to study them as both planetary objects and possible habitats.
More info 👇 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
It is ironic that politicians and journalists often use the term "exploration" exclusively for human space travel when robotic missions have made almost all the real discoveries beyond the Earth. www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
I am especially intrigued by the complex set of star formation regions and spurs we see in NGC 1232. I believe we see something similar when the Milky Way spiral arms leave the inner galaxy.
The Milky Way looks more like other galaxies in its outskirts though. The arms are more prominent than they are for NGC 1398.
The more I look at the data for the Milky Way the more evidence I see for a large dusty circular region surrounding the bar that is crossed by two spiral arms that then wrap around the bar. I was delighted to find NGC 1398 as a good illustration of this design.
Especially beautiful image of this galaxy: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_139...
Currently looking at NGC 1398 as an example of a circular ring surrounding a bar. The inner part of the Milky Way may look a bit like this galaxy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1398
I think technically the farmers grow what are called Russet potatoes and export them to several countries but do not sell them here. There used to be a chain of restaurants that sold them but they went out of business.
I am so jealous. Dutch farmers grow jacket potatoes for export but I have not found retail sales anywhere. Really miss them.
We can see this even more clearly in this multifrequency image of NGC 1300 that includes data from VLT and ALMA.
This raises questions about what people really mean when they say that arms are connected to the "ends of the bar" when in some cases the arms seem to extend well into the bar.