Moon
月球 (11/9/2003)
不知道是否中秋節的關係，大家都會以為八月十五的月光是最圓最靚的，但一年有很多次滿月，絕不會比中秋的遜色。然而，今日帶大家去月球上走一趟，看看平時我們看不到的地方，這裏是月球的南邊，其中一些地方長期背著地球，我們在地球上很難或者什至永遠也不能見到它們。右方黑色的是史邁司海，左邊中間的是洪保得環形山，而在史邁司海之下，由右至左的是環形山平山、斯可羅多夫斯卡(即居禮夫人)、居禮(居禮夫人的丈夫)，他們在月球上也是一起，可見環形山的命名不是胡來的。
Caption::
Leaving the scene of their explorations, the Apollo 15 astronauts photograph
the Moon's southern hemisphere shortly after firing their rocket engine
to begin the trip back to Earth. The image includes a portion of the lunar
farside, which is not visible from Earth. Mare Smythii to the right, Humboldt
Crater at the central left, whereas Craters Hirayama, Sklodowska, Curie
are along the bottom from the right to left. This view was captured by
a high-resolution camera stored in the side of the service module.
Credit::
Alfred
Worden, Project Full Moon
|
Aurora
over Clouds 雲上極光 (10/9/2003)
也不是第一次給大家看極光相了，今次的極光無之前兩張那麼奇形怪狀，但你可以看到極光和雲一起，而且高於雲層上。這正是極光形成於大氣層的頂部，遠遠高過較低的雲層。右面那個很光亮的是月亮，而湖上也有著它的倒影。
Caption::
Aurorae usually occur high above the clouds. The auroral glow is created
when fast-moving particles ejected from the Sun impact air molecules high
in the Earth's atmosphere. An oxygen molecule, for example, will glow
in a green light when reacquiring an electron lost during a collision
with a solar particle. The lowest part of an aurora will typically occur
at 100 kilometers up, while most clouds usually exist only below about
10 kilometers. The relative heights of clouds and auroras are shown clearly
in the above picture taken last month from near Quebec City, Canada. The
most likely time to see an aurora is around midnight.
Credit::
Dominic
Cantin
|
Saturn
II 土星 II (9/9/2003)
最為人熟悉的行星，一定是土星了，全因為是它那特別顯眼的環。但我想不是很多人會知道，這個土星環是會變大變小的，或者我應該說清楚，是土星看上去的角度會改變，而使我們看上去土星時，看到的土星環會變大變小。這是哈勃太空望遠鏡的新相，這時的土星正處於土星環最傾斜的時候，也是看南極和環的南端最清楚的時候。但這張相是拍攝紫外線波段的，所以看上去的顏色跟普通的有所不同。
Caption::
This is one of the series of images of Saturn, as seen at many different
wavelengths, this one is obtained by UV, when the planet's rings were
at their maximum tilt of 27 degrees toward Earth. Saturn experiences seasonal
tilts away from and toward the Sun, much the same way Earth does. This
happens over the course of its 29.5-year orbit. This means that approximately
every 30 years, Earth observers can catch their best glimpse of Saturn's
South Pole and the southern side of the planet's rings. Between March
and April 2003, researchers took full advantage to study the gas giant
at maximum tilt. They used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to capture detailed
images of Saturn's Southern Hemisphere and the southern face of its rings.
Credit::
NASA
and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona)
|
Abell
1689 (8/9/2003)
不知道大家有沒有看過這一類的相，宇宙深處的相。當我們望向宇宙的深處的時候，只會見到一片黑暗，什麼也看不到，這也跟我們肉眼看到的東西有限有關，太暗的我們的眼睛根本看不見，也只有靠儀器的幫助，才可以看到很遠很暗的宇宙深處。但宇宙的深處也不一定多姿多彩，碰巧你遇上重力透鏡的現象，才會看到圖中的境況。由哈勃太空望遠鏡拍回來的星系團Abell
1689，因為前面有一些看不見的物質令光線改變方向，所以令看到的程現多重影像，這是重力透鏡的原理。這張相比之前任何一張的透鏡相都要清楚，很多細微的地方都看得好清楚呢。
Caption::
The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
has used a natural "zoom lens" in space to boost its view of
the distant universe. Besides offering an unprecedented and dramatic new
view of the cosmos, the results promise to shed light on galaxy evolution
and dark matter in space. Hubble peered straight through the center of
one of the most massive galaxy clusters known, called Abell 1689. For
this observation, Hubble had to gaze at the distant cluster, located 2.2
billion light-years away, for more than 13 hours. The gravity of the cluster's
trillion stars — plus dark matter — acts as a 2-million-light-year-wide
"lens" in space. This "gravitational lens" bends and
magnifies the light of galaxies located far behind it, distorting their
shapes and creating multiple images of individual galaxies.
Credit::
NASA,
N. Benitez (JHU), T. Broadhurst (The Hebrew University), H. Ford (JHU),
M. Clampin(STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), G. Illingworth (UCO/Lick Observatory),
the ACS Science Team and ESA
|
Japanese
Macaques 日本獼猴 (7/9/2003)
處於極冷的日本北海道，日本獼猴(也稱雪猴)是人類以外居於最北的靈長類動物。牠們很聰明，懂得利用當地的天然資源－溫泉來保持體溫，牠們時常都三五一起走享受溫泉，真懂享受！
Caption::
It may be called the Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park, but the Japanese macaques
here have taken up one of life's more civilized pleasures: hot tubbing.
A series of hot springs help keep the monkeys warm through the cold winters.
Also known as snow monkeys, Japanese macaques are the world's northernmost
non-human primates.
Credit::
Tim
Laman
|
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