Spitzer's Version of the Pillars of Creation

[FLO]

10 Nov, 2005

One of the most iconic images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is of the Eagle Nebula, aka the "Pillars of Creation". NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has taken a similar photograph of a region in the Cassiopeia constellation called W5. This region is dominated by a single massive star blowing powerful solar winds. The surrounding dust and material has been cleared, and compacted into the pillars - these contain clusters of newborn stars.

http://tinyurl.com/d745c

[Michael Mozina]

10 Nov, 2005

One of the most iconic images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is of the Eagle Nebula, aka the "Pillars of Creation". NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has taken a similar photograph of a region in the Cassiopeia constellation called W5. This region is dominated by a single massive star blowing powerful solar winds. The surrounding dust and material has been cleared, and compacted into the pillars - these contain clusters of newborn stars.

http://tinyurl.com/d745c

When I see formations in space like this, I can't help but be awed by creation. It is truely amazing what is "out there". I often wonder whether electric current flow though such formations and are part of the solar formation process, particlarly if these are iron rich clouds.

[daz]

Even more amzing when you consider these are about 10 times the size of the Pillars!

:shock:

[Michael Mozina]

Even more amzing when you consider these are about 10 times the size of the Pillars!

:shock:

I agree. One can't help but be humbled by the size and scale of these "dust clouds" and high temperature plasmas that permiate presumably "empty" space. I suspect in the future that plasma cosmology will replace today's "gravity only" notions of how the universe works.

[FLO]

plasma - (n.)

A state of matter similar to a gas but composed of isolated electrons and nuclei rather than discrete whole atoms or molecules.

Can anyone offer a more man-on-the-street definition of Plasma .... please

Thanks,

Steve

[Michael Mozina]

plasma - (n.)

A state of matter similar to a gas but composed of isolated electrons and nuclei rather than discrete whole atoms or molecules.

Can anyone offer a more man-on-the-street definition of Plasma .... please

Thanks,

Steve

Plasma is simply another "form" of matter, much like a gas, liquid or solid. It is more or less an ionized form of matter (missing an electron or two).

[Michael Mozina]

plasma - (n.)

A state of matter similar to a gas but composed of isolated electrons and nuclei rather than discrete whole atoms or molecules.

Can anyone offer a more man-on-the-street definition of Plasma .... please

Thanks,

Steve

http://www.plasmas.org/rot-plasmas.htm

I thought this was a pretty good description of plasma by the way.

[FLO]

Thanks for the link Michael, its in my favourites