Space near

A new book, "Cosmos near", written by Gilles Sparrow, invites you to an amazing journey through the universe, giving the opportunity to see the galactic dust clouds, supernova explosions and glowing planets. It contains Pictures of only a small part of the pictures from the new book.

(29 photos)

1. Sunspots are the most obvious feature of the sun, visible from Earth - they are dark spots in the photosphere, which usually remain visible for several days or weeks, moving on the surface of the Sun on a trajectory of a complex "differential" rotation (in the equatorial regions, the rotation occurs every 25 days, and at higher latitudes the rotation is once every 34 days). Sunspots appear dark because they are cooler than the surrounding photosphere - however, they usually have a temperature of about 3500 ° C (6300 ° F). Their number increases and decreases, and they change their general position on the solar disk, in accordance with the 11-year solar magnetic cycle.

2. Sunspots are formed in places where the loops of the magnetic field of the sun break through the photosphere, creating a site at a lower temperature and density. On this stunning photo taken with the Swedish solar telescope, a tiny cell on the form is actually thousands of miles in diameter. Each individual cell, with a bright center and dark edge, a crown top columns of hot gas escaping from inside the Sun. When it reaches the photosphere and becomes transparent, heat, contained in it is released, as sunlight and other forms of radiation. The gas itself is cooled and the dark, before falling back to make room for the other portions of the gas.

3. Big bend chain Montes Apenninis or Lunar Apennines extends to the moon at a distance of about 600 km (370 miles) through the mid-northern latitudes of the Moon near the Mare Imbrium Mare Imbrium. Although the mountains on Earth, as a rule, are generated by shocks of tectonic forces within the planet, lunar mountain ranges, as a rule, are part of rings bordering the circular sea. Apennines are no exception - they were formed from material extruded during the formation of Mare Imbrium near 3.9 billion years ago.

4. In the north-east of the Lunar Apennines is Mons Hadley or Hadley Mountain, overlooking the triangular peak, which occurred near the landing of Apollo 15 mission in 1971 (see photo - astronaut Jim Irwin and the lunar robokar on Fore Mountain Hadley). Amongst the mountains, still one of the main features of this region is the valley of Hadley, which extends to a length of about 135 km (84 miles) and reaches up to 1 km (0.6 miles) wide. This valley was formed by volcanic eruptions.

5. Valles Marineris, or Mariner Valley on Mars is one of the most amazing places in the solar system. It is a scar on the Martian surface - a huge system of canyons. Mariner of the valley have a length of 4500 km (a quarter of the circumference of the planet), width - 200 km and depth - up to 11 km. This system of canyons over the famous Grand Canyon 10 times in length in the 7 - and the width and 7 - in depth, and is the largest in the solar system. Named in honor of the American space program, "Mariner" after the unit Mariner 9 discovered the canyon in 1972. Mariner of the valley located to the south-east of the Tharsis region. The photograph - a 3D plot canyon Melas in the Valley of the Mariner. It was obtained using a stereo camera of the European satellite Mars Express, which made photography site different angles bottom Melas covered, is believed to be volcanic ash, have been subjected to wind erosion. In addition, it consists of the destroyed material the walls. Melas lies along the slopes of collapsed rock. In the canyon Melas is the deepest point on Mars. It is in this area is supposed to ever happen landing expeditions.

6. Victoria crater 730 meters (2400 feet) wide, is a relatively minor feature of the landscape of the region Meridiani Planum, located near the Martian equator. Nevertheless, it is one of the most intensively studied regions of the surface of the red planet because of its location near the landing site Opportunity - robokara-rovers at NASA. Photos from the satellite Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showed that the edge of the crater is surrounded by numerous landslides, and covered with Martian dust that accumulates in the dunes near its center.

7. The Great Red Spot (GRS) is a stable anticyclonic storm located 22 ° south of Jupiter's equator, which existed at least 180 years and possibly longer than 350 years - astronomers have previously thought it was a huge island, drifting in the ocean. It can change the color can disappear completely, and then suddenly come back, regenerate by absorbing smaller storms. This storm was large enough that it can be seen in ground-based telescopes. It is believed that this area of ​​high pressure, which "pulls" the matter from the depths of the planet, causing the appearance of bright clouds condense at high altitudes. He rises to 8 kilometers (5 miles) above the surrounding clouds and wrapped in time for the six Earth days. Despite centuries of study, astronomers had not figured out what caused the color of phosphorus compounds, copper or some molecules of organic origin. Spot was large enough to fit in it 3 planets the size of Earth.

8. The most famous feature of Saturn, of course, is its spectacular ring system. Although all of the giant planets have rings, Saturn's rings are by far the brightest. There are three main rings, named A, B and C. They are distinguished without difficulty from the ground. There is also a weaker ring - D, E, F. Upon closer examination of the Rings is a great variety. Between the rings, there are gaps where there are no particles. That of the slots, which can be seen in the average telescope on Earth (between rings A and B), called the Cassini gap. On clear nights you can even see less noticeable gap. The internal parts rotate faster than the outer rings. All rings are composed of individual ice blocks of different sizes: from dust particles up to several meters in diameter. These particles move at almost the same speed (about 10 km / s), sometimes colliding with one another. Under the influence of satellite-ring slightly curved, ceasing to be flat.

9. At first glance, Mercury appears very similar to the moon - black, airless world dominated by craters. As the smallest of the four terrestrial planets, Mercury has cooled sufficiently rapidly, losing heat and a few billion years ago, started slowing down its geological activity. Since the tidal forces of the Sun slow rotation of Mercury, so that Mercurian sidereal day is equal 58.65 Earth days, that is 2 / 3 Mercurian year. For one Mercurian year Mercury manages to turn around its axis by a half turn. This unique location means that most parts of Mercury can see the sunrise only once every two years. In addition, there is an extreme temperature range, which range from -190 ° C (-342 º F) to 430 º C (806 ° F).

10. Neptune has 13 known moons, and stands out among the giant planets as well as only one of them is a full-fledged planet - all others are not significant. Triton, however, is an unusual companion - first, it revolves around Neptune in the "wrong" direction relative to the planet's rotation, and secondly, its orbit is perfectly circular. Features of the structure and the orbital motion of Triton suggest that it arose as a single celestial body, similar to Pluto, and was later captured by Neptune.

11. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Triton is that, despite the fact that the average surface temperature is -235 ° C (-391 ° F), the planet's surface is geologically active. quite a large area is a unique area, the relief which reminds dynnuyu crust. In our solar system, such a surface is not found anywhere else. It's called - Location melon peel (Cantaloupe terrain). This area is considered the oldest in the satellite. Most of the surface of Triton Its surface reflects sunlight well as covered with methane and nitrogen ice.

12. The second largest moon of Saturn, Enceladus, is hardly 100 km (62 miles) greater than Mimas, but that's another wonderful world, which is one of the most interesting satellites in the solar system. Enceladus has a brilliant white surface - is the most striking scenery in the Solar System - and the apparent absence of craters. In fact, the entire moon is covered with a relatively fresh snow, formed by the eruption of liquid water reservoirs that are just below the surface.

13. Color photographs of the surface of Enceladus have revealed various changes in its color, the most obvious of which are bluish "tiger stripes" near the south pole of the planet to a depth of 500 meters and a width of two kilometers, extending up to 130 kilometers. Scientists suggest that it is through these cracks break out the ice and various gases. Four major bands are known as Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo and Alexandria.

14. Jupiter's moon Europa world seems frozen, covered with blue ice. However, the characteristics of Europa's surface indicate the existence of liquid oceans under the icy crust on its surface. The depth of the ocean - up to 100 km (62 miles) of its volume exceeds the volume of the oceans of Earth. Water because of volcanic activity remains warm for ice. This suggests that Europe may be living. The entire surface of Europa is covered with many overlapping lines. It breaks and cracks the ice shell. Some lines are almost completely encircle the planet. The system of cracks in some places like cracks in the ice cap of the North Pole of the Earth. Found dark "freckles" - convex and concave education, which could be formed by processes similar outpourings of lava - that is, under the influence of internal forces, "a warm, soft ice moves from the bottom of a crust up and ice cold settles, plunging down , is another evidence of the presence of liquid, warm ocean under the surface.

15. Titan - the largest satellite of Saturn, the second largest moon in the Solar System (after Jupiter's Ganymede), is the only one, besides Earth, the body in the solar system, for which the existence of liquid on the surface, the only moon of the planet, has a dense atmosphere. Studies of Titan's possible to hypothesize about the presence on it of primitive life forms. Titan is enveloped a dense orange haze that hampered the early space probes to see its surface - while the atmosphere is mostly composed of nitrogen, methane and a small proportion of calls this color.

16. Iapetus, the third moon of Saturn, has puzzled astronomers since its discovery in 1671. Watching him, scientists have concluded that Iapetus is visible in a telescope only when located on a single, strictly defined, aside from Saturn. Thus, Iapetus has a bright and dark side and turned to Saturn is always the same side. Expedition "Voyager" in the 1980th confirmed this hypothesis.

17. Cassini images of Iapetus obtained proved that there is a clear separation between dark and light sides. The Dark Side of tight to the light, shades of gray there. The most popular theory about what is going on a self-sustaining process of evaporation of water vapor from the dark half of the satellite and the loss of steam as frost on the bright side of the satellite.

18. One of the most beautiful phenomena in the sky - Orion Nebula. She is also known as M42. It is visible from the northern, and southern hemispheres. Vague glow of M42 is clearly seen in the "Sword of Orion" and the naked eye. In binoculars the nebula is clearly seen as a rather bright elongated cloud. Its cover star, and she in shape like a flower. In the center is the site known as the Trapezium.

19. Combined ultraviolet, infrared, and obtained by means of visible light photos taken with the Spitzer space telescopes and the Hubble, show that the Orion Nebula - a very complex structure.

20. Carina Nebula - it is an emission nebula in the constellation Carina. Within the Carina Nebula are homunculus nebula, Keyhole nebula, as well as several open clusters. In addition to Eta Carinae, the nebula contains a supergiant and a few large young stars of the class. It lies about 7500 light years from Earth. Eta Carinae has been most clearly visible in the period from 1820 to 1830, in 1834 it was the second brightest star in the sky.

21. Carina Nebula is brightly lit thanks to the energy of the stars. It is most clearly visible in the southern latitudes, and its width is 50 light years away.

22. In the Crab Nebula in the constellation Taurus are the remains of stars that caused the supernova explosion, the so-called "neutron stars". It laid down the energy of a few suns.

23. Eagle Nebula, also known as IC 4703 or Messier Object 16. It is here that the famous "Pillars of Creation" - the active region of star formation. Eagle Nebula consists primarily of glowing gas and dust.

24. February 23, 1987, the light from a star explosion on the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula finally reached Earth after a journey, which lasted 168,000 years. He was recognized as the closest to the Earth of a supernova explosion with a 18 th century, and was called Supernova 1987A. In May, SN1987A was a moderately bright star visible to the naked eye, before slowly disappear over the next few months. Star of "grandparent" supernova eventually identified as unstable blue supergiant, which, as astronomers believe came from the merger of two smaller stars around 20000 years ago.

25. Constellation Leo is one of the most recognizable worldwide. There are three galaxies that formed 35 million years ago.

26. In the very center of our galaxy is a complex radio source known as Sagittarius A. It is a supermassive black hole.

27. Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest to the Milky Way. The plane of the galaxy is tilted at an angle to us in 13 degrees.

28. The infrared image of Andromeda galaxy obtained using the Space Telescope Spitzer.

29. The book "Cosmos near" Giles Sparrow, was published by publishing house Quercus Publishing. Its price is 14.99 pounds.