Hubble goes to the eXtreme to assemble the deepest ever view of the Universe

The eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, the photo was assembled
by combining ten years of NASA/ESA Hubble Space
Telescope observations taken of a patch of sky
within the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field.

Like photographers assembling a portfolio of their best shots, astronomers have assembled a new, improved portrait of our deepest-ever view of the Universe. Called the eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, the photo was assembled by combining ten years of NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observations taken of a patch of sky within the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The XDF is a small fraction of the angular diameter of the full Moon.

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is an image of a small area of space in the constellation of Fornax (The Furnace), created using Hubble Space Telescope data from 2003 and 2004. By collecting faint light over one million seconds of observation, the resulting image revealed thousands of galaxies, both nearby and very distant, making it the deepest image of the Universe ever taken at that time.

The new full-colour XDF image is even more sensitive than the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field image, thanks to the additional observations, and contains about 5500 galaxies, even within its smaller field of view. The faintest galaxies are one ten-billionth the brightness that the unaided human eye can see [1].

Carnival of Space #268 Here at LINKS THROUGH SPACE

Welcome to Links Through Space, astronomy for everyone.

This is the blog of our Astronomy Club here in Kustavi, Finland

We write/post news about space related topics and we showcase our Astrophotos and Timelapses.

Our blog is a way for you to follow Space/Astronomy news and find new links through the Internet about Space and astronomy.

So here we have it, Ladies and Gentlemen!

Links Through Space is honored to declare the 268th Carnival of Space live from Kustavi Finland.

 OPEN!

International Observe the Moon Night, Tonight!

We believe in the inspirational power of the Moon — a celestial body that has influenced human lives since the dawn of time. International Observe the Moon Night has created the opportunity for people to take notice of the Moon’s beauty and share that experience with one another. Through International Observe the Moon Night, we hope to instill in the public a sense of wonderment and curiosity about our Moon. Our partnerships enable us to stay up to date with the latest and greatest scientific discoveries about Earth’s nearest neighbor, and we strive to bring those discoveries to the public.

The International Observe the Moon Night Team consists of scientists, educators, and Moon enthusiasts from government, non-profit organizations, businesses throughout the United States and across the globe and of course YOU!

Tonight is a great night to observe the Moon. This year the Moon is at first quarter, which means you can see some nice details on the face of the Moon. The Terminator, where the light side and the shadow side meets, you can see great features of the Moon. The next days are good as well until the full Moon on September 29, which will be the harvest Moon. You can observe the Moon with your naked eyes, binoculars or telescope. In telescopes you can see tremendous amounts of details on craters and ridges on the face of the Moon. With binoculars also you can see great features. With the naked eye, as you know, the Moon does not  reveal many features, but still can give you a general idea of what is going on. The best way to observe the Moon is with friends. Get together in your neighborhood, park or in a dark place outside of the city, make this an event with hot coco and a "nocturnal pic-nic". The important is to have fun and for that the Moon is a great celestial body to observe.

Visit the International Observe the Moon Night web site HERE for more information on event around you.
Link on Wikipedia for the Moon HERE

Exoplanets: First planets found in Beehive Cluster

M44 / Praesepe Globular cluster

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA-funded astronomers have, for the first time, spotted planets orbiting sun-like stars in a crowded cluster of stars. The findings offer the best evidence yet that planets can sprout up in dense stellar environments. Although the newfound planets are not habitable, their skies would be starrier than what we see from Earth.

The starry-skied planets are two so-called hot Jupiters, which are massive, gaseous orbs that are boiling hot because they orbit tightly around their parent stars. Each hot Jupiter circles a different sun-like star in the Beehive Cluster, also called the Praesepe, a collection of roughly 1,000 stars that appear to be swarming around a common center.

Read more on NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory web site HERE
Link to Praesepe Globular Cluster (M44) on wikipedia HERE

Jupiter being impacted by Space rock!

Watch this brief video clip of a space rock hitting the face of Jupiter.
The impact was caught by George Hall from Dallas, Texas.



According to Hall on his website, the video was captured using a 12" LX200GPS, 3x Televue Barlow lens and Point Grey Flea 3 camera with Astro IIDC software.

This is an incredible catch for an amateur astronomer. This proves that amateur Astronomers are a valuable asset to science and observation of our solar system or else. Here you can clearly see that when you are out there, anything can happen!

Get out and stare at the night sky, you never know what will happen!
Clear skies

Read the Carnival of Space #266

Welcome to another installment of The Carnival of Space!

Gadi Eidelheit @ Transit of Venus blog is our host this week.

In this week’s carnival we have a number of articles about Astronomy and Space.
Podcast on Fine Structure Constant, Space elevators, articles on Voyager I and Asteroids.
Enter the Carnival of Space HERE

If you have a science/space blog, joining The Carnival of Space is a good way to meet members of the Space/Science blogging community and help your site reach a wider audience.

If you'd like to be a host for The Carnival of Space, please send an email to carnivalofspace@gmail.com

Comet passing 2013: Will we see it?

Comet Pan-STARRS is expected to pass fairly near Earth in early spring of next year. This Comet will pass within the orbit of Mercury, so pretty close to us that many amateur and professional astronomers are waiting for it's arrival.

The Comet is still faint, but on March 9 2013 it will be roughly 45 million kilometers from the Sun. The Comet should then be visible with the naked eye for all to see.

As Comet Pan-STARRS make it's approach, here at the Astronomy Club Toutatis we have another item on our list (should I say long list).

Read all about Comet Pan-STARRS in Nancy Atkinson's article on Universe Today.
Read also on Wikipedia the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid System or Pan-STARRS telescope.

Picture caption: Comet C/2011 L4 Pan STARRS by John Glossop, Cootamundra, NSW, Australia.

Read the Carnival of Space #265

Read Space Articles/ Carnival of Space #265

Welcome to another installment of The Carnival of Space!

  Amy Shira Teitel @ amyshirateitel.com is our host this week.

In this week’s carnival we have a number of articles paying tribute to the man synonymous with Apollo, news from the planets, and a reminder about neat technologies on the horizon.
Enter the Carnival of Space HERE

If you have a science/space blog, joining The Carnival of Space is a good way to meet members of the Space/Science blogging community and help your site reach a wider audience.

If you'd like to be a host for The Carnival of Space, please send an email to carnivalofspace@gmail.com

Watch Photos of the blue Moon around the world

The Blue Moon of August 2012

Friday 31 of august, the sky was in Southern Finland cloudy and we could not see the full Moon.
We expected to see the Moon and verify if it was indeed blue. With a sheet of clouds in the night sky, we thought we could see a "blue Moon" in clouds, that would give us the filtering for a bluish shade of the Moon.

Here are pictures from around the world. Let's see if it was really blue. Enjoy!

Watch Photos HERE of the Blue Moon @ Space.com

Photo credit: KTY Toutatis, Finland