Planets and Stars in Scale
I nice little video!

Cascades of spiraling magnetic loops observed in extreme ultraviolet light by Solar Dynamics Observatory danced and twisted above an active region on the Sun recently (April 3-5, 2011). These loops are charged particles spinning along the magnetic field lines. The bright active region was fairly strong and the activity persistent, though not explosive. At one point darker plasma can be seen being pulled back and forth across the region’s center.

Source: Solar Dynamics Observatory

Can you say OOPS!

This video starts with an exciting countdown and quickly goes to a dramatic — if not confusing — set of circumstances yesterday where an Ariane 5 rocket’s main engine ignited, but the boosters did not. Officials say the aborted launch on March 30, 2011 from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana was due to a main engine glitch seven seconds after ignition. Launch was set for 5:45 p.m. EDT (2145 GMT) yesterday, and a new launch date will be set after determining the exact nature of the malfunction. The payload includes two communications satellites which Arianespace officials say are “in a safe mode on the launch pad.”

The rocket will be sent back into a hangar where engineers can investigate the problem.

Now this is very cool to watch!

Employees at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., took a few moments to assemble for a historic aerial photo Friday outside Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building. Thousands of workers stood side-by-side to form an outline of a space shuttle. The event was organized in honor of the Space Shuttle Program’s 30-year legacy.

In order to observe the most distant objects in the universe, one needs two things: very fine resolution and very long exposures. As a space telescope, Hubble provides the detailed view. However, getting several days worth of exposure for a single observation on this valuable resource is an extremely tall order, since there are many more requests from astronomers to use Hubble than there are hours available to use it. Nevertheless, Hubble has done a few deep images looking across the universe, and unveiled some dramatic findings. To call these observations mind-bending is an understatement, as one has to traverse several deep concepts about space and time before even grasping the nature of the results. Jo