The Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar 2010

I can't think of a better way of counting down the days for christmas than being presented some incredible pictures of the universe each day. Granted, some of these pictures might be widely recognized, but who knows... there might come some surprises along the way.

Desember 1st

This remarkable picture from the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows one of the most perfect geometrical forms created in space. It captures the formation of an unusual pre-planetary nebula, known as IRAS 23166+1655, around the star LL Pegasi in the constellation of Pegasus. The image shows what appears to be a thin spiral pattern of astonishingly regularity winding around the star, which is itself hidden behind thick dust. The spiral pattern suggests a regular periodic origin for the nebula's shape. The material forming the spiral is moving outwards a speed of about 50 000 km/hour and, by combining this speed with the distance between layers, astronomers calculate that the shells are each separated by about 800 years. The spiral is thought to arise because LL Pegasi is a binary system, with the star that is losing material and a companion star orbiting each other.

Here's the link to the calendar, enjoy!

Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar 2010

Fantastic find
That website got some real awesome photo collections. Great collections of Saturn, the sun and the moon as well

Originally posted by flymetothemoon
Fantastic find

That website got some real awesome photo collections. Great collections of Saturn, the sun and the moon as well

Thanks! Yeah, it's an excellent site and it's worth checking it out once in a while, because you can come across some real interesting collections of photographies