Giant Nebula Hand in Space Photographed

In an old and rare Star Trek comic book, there's this story where the starship Enterprise gets held in space by a giant hand which turns out to be that of a space genie or a pretty physical illusion of one. Anyway, that was a fictional "hand in space." Astronomers have found a real one and it appears to be a right hand reaching out to a red nebula.

The hand in space is really part of pulsar PSR B1509-58. It used to be a star that collapsed on itself due to gravity to a mere 12 miles in diameter. So you can imagine how powerful this piece of matter is and the amount of energy it releases into space as the extremely powerful magnetic field directs subatomic particles like electrons outwards creating x-rays. The "blue hand" is a result of these x-rays from the pulsar and was revealed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. It is a great example of a simulacrum. This one will likely be used for a lot of astronomy posters.

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Kepler to Be Sent on Four-Year Mission to Seek Out Earthlike Planets

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will be sending the Kepler spacecraft out in 2008 to hunt for extrasolar planets, particularly those that resemble Earth. Kepler is actually a telescope that will measure the brightness of a star. Any planet that's just the right size will cause the star to dim. The telescope will be able to detect this reduction in light. The advantage of using this technique for Kepler is that the telescope will not be impeded by the distorting effects of the atmosphere. It's measurements will be reliable since it will be working in outer space. It will be doing its' job for four years, but it's lifespan may be extended with repairs and upgrades just like what's been done with the Hubble Space Telescope.

Earth Photographed Nestled in Saturn's Rings

This is a dramatic picture of Saturn cklit by the Sun. It was photographed by the Cassini spacecraft and resulted in the discovery of two more dusty external rings which scatter blue sunlight. Do you see the tiny blue speck nestled in the rings on the left? That is Earth. If you can't see it, look around you to learn to appreciate and take care of our home planet even more.

Mysterious Hexagon over Saturn North Pole Viewed

Saturn has a strange hexagon over its North pole. What is it? It is a 25,000-kilometer-wide formation created by moving clouds. Scientists still don't understand the forces that created it. It may be one feature that's comparable to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The photo was taken by the Cassini spacecraft.