APOD - Spitzer's Orion

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2019 August 31

Spitzer's Orion
Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech

Explanation: Few cosmic vistas excite the imagination like the Orion Nebula, an immense stellar nursery some 1,500 light-years away. Spanning about 40 light-years across the region, this infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telescope was constructed from data intended to monitor the brightness of the nebula's young stars, many still surrounded by dusty, planet-forming disks. Orion's young stars are only about 1 million years old, compared to the Sun's age of 4.6 billion years. The region's hottest stars are found in the Trapezium Cluster, the brightest cluster near picture center. Launched into orbit around the Sun on August 25, 2003 Spitzer's liquid helium coolant ran out in May 2009. The infrared space telescope continues to operate though, its mission scheduled to end on January 30, 2020. Recorded in 2010, this false color view is from two channels that still remain sensitive to infrared light at Spitzer's warmer operating temperatures.

Tomorrow's picture: sisters in space

---

< | Archive | Submissions | Index | Search | Calendar | RSS | Education | About APOD | Discuss | >

---

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

---

This is an automated email. If you notice any problems, just send me a note at gtracy@gmail.com. You can add and remove email addresses to this distribution list here, https://apodemail.org.Unsubscribe

Songs For Summer’s End; World Cafe In London

Plus, the can't-miss artists at AmericanaFest.

Emily Bogle/NPR It’s Labor Day weekend, which, by some accounts, marks the unofficial end of summer. But we think this weekend is the perfect time to listen like summer vacation never ends — even if your days of laying on the beach and visiting far-off friends (or calming your screaming child in an airport) are far in the rearview. I asked some colleagues what their go-to songs were on their days off this summer. Otis Hart, who recently spent some time “driving the interstates and backroads of Vermont with two toddlers,” recommends the first track on Brian Eno’s Music for Airports.  His trip required “music that didn't call attention to itself, lest the boys remember the car was capable of playing music and that their music wasn't playing,” he says. “Little did I know that my 1-year-old son would adapt the song's opening motif as his catchphrase: ‘Bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom!’” And Daoud Tyler-Ameen says he’s grateful for a new single from Tegan and Sara that “appeared on the last day of a brief beach trip, as if to take the edge off heading back to work,” adding that “it’s been a while since Tegan and Sara sounded as relaxed and scrappy as they do on ‘ I’ll Be Back Someday.’” Our friends from NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest team had some thoughts, too. Elle Mannion says she’s been listening to Mitski’s “Strawberry Blond,” which “paints a jubilant, sweet summer scene complete with bare feet, bumble bees, rolling fields and longing love. It’s perfect for a summer road trip.” And Pilar Fitzgerald says Beyoncé’s Lion King-inspired collection The Gift “definitely dominated my summer listening catalogue. ' BROWN SKIN GIRL,' her love letter to black women, is guaranteed to put a smile on my face every time I hear it.” Plus, writer and producer Lars Gotrich recently put together the perfect playlist for just this moment: a collection of “bittersweet bops for summer’s end,” including Kacey Musgraves, Chance the Rapper, Robyn and more. Everyday is a winding road, Marissa Lorusso P.S.: My newsletter copilot, Lyndsey McKenna, is currently on her own summer vacation; she checked in to recommend “Cruel Summer” from the new Taylor Swift album.  New Music This week’s episode of New Music Friday from All Songs Considered recaps the records you need to hear now, including a highly-anticipated release from Lana Del Rey, a celebration of friendship from Black Belt Eagle Scout and what Sheryl Crow says will be her final album. On her new album, Fire in My Mouth, Pulitzer-winning composer Julia Wolfe documents the tragedy behind New York City's 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. The album, centered on one of the most tragic and deadly workplace disasters in American history, is also among the most arresting and cinematic she's composed. AmericanaFest will take place in Nashville in September, with lots of performances, panels and special events. It’s a great week of music discovery, and Member station WMOT has a list of the 12 Nashville-based up-and-comers you don’t want to miss Featuring Our friends at World Cafe recently traveled to London to spend some time with the “Beatles Brain of Britain,” listen to early Bowie demos with Nile Rodgers and hang out in Hendrix and Handel ’s old haunts. "We gon' be alright," the hook from Kendrick Lamar's "Alright," turned into a protest chant against police violence. But the song's sound is a balancing act: There's hope and despair. There's the ideal world, and there's the real one. This week, Turning the Tables honored famed contralto Marian Anderson. We have a deep dive into the legacy of the fur coat she wore at her iconic 1939 Lincoln Memorial performance, a reflection on her presence in the past and present, a playlist of her greatest recordings and more. The non-profit Shine MSD was started by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It promotes healing through the arts, and it's getting help from a special trumpet called "The Instrument of Hope." Tiny Desk Bob Boilen/NPR If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “It’s about time we had some traditional Middle Eastern dabke dancing on top of the Tiny Desk,” you’re in luck. 47SOUL, a band formed in Amman, Jordan, brought its unique spin on Arab roots music — and some dancing — to the Tiny Desk.  One More Thing Cellos: No longer an endangered species.  What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy

Valerie Harper, Who Played Beloved TV Sidekick Rhoda, Dies At 80

Valerie Harper, Who Played Beloved TV Sidekick Rhoda, Dies At 80 As the blunt, self-deprecating Rhoda, Harper created one of the most beloved sitcom characters of the 1970s. Her character on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was the perfect foil for the program's buttoned-up protagonist. "Rhoda had this wonderful quality of saying the unsayable," Harper told NPR in 2010. Read More You received this message because you're subscribed to our Breaking News Alerts emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002

APOD - NGC 7129 and NGC 7142

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2019 August 30

NGC 7129 and NGC 7142
Image Credit & Copyright: Steve Cannistra (StarryWonders)

Explanation: This wide-field telescopic image looks toward the constellation Cepheus and an intriguing visual pairing of dusty reflection nebula NGC 7129 (right) and open star cluster NGC 7142. The two appear separated by only half a degree on the sky, but they actually lie at quite different distances. In the foreground, dusty nebula NGC 7129 is about 3,000 light-years distant, while open cluster NGC 7142 is likely over 6,000 light-years away. In fact, pervasive and clumpy foreground dust clouds in this region redden the light from NGC 7142, complicating astronomical explorations of the cluster. Still, NGC 7142 is thought to be an older open star cluster, while the bright stars embedded in NGC 7129 are perhaps a few million years young. The telltale reddish crescent shapes around NGC 7129 are associated with energetic jets streaming away from newborn stars.

Tomorrow's picture: Spitzer's Orion

---

< | Archive | Submissions | Index | Search | Calendar | RSS | Education | About APOD | Discuss | >

---

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

---

This is an automated email. If you notice any problems, just send me a note at gtracy@gmail.com. You can add and remove email addresses to this distribution list here, https://apodemail.org.Unsubscribe

APOD - M27: Not a Comet

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2019 August 29

M27: Not a Comet
Image Credit & Copyright: Bob Franke

Explanation: While hunting for comets in the skies above 18th century France, astronomer Charles Messier diligently kept a list of the things he encountered that were definitely not comets. This is number 27 on his now famous not-a-comet list. In fact, 21st century astronomers would identify it as a planetary nebula, but it's not a planet either, even though it may appear round and planet-like in a small telescope. Messier 27 (M27) is an excellent example of a gaseous emission nebula created as a sun-like star runs out of nuclear fuel in its core. The nebula forms as the star's outer layers are expelled into space, with a visible glow generated by atoms excited by the dying star's intense but invisible ultraviolet light. Known by the popular name of the Dumbbell Nebula, the beautifully symmetric interstellar gas cloud is over 2.5 light-years across and about 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. This impressive color composite highlights details within the well-studied central region and fainter, seldom imaged features in the nebula's outer halo. It incorporates broad and narrowband images recorded using filters sensitive to emission from hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space

---

< | Archive | Submissions | Index | Search | Calendar | RSS | Education | About APOD | Discuss | >

---

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

---

This is an automated email. If you notice any problems, just send me a note at gtracy@gmail.com. You can add and remove email addresses to this distribution list here, https://apodemail.org.Unsubscribe

DOJ: Comey Violated Policy On His Trump Memos — But Won't Be Prosecuted

DOJ: Comey Violated Policy On His Trump Memos — But Won't Be Prosecuted An official investigation concluded former FBI Director James Comey broke rules governing the handling of the documents that described his now-famous exchanges with President Trump. "After reviewing the matter, the DOJ declined prosecution," the inspector general's office said in a statement on Thursday. Read More You received this message because you're subscribed to our Breaking News Alerts emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002

Power fruits. Calming kava. Medicine ball moves.

Blue fruits get their vibrant hues from polyphenols, but these plant compounds provide more than just a burst of color.

7 Delicious Blue Fruits with Powerful Health Benefits Blue fruits get their vibrant hues from polyphenols, but these plant compounds provide more than just a burst of color. Read on Could Kava Be the Cure for Anxiety? This tropical plant has gotten the medical community's attention because of its calming effects. We break down its risks and benefits. READ ON ADVERTISEMENT These Medicine Ball Moves Work Your Whole Body We've put together a no-frills, 20-minute medicine ball workout designed to challenge your strength, endurance, and balance. READ ON 3 Reasons to Eat More Tomatoes Rich in the antioxidants lycopene and vitamin C, plus potassium, folate, and vitamin K, tomatoes have a lot of benefits to offer. READ ON More Top Reads Get our Anxiety newsletter Science-backed tips, personal stories, and more. Subscribe Follow Us View in browser Did a friend send you this email? Subscribe here. To see all newsletters, click here. Privacy Policy|Unsubscribe © 2019 Healthline Media 660 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

APOD - Messier 61 Close Up

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2019 August 28

Messier 61 Close Up
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, ESO, Amateur Data; Processing & Copyright: Robert Gendler & Roberto Colombari

Explanation: Image data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the European Southern Observatory, and small telescopes on planet Earth are combined in this magnificent portrait of face-on spiral galaxy Messier 61 (M61). A mere 55 million light-years away in the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies, M61 is also known as NGC 4303. It's considered to be an example of a barred spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way. Like other spiral galaxies, M61 also features sweeping spiral arms, cosmic dust lanes, pinkish star forming regions, and young blue star clusters. The bright galactic core is offset to the left in this 50 thousand light-year wide close-up.

Tomorrow's picture: not a comet

---

< | Archive | Submissions | Index | Search | Calendar | RSS | Education | About APOD | Discuss | >

---

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

---

This is an automated email. If you notice any problems, just send me a note at gtracy@gmail.com. You can add and remove email addresses to this distribution list here, https://apodemail.org.Unsubscribe

In Book, Former Defense Chief Mattis Sideswipes President Trump's Leadership Skills

In Book, Former Defense Chief Mattis Sideswipes President Trump's Leadership Skills In the general's upcoming leadership book, Call Sign Chaos, Jim Mattis implicitly criticizes President Trump; his new book goes on sale next week. Read More You received this message because you're subscribed to our Breaking News Alerts emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002