APOD 14: THE PLEIADES

25 February 2014

The Pleiades star is slowly destroying gas and dust in a partial passing cloud. The Pleiades is the brighest open star cluster and can be seen from nearly any location in the northern hemisphere by the naked eye. The passing cloud appears to be affiliated with Gould's Belt, an unusal ring of a young star formation surrounding the Sun. The star's pressure repels dust in the surrounding blue reflection nebula, while smaller dust particles are being repelled more strongly. 

APOD 13: CASSINI SPACECRAFT CROSSES SATURN'S RING PLANE

February 23, 2014
Saturn's rings are confined to a plane many times thinner than even a razor blade. When the Earth crosses the ring plane, the edge-on rings seem to disappear. The spacecraft Cassini orbiting Saturn now also crosses Saturn's ring plane. The ring plane appears blue, as bands and clouds in the upper atmosphere appear golden. The bumps in the ring are Saturn's moons.  

Jacobus Kapteyn (Sources)

1. "Jacobus C. Kapteyn." Jacobus C. Kapteyn. Soylent Communications, 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.nndb.com/people/657/000170147/>

2. "Jacobus C. Kapteyn." The Bruce Medalists: Jacobus C. Kapteyn. The Bruce Medalists, 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/BruceMedalists/Kapteyn/>